What’s better than creamy, gooey, perfect vegan mac and cheese? Fried vegan mac and cheese, obviously!
I mean, when I said before that I can and will try and fry everything, that was not a lie. I do adore my air fryer and it has been a game changer in my life, but from time to time you gotta bust out a pot of hot oil and make magic happen! Some things just want to be fried in a vat of hot oil and there is not a drag thing any of us can do about that!
There was once a time in our lives when we thought the Cheese Cake Factory was the bees knees. Never mind that the wait at our local outdoor mall location was always 7,500 hours long, or that you basically have to sit in a strangers lap once seated, or that the menu is so long that you might turn 100 before you ever finish reading it. Like I have never had so much ordering anxiety and decision remorse in my life as I have at a Cheese Cake Factory ordering dinner. Does anyone else feel this way?!?! I feel like I am not alone here.
Once we went vegan I have never been back. Do I miss it?!?! Well their happy hour was pretty awesome with tasty drinks and cheap apps, but I am not sure in my semi old age I could handle the stress of it all, and I’m pretty sure there is very little there for me to eat these days. But what I really truly miss is their fried mac and cheese balls!
Seriously, if you have never, I am so sorry! But I am only here to help, and I think I have done just that with this recipe.
I have tried my hand at frying Vegan Mac and Cheese pretty unsuccessfully serval times. Until this time!!!
The trick to getting these Fried Vegan Mac and Cheese Balls nice and creamy once you fry them, is making sure they the Mac is EXTRA creamy and cheesy before you freeze them. Lucky for all of us I have the perfect creamy vegan mac and cheese recipe to make this much easier . You need a creamy element, but you also need the shredded cheese mixed in so it melts and adds extra goo when you fry them.
The breading is also important. You need a thick batter to hold on the dry coating since the fried mac and cheese balls need to be nice and solid before you try and coat them. These ingredients are non negotiable if you want an successful final product. So if you go fussing with the ingredients, and are disappointed with the creaminess of the inside, or the coating on the outside, you were fairly warned.
This recipe makes a lot of fried mac and cheese so I often leave half the batch in my freezer in a large sealed zip lock for another day. If you do this, just half breading and batter amounts. Or fry up the whole batch and reheat the leftovers throughout the week. They reheat well in the oven or an air fryer.
Finally, make sure to have a side of marinara on hand for dipping. These Vegan Fried Mac and Cheese balls are a meal in themselves and sooooo much better if you dip them in the sauce! I mean Cheese Cake Factory would be so disappointed in us if we didn’t!! It’s just how you are suppose to eat them. Serve these with a salad and you have made a full dinner that is sure to make your whole house happy!
INGREDIENTS:
1 batch Creamy Vegan Mac and Cheese
1/4 cup vegan mayo
1 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese , homemade or store bought
1 cup vegan plain yogurt or sour cream
1 cup unsweetened vegan plant milk
1/2 cup tapioca or corn starch
2 cups vegan bread crumbs, plain or panko
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
Oil for frying
Marinara sauce for dipping
INSTRUCTIONS:
Begin by preparing the mac and cheese according to the instructions. Add in 1/4 cup vegan mayo and 1 cup shredded vegan cheddar to the Mac and cheese. Mix well, and allow to cool.
Using a large kitchen scoop, scoop out Mac and cheese and form a ball. Place the ball into a muffin tin and continue with remaining Mac and cheese. If you do not have a muffin tin you can form a ball with the mac and cheese and place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Place the muffin tin or cookie sheet into the freezer and allow the mac and cheese to freeze. You need the mac and cheese to be solid before you batter and bread it.
Once the vegan mac and cheese balls are frozen, prepare the batter and breading by combining the yogurt and milk in a medium sized bowl, and combining the bread crumbs, starch, salt, and garlic in a separate bowl.
*this recipe will yield about 2 dozen Vegan Mac and Cheese balls. I often only choose to fry half a batch at a time. If you wish to do this, you will need to half the ingredients in the batter and breading and leave the other half of the Mac and Cheese in the freezer in an airtight container for up to one month.
Remove the Mac and Cheese from the muffin tin. The balls my be a bit stuck but you can pry them out easily using a fork. Begin by dipping each Mac and Cheese ball into the yogurt/milk mixture and fully coating. Next dip them into the breadcrumb and starch mixture, again making sure they are fully coated. Place the coated Macs and Cheese balls onto a baking sheet or back into the muffin tin.
Fill a medium sized pot half way with an oil suitable for frying, I use grapeseed or canola oil. Heat the pot over medium heat until the oil reaches 350-375 degrees. If you do not have a kitchen thermometer you can place a wooden chopstick or wooden skewer into the oil touching the bottom of the pot once the oil seems good and hot. If tiny bubbles form around the chopstick, the oil is ready.
Prepare a baking pan by lining it in paper towels and placing a wire cooling rack on top.
Add a few mac and cheese balls into the hot oil and allow them to fry for 3-5 minutes. Since the mac and cheese is frozen, you have to make sure they are cooked through without allowing the outside to burn. If the oil seems too hot and the outside is getting too brown, you can reduce the heat at bit. You may have to test one after it has fried for about 3 minutes to see if the inside is done. This will help you gauge how long you will have to let them cook.
Continue until all vegan mac and cheese balls have been fried, placing the finished balls on the cooling rack.
Serve with warmed marinara sauce.
If you wish to reheat leftover fried vegan mac and cheese balls, you can do so in an air fryer at 350 for about 5 minutes, or in a preheated, 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.
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