Kraft Mac & Cheese Is Taking Over The Ramen Aisle

Instant ramen and boxed mac and cheese: For too long, they’ve stared at each other across the grocery aisles, locked in a state of competition. So similar in their rapid preparation times, their shelf-stable nature, and their ability to provide quick and comforting sustenance – but so different. Well, until 2026. This year, we’ve seen a blurring of the boundary between these perennial favorites. Now, Kraft has decided that it’s time for it to step into the ramen game, seemingly for good. 

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Cheesy ramen is here. Let’s discuss.

Kraft Mac & Cheese Cheesy Ramen

Today, Kraft has announced that it’s entering a new category for the first time in two decades, with the arrival of its Kraft Mac & Cheese Cheesy Ramen. The new item makes it the first mainstream brand to land in the cheesy ramen category, which has been growing in popularity significantly over the last few years, arguably largely thanks to the proliferation of cheesy ramen recipes on social media. 

Now, though, you don’t have to do any work. Kraft does it for you. Its new Mac & Cheese Cheesy Ramen will initially be available in three varieties: Spicy, Chicken, and Pork flavors. More flavors and formats are due to drop in due course, and the first packages of Mac & Cheese Cheesy Ramen will hit shelves in early 2027. A game-changer? Potentially. I’m very excited to see how this one will land.

A Meeting Of Minds

While Kraft Mac & Cheese Cheesy Ramen marks the first entry for the brand into the ramen market in the US, it’s worth noting that Kraft Dinner Canada did so in June with its KD Ramen. If that release was anything to go by, US customers are in for a treat. KD Ramen was received very well by Canadian customers, who found that the mac and cheese brand had nailed its flavors and textures. 

We’ve also seen Kraft go in the opposite direction this year. In April, we reported on its chicken ramen-flavored mac and cheese, which arrived with very little fanfare and had a pretty limited release. Was Kraft working out its flavors then and there, we wonder? Buldak has also gotten in on the mac and cheese game, with its own mashup landing in Walmart (although it should be said that it was a ramen-flavored mac and cheese, not the other way around). Soon, everything will be everything else. For now, though, we wait for Kraft Mac & Cheese Cheesy Ramen with bated breath.