Cheap Party Food: Mexican Fried Mac and Cheese Balls

These Mexican Fried Mac and Cheese Balls are the tastiest party food!

For game day, birthday parties, or just because, they are so good. 

Serve with the sauce of your choice (like ranch), and you have an explosion of flavors and taste that your guests will love them.

• Make Mac n Cheese as directed on the box. 
• Let it cool slightly before handling.

Of all the party food ideas out there, you need to try this recipe. It’s a hit with kids and kids at heart. 

Got a little more room in your budget, add ½ lb cooked ground beef to the mixture. 

👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips:

These Mexican Fried Mac and Cheese balls would be great to make with leftovers. I chopped them into little pieces because I wanted to be able to form the balls easily. You could totally skip this step and make bigger fried mac and cheese balls. Just remember to cook them longer.

More Mexican Pasta Recipes:

• Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta
• Sopa de Pollo con Fideos
• Espagueti blanco
• Birria Ramen

• You must put the mixture in the fridge. If not, it won’t harden, and you won’t be able to form the balls.

To this mixture, you can also add ½ chopped red bell pepper to give it some crunch. Fresh herbs go a long way, but we are using dried herbs which are cheaper. Whatever you have on hand is good.

Don’t have regular bacon, use bacon bits to make this dish! 

More party appetizers that are easy on the wallet: Try Potato Flautas or Potao Tacos Dorados – using leftover mashed potatoes.

• Form the balls. Coat with egg and crackers. 
• Fry a batch of bite size balls. Do not overcrowd the pan when frying. 

To Bake: Place in an oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly before placing on a platter.

How do you feed a crowd cheaply?

• Don’t overcomplicate things. Make one big party snack like this recipe. Then serve it with fresh foods that are not very expensive to balance the textures like grapes, carrots, and other vegetables. 
• You can’t forget desserts like cake or chocolate cookies especially if it’s for a birthday party.
• Stay away from pricey items like guacamole, fancy mustard, or olives. 
• Use your slow cooker to make it life easier – Bbq beef sliders. These sandwiches are a real time saver! Or Slow Cooker Chipotle chili and serve with tortilla chips. Serve buffet style.
• More foods that are easy on the wallet – Potato chips, hot dogs, mozzarella sticks, pasta salad, potato salad, you can even create a popcorn bar!

🍴 More Appetizer Recipes

• Chicken Fajita Nachos
• Elote en Vaso
• Frijoles Puercos
• Chicken Wings

The Mexican Fried Mac n Cheese balls didn’t make it passed halftime. They are budget-friendly and make the best finger food. With salsa, dip, hummus, or just sour cream, there’s no wrong way to eat them.

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