As I sit here, wolfing down my Air Fryed Mac and Cheese nuggets, the word that keeps popping into my head is “Cheez-Its.” That’s because the crunchy coating paired with the concentrated flavor of cheddar is a perfect match. I don’t think I’ve ever made a lazier or more satisfying snack. Consider this an early Air Fryday gift.

Macaroni and cheese, like potato gratin or oatmeal, is loaded with starch. When refrigerated, the starches in these foods thicken and congeal in a process called retrogradation. That’s why leftover pasta is always so stiff. Combine those cold gelatinized starches with saturated fat, like in melted cheese, and you’ve got a tough brick. You could put a lot of work into scooping the macaroni into balls, coating them with breadcrumbs, and frying them to make fried macaroni and cheese balls. Or you could do it my way. This decidedly lazy method doesn’t require any breadcrumbs, but it delivers just as much crunch.

This works really well if you baked your macaroni and cheese in a baking dish, because it’s already tightly packed. However, if you stored your macaroni and cheese in a bowl in the fridge, that’s perfectly fine. The shape doesn’t matter as much once you’ve cut it up.

Remove the whole lump of macaroni from the packaging and place it on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife or serrated blade to cut the macaroni into 1-inch slices. Flip the slices over and cut them into 1-inch strips again, then decide whether to cut them into shorter strips again or even cubes. Spread them out in a preheated 400°F air fryer on the “air fry” setting, leaving at least a 1/2 inch of space between them so they don’t melt together. Air fry the cubes for 8 minutes and the strips for 10 minutes, or until crispy and nicely browned on the edges. Let the macaroni and cheese nuggets cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before eating.