How To Turn Your Frozen Mac And Cheese Into Warm, Gooey Breadsticks

Macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort meal, but it can be enjoyed in all kinds of ways. Nobody would blame you for cooking your choice of boxed mac and cheese brands, but you can certainly get creative with a homemade macaroni and cheese recipe, too. Though it's often enjoyed in a bowl, macaroni and cheese can easily become a burger topping, a deep-fried appetizer, or completely transform into an ultra cheesy breadstick.

That breadstick idea starts with frozen mac and cheese. Freezing the pasta first makes it easier to handle and keeps the pasta together so the remainder of the recipe feels like a breeze. But there are two ways to go about doing this. For one, you can wrap the frozen macaroni and cheese in store-bought pastry dough, then bake it to perfection. Or, you can coat the mac and cheese in batter or breadcrumbs (think of it like a mozzarella stick) and fry it up for a gooey yet crispy breaded snack.

If you want to upgrade your frozen mac and cheese, then the cheesy breadstick route is a total winner. If you've already got frozen macaroni sliced into long pieces, all you have to do is wrap pizza dough around each stick, sealing up the pasta so that nothing seeps out while it bakes. Before popping these in the oven, you can dress them up with a little melted butter, parsley, and Parmesan — or just brush them with olive oil and dust them with a little kosher salt and garlic powder. The end result creates a toasty outside with a soft and doughy inside that's positively bursting with gooey mac and cheese.

You can also go the breaded or battered route. Using frozen mac and cheese cut into triangles, a quick spin through some flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs sets this dish up for the fryer. Once you've tasted this new take on mozzarella sticks, you might never go back to regular mac and cheese again.