This post is sponsored and this shop has been compensated by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of RAGÚ®. All opinions are mine alone. #RAGUPartyPleasers #sponsored
This easy baked mac & cheese appetizer recipe couldn’t be any easier. The hardest thing about it is cooking the elbow macaroni and, as we know, that isn’t hard. The mac & cheese is saucy, delicious and fun to eat right out of the muffin cup!
Cheesy Goodness
Can you see how saucy and cheesy this easy baked mac & cheese appetizer looks?! It actually sticks together better than the photo above because I took a bite and then had to take a photo and then another photo. All the while trying to keep the muffin cup filled with cheesy goodness in my hand.
Where is Christopher when I need him?
I talk about how easy it is to make the Best Appetizers for game day in my other RAGÚ® post: saucy beef appetizer cups. But I will touch upon it here as it bears repeating. I encourage you to go to the RAGÚ website for tips and other recipe ideas.
Have you tried this RAGÚ® Double Cheddar sauce yet? If you haven’t, you must run out and get some! This delectable sauce features cheddar, Parmesan and Romano cheeses! Truth be told, I could eat it by the spoonful, straight out of the jar. It’s that creamy smooth and cheesy rich.
AND the premium blend of cheeses in the RAGÚ® Double Cheddar sauce makes the best mac & cheese! Your kids are going to love it. They will turn up their noses on boxed brands and demand in their tiny high pitched voices, “RAGÚ! RAGÚ! …”
I found myself chanting it in my head as I made this delicious and easy baked mac & cheese appetizer.
One thing I love about this quick and easy appetizer is that you can eat it directly out of the muffin cup. Another thing I love is that you can adjust how saucy you want it to be by adding more of the RAGÚ® Double Cheddar sauce, or less, though why you would want to add less is a complete mystery to me.
On to the Easy Baked Mac & Cheese Appetizer
As I stated before, I made two recipes using RAGÚ sauces, so I photographed them together. I can’t even decide which is my favorite. I will have to experiment over and over to see. The trials we food bloggers have to endure!
I start by setting some water on to boil.
I measure out 1/2 a box of elbow macaroni, crush some butter crackers and get the RAGÚ® Double Cheddar sauce ready.
Did I mention that there are only 3 ingredients in this recipe?
Cool!
Once the water comes to a boil, I salt it and add the elbow macaroni. I stir it and set the timer to 8 minutes.
DING
I drain the macaroni and place it in a metal mixing bowl. I also preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Time to pour the RAGÚ® Double Cheddar on the macaroni. Look at how thick and creamy that is!!
I use a rubber spatula and stir in the sauce so that it coats all the elbow macaroni!
Mmm. I let the messiness of the bowl stay just as it is, because we love keeping it real here on Dishes Delish.
I fill each muffin cup full of mac & cheese appetizer.
Time to sprinkle the crushed butter crackers on the mac & cheese appetizer!
Sprinkle, sprinkle!!
I place the pan in the oven for 15 minutes.
Then I pick a baked mac & cheese appetizer up and take a bite, but you’ve seen that one already!
So delicious! When you serve these at your next game day party, all you are going to hear are people saying, “Mmmmm!”
I hope you enjoyed this recipe!
Please feel free to Yum the recipe to Yummly, Pin any photo to Pinterest and leave me a comment. What is your favorite game day appetizer?
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
- 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
- water to boil
- salt for water
- 1/2 jar RAGÚ® Double Cheddar Sauce or more
- 1/4 cup crushed butter cracker crumbs or bread crumbs
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Set water on to boil
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Salt water
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Place elbow macaroni in boiling water
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Time for 8 minutes until al dente
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Preheat oven 350 F
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Drain elbow macaroni and place in a mixing bowl
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Pour as much RAGÚ® Double Cheddar sauce as you want over the macaroni
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Mix to combine
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Fill 12 muffin cups with mac & cheese
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Sprinkle butter crackers on top of mac & cheese
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Bake 15 minutes
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Plate
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Eat
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Smile
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Enjoy
If you used a lot of this delicious sauce, you can serve the muffin cups with spoons if the mac & cheese is too gooey
Oh. My. Goodness. Not only are these adorable, but they look SO good, too! Appetizer, though? I think I’d rather call them dinner. 😉
Hehe Abby! You could have them for dinner too!
These look so delicious and pretty!! I bet they would go quickly once served… al that warm cheesy goodness n that also baked is definitely a Hit!
Thanks so much Molly! They are a hit, for sure!
What a fun idea! Bite-size mac and cheese!!!
Thanks Suzy!!
Yum! These would be so great to have waiting for my kiddos after school. Love it.
Thanks Valentina!! It would be a great snack!
Shut the front door! How cute are these. Great for football parties, birthday parties, tonight…love!
Hehe Teri!! Thanks for your comment. It made me smile!
You just can’t beat Mac and cheese – it’s classic comfort food. I love that this is perfect party food size.
Thanks Dannii, they are so easy and delicious!
Oh man, danger danger! I would eat allllll of these morsels of goodness! Mac and cheese is my weakness!
Don’t I know it Kate! It’s my weakness too!
Mac n Cheese is good in EVERY way, shape and form. What a fun little party app this would be. I know they would not last long on the tray either. Double batch for sure.
Thanks Gloria! I agree. People go for this like it’s going out of style!
Simple and mess free eating. These would make a fun replacement for regularold mac & cheese at cookouts and parties.
Definitely. Thank you Sharon!
This is such a great idea – especially for us mac n cheese lovers! So easy too!
Thanks Carrie!! It’s so good!
I love the sound of these, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and savoury is always my mojo… I reckon I could even do these as a “dessert” 😉 😮
Hehe Brian! I’d rather some cake for dessert but hey, they are so delicious that you’d be satisfied having these for dessert. 😉
These bite size mac and cheese look so good, I need to get me a jar of that Ragù sauce and make it! 🙂
Thanks Patty!! It’s super yummy!
Oh my goodness! Those look AMAZING! and what a fantastic idea to serve them in muffin cups so they can be eaten without utensils… wicked smaht! 😉
Haha Catherine! Love that you used that phrase!!
So cheesy and yummy! I love the fact that these are so easy to eat straight from the cups too.
Thanks Amanda! They are fun to eat!!
Oh how I love mac and cheese! Any kind of mac and cheese is great with me! I’d love to pack a couple of these portable cups in my lunch! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Analida!! It’s so yummy!
These mac and cheese look so pretty in muffin cups! Easy and delicious appetizer!
Thanks Meymi! They are super easy!
Such a great idea to put the mac and cheese into a muffin paper. Your cheese ragu sounds fantastic and I would put it on everything. I am a cheese fanatic, you know
Hehe. Thanks Laura!! Christopher is a fanatic too!
Ahhh you always make the cutest little apps, and these are no exception!
Thanks Leslie! 🙂
That is so clever making these in the muffin pan, so convenient. I am a big cheese head so saving this for maybe tomorrow if its not too late. Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Thanks Tina! It’s never too late for cheese 😉
What an awesome idea!! I love mac and cheese in every form.
Thanks Cathleen. I love it too!
I find that alot of mac & cheese appetizer cups are baked until they resemble mac & cheese pucks, but these look nice and soft and saucy – just how I like it!
Thanks Jenni! It is very soft and delicious!
I love all of that cheesy happening in these bites! My kids will love ’em and they’re perfect for parties!
Stacey, they will love them!
This looks incredibly tasty! I can’t wait to try your recipe!
Thank you Sara!
Handheld macaroni and cheese — could it possibly get any better?! This is like the ultimate dream come true!
Hehe, Julie! Thanks!
I never thought of myself as a “big” eater, but there’s something so satisfying about eating a bunch of these cups as opposed to a pile of mac n’ cheese on a plate that I have to wonder! Fun recipe and great appetizer.