Wonton Mac & Cheese Bites take the ultimate comfort food to new levels. They are the perfect appetizer for young and old. Three-cheese macaroni and cheese is packaged in a crispy wonton cup and topped with melted cheese and crumbled bacon. What’s even better is that they can be made ahead of time, frozen and reheated just in time to WOW your friends and family.
Ingredients for Wonton Mac & Cheese Bites
Ingredients for Wonton Mac & Cheese BitesI used the following ingredients for these tasty little morsels: Wonton wrappers, vegetable oil, elbow macaroni, unsalted butter, cream cheese, milk, egg, dry mustard, salt, freshly ground black pepper, Cheddar cheese, Gruyère cheese and crumbled bacon.
Making The Wonton Cups
Making The Wonton CupsI started by brushing the cups of my mini-muffin pan with some vegetable oil. Then, I placed the wonton wraps into the mini-muffin cups. Next, I brushed the wonton cups with some vegetable oil. I baked the wonton cups in a preheated 350° F oven for about 6 minutes. After they started to brown, I removed the wonton cups from the oven and let them cool while I made the Mac & Cheese filling.
Making the Mac & Cheese Filling
Making the Mac & Cheese FillingI started by cooking the macaroni in salted water according to the package directions. When the macaroni was done, I drained it in a colander.
While the macaroni was still hot, I dumped it into a large mixing bowl. Then, I added the butter and cream cheese. I stirred the mixture to melt the butter and cream cheese and coat the macaroni. Next, I added the milk and beaten egg, and continued stirring to evenly incorporate everything into the mixture. After that, I added the dry mustard, salt, pepper, Cheddar cheese and Gruyère cheese. I stirred the mixture to ensure that everything was well mixed.
Putting the Wonton Mac & Cheese Bites Together
Putting the Wonton Mac & Cheese Bites TogetherOnce the Wonton Cups and Mac & Cheese were made, I turned my attention to putting the Mac & Cheese Bites together. I filled each of the Wonton Cups with some Mac & Cheese using a small ice cream scoop. Then, I sprinkled some shredded Cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon on top of each of the Mac & Cheese Bites.
I popped the Wonton Mac & Cheese Bites into a preheated 350° F oven for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the cheese was nicely melted and the wontons were a golden brown. I removed them from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, I removed the Mac & Cheese Bites from the mini-muffin pan and placed them on a wire rack to cool for another 5 minutes or so before serving them.
Talk about good! The Wonton Mac & Cheese Bites were awesome and the perfect finger food. They can be easily frozen and reheated at a later date. Everyone young and old will absolutely love these tasty bites. Yum!
If you like macaroni and cheese you should also try my Make-Ahead Muffin Tin Mac & Cheese.
Recipe
Wonton Mac & Cheese Bites
Ingredients
- 48 Wonton Wrappers
- 1 ½ Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (See Tip 1)
- 1 cup (8 ounces) milk
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese (See Tip 2)
- 4 slices bacon cooked, drained and crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Brush cups of mini-muffin pan with half of vegetable oil. Press wonton wrappers into mini-muffin pan cups. Brush with remaining vegetable oil. Bake for 6 minutes or until lightly brown. Set aside. (See Tip 3)
- Cook macaroni in salted boiling water for 7 minutes. Drain in colander. Transfer to large mixing bowl.
- While macaroni is still hot, add butter and cream cheese. Stir to melt butter and cream cheese and evenly coat macaroni.
- Add milk and egg; stir to evenly coat macaroni.
- Add dry mustard, ¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt, and ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; stir to combine.
- Add 1 ½ cups Cheddar cheese and Gruyère cheese; stir to combine.
- Spoon macaroni mixture into wonton wrappers in mini-muffin pan. Top with reserved Cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon. (See Tip 4)
- Bake in preheated 350° F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until wontons are golden brown, the tops are and bubbly and the macaroni is set.
- Remove from oven; cool 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to continue cooling.
- May be served hot or warm, refrigerated and reheated, or frozen and reheated. (See Tip 5)
- Yield: 48 Wonton Mac & Cheese Bites. (See Tip 6)
Chula's Expert Tips
- I used regular cream cheese, but you could also use low-fat cream cheese.
- You could use Emmental, Jarlsberg or Fontina cheese in place of the Gruyère cheese.
- To easily fit the wonton wrappers into the mini-muffin cups, cut ½-inch slits on opposite sides. This allows wonton wrappers to better overlap and fit into the mini-muffin cups.
- I used a 2-teaspoon or #100 ice cream scoop to fill the wonton cups. It was the perfect size.
- The Wonton Mac & Cheese Bites can be served hot or warm. Also, they can be made ahead of time, frozen and reheated for 5 minutes in a 350° F oven.
- For a variation of these delicious Mac & Cheese bites, you can skip the wonton wrappers and spoon the macaroni and cheese filling directly into oiled mini-muffin cups. Top with Cheddar cheese mixed with Panko bread crumbs and bake at 350° F for 20 to 25 minutes.
Can I use a regular size muffin pan?
Yes, a regular size muffin pan would work.
Chula