Beth’s Mac-and-Cheese Poppers Recipe

Recipe Note From Beth

Everyone thinks running a food truck is glamorous. Spoiler: it’s mostly grease, paper napkin math, and praying the fryer doesn’t die in the middle of a lunch rush. But every now and then, I get to whip up something that makes the chaos worth it.

Enter: Mac-and-Cheese Poppers.

They’re gooey. They’re golden. They’re portable. Basically, they’re everything Seth claims he doesn’t need until he eats six in one sitting. These little guys have been my secret weapon on Food Truck Showdown—perfect for impressing judges who like their food creative but secretly just want comfort carbs.

The best part? You can make them at home, no truck required. (And unlike me, you won’t have a camera crew hovering while you drop breadcrumbs all over the floor.)

Mac and Cheese Poppers Recipe

Makes 30–36 bites (depending on how much you "taste-test" before baking)

Ingredients

• Special equipment: 2-3 mini-muffin pans, mini-muffin liners

• Nonstick cooking spray

• Kosher salt

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

• 2 large eggs

• 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika

• 1 small clove garlic, finely grated

• 2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese (about 6 oz)

• 2 Tablespoons breadcrumbs

• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

• Hot sauce, ranch, or marinara for serving (optional, but highly encouraged)

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line mini-muffin pans with liners and coat generously with cooking spray.

Step 2

Cook macaroni in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain again.

Step 3

In a large bowl, beat together heavy cream, cream cheese, eggs, mustard, paprika, and garlic until mostly smooth. Stir in macaroni and cheddar until combined.

Step 4

Spoon heaping tablespoons of mac-and-cheese mixture into muffin liners. In a small bowl, mix breadcrumbs with melted butter until it looks like wet sand. Sprinkle over each popper.

Step 5

Bake 25–30 minutes, until golden brown and set. Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy warm or at room temperature, with your dip of choice.

Beth’s Closing Note

These poppers have a 100% success rate in two very important areas:

• Disappearing from the plate in under five minutes.

• Keeping Seth too busy chewing to criticize my driving.

Snack wisely because these poppers are dangerously delicious and have been known to cause temporary food envy. But take it from me, if you can make these perfectly golden bites, you can survive anything. Long days on a competitive food truck show that somehow involves fried chicken, flour chaos, and the occasional murder.