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This baked mac and cheese appetizer recipe is super easy because you use a pre-made cheese sauce. The recipe only has 3 ingredients and is perfect for game day. It is saucy, delicious and fun to eat right out of the muffin cup!

Cheesy goodness
Can you see how saucy and cheesy this baked mac and 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? 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.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you click the link and buy something. You can read my disclosure here.
How to make this appetizer
Pre step
Fill a stockpot with water and set it on to boil.
Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Step one
Gather the ingredients – elbow macaroni, cheddar sauce and crumbled Ritz crackers.
Step two
Once the water comes to a boil, salt it and add the elbow macaroni. Stir and set the timer to 8 minutes.
Step three
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Set a colander in the sink and drain the macaroni and place it in a metal mixing bowl.
Step four
Time to pour the RAGÚ® Cheddar on the macaroni. Look at how thick and creamy that is!!
Step five
Fold the cheese in with the macaroni with a rubber spatula until 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.
Step six
Fill each muffin cup with the cheesy macaroni.
Step seven
Time to sprinkle the crushed butter crackers on top.
Step eight
Bake for 15 minutes.
Then I pick one 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 mac and cheese appetizer recipe!
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love the know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!
Easy Baked Mac & Cheese Appetizer
Ingredients
- ½ pound elbow macaroni
- water to boil
- salt for water
- ½ jar RAGÚ® Double Cheddar Sauce or more
- ¼ cup crushed butter cracker crumbs or bread crumbs
Instructions
Make it
- Set water on to boil
- Salt water
- Place elbow macaroni in boiling water
- Time for 8 minutes until al dente
- Preheat oven 350 F
- Drain elbow macaroni and place in a mixing bowl
- Pour as much RAGÚ® Double Cheddar sauce as you want over the macaroni
- Mix to combine
- Fill 12 muffin cups with mac & cheese
- Sprinkle butter crackers on top of mac & cheese
- Bake 15 minutes
- Plate
- Eat
- Smile
- Enjoy
Abby @ WinsteadWandering
Oh. My. Goodness. Not only are these adorable, but they look SO good, too! Appetizer, though? I think I’d rather call them dinner. 😉
Elaine
Hehe Abby! You could have them for dinner too!
Molly Kumar
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!
Elaine
Thanks so much Molly! They are a hit, for sure!
Suzy | The Mediterranean Dish
What a fun idea! Bite-size mac and cheese!!!
Elaine
Thanks Suzy!!
Valentina
Yum! These would be so great to have waiting for my kiddos after school. Love it.
Elaine
Thanks Valentina!! It would be a great snack!
Teri Stephens
Shut the front door! How cute are these. Great for football parties, birthday parties, tonight…love!
Elaine
Hehe Teri!! Thanks for your comment. It made me smile!
Dannii
You just can’t beat Mac and cheese – it’s classic comfort food. I love that this is perfect party food size.
Elaine
Thanks Dannii, they are so easy and delicious!
Kate
Oh man, danger danger! I would eat allllll of these morsels of goodness! Mac and cheese is my weakness!
Elaine
Don’t I know it Kate! It’s my weakness too!
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
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.
Elaine
Thanks Gloria! I agree. People go for this like it’s going out of style!
Sharon
Simple and mess free eating. These would make a fun replacement for regularold mac & cheese at cookouts and parties.
Elaine
Definitely. Thank you Sharon!
Carrie | Clean Eating Kitchen
This is such a great idea – especially for us mac n cheese lovers! So easy too!
Elaine
Thanks Carrie!! It’s so good!
Brian Jones
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” 😉 😮
Elaine
Hehe Brian! I’d rather some cake for dessert but hey, they are so delicious that you’d be satisfied having these for dessert. 😉
Patty
These bite size mac and cheese look so good, I need to get me a jar of that Ragù sauce and make it! 🙂
Elaine
Thanks Patty!! It’s super yummy!
Catherine Brown
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! 😉
Elaine
Haha Catherine! Love that you used that phrase!!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
So cheesy and yummy! I love the fact that these are so easy to eat straight from the cups too.
Elaine
Thanks Amanda! They are fun to eat!!
Analida @ ethnicspoon.com
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!
Elaine
Thanks Analida!! It’s so yummy!
Meymi-Pastry and Beyond
These mac and cheese look so pretty in muffin cups! Easy and delicious appetizer!
Elaine
Thanks Meymi! They are super easy!
Laura
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
Elaine
Hehe. Thanks Laura!! Christopher is a fanatic too!
Leslie Haasch
Ahhh you always make the cutest little apps, and these are no exception!
Elaine
Thanks Leslie! 🙂
Tina Lindquist
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!
Elaine
Thanks Tina! It’s never too late for cheese 😉
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
What an awesome idea!! I love mac and cheese in every form.
Elaine
Thanks Cathleen. I love it too!
Jenni LeBaron
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!
Elaine
Thanks Jenni! It is very soft and delicious!
Stacey
I love all of that cheesy happening in these bites! My kids will love ’em and they’re perfect for parties!
Elaine
Stacey, they will love them!
Sara
This looks incredibly tasty! I can’t wait to try your recipe!
Elaine
Thank you Sara!
Julie
Handheld macaroni and cheese — could it possibly get any better?! This is like the ultimate dream come true!
Elaine
Hehe, Julie! Thanks!
Christopher
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.
Elaine
Thanks Christopher! 🙂
Kim
Do you suggest paper or foil liners? Making for a cocktail party. How do I suggest to keep warm
Elaine
I’ve used both paper and foil. Foil does seem to hold up better but either will do. I’ve never had to worry about keeping them warm as they usually go real fast. I have seen people use an electric griddle and set it on low with the individual mac and cheese cups on them, but I’ve never done it myself. Let me know what you came up with. Thanks for your question Kim.