If you regularly read Sporked, you might know that I’m a big fan of stovetop mac and cheese. Its creamy and delicious texture is unrivaled; microwaveable and oven-baked macs simply can’t touch it. The little packet of powder (or sauce) that comes with a stovetop mac is basically gold dust (or liquid gold), bursting with richness and flavor. Few foods comfort and satisfy like stovetop mac and cheese.
Our guest for this taste test was comedian (and mac and cheese lover) Kendahl Landreth. I prepared each mac and cheese in a pot and cooked them according to their package directions. Every mac is different: some use butter and milk, while others come with a little packet of cheese goo. But they all got cooked to order and served hot by me, resident mac and cheese chef, Danny Palumbo. There were a lot of dissenting opinions among the Sporked staff about boxed mac (mainly people were divided on cheese dust vs. cheese goo), but overall this test was just a raucous delight. Overall, I learned that there’s a ton of great mac and cheese for sale, and a few new products that are giving the classics a run for their money. Peep this extensive list.
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- Kraft Deluxe White Cheddar & Cracked Black Peppercorn
This is how you update a classic. Kraft Deluxe brings the signature cheesy, salty, slightly sweet Kraft flavor and amplifies it to an S-tier mac and cheese. It’s sharp, peppery, creamy, and downright sublime. Sporked social media manager Mark Catangui commented, “Wow, it’s so gooey, but that might be because it was prepped well.” You’re damn right, Mark. I cooked every mac on this list, and made sure every single one was served up hot and creamy. Even as I made this Kraft Deluxe in the pot, I could tell it was special. (Kraft makes a bunch of different deluxe flavors, too.)
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- Velveeta Shells & Cheese
Simply put, Velveeta Shells & Cheese is so good that the brand is synonymous with mac and cheese. Personally, it’s my favorite. As previously stated, Velveeta adheres to the Italian principles of pasta very well. It is creamy, smooth, buttery, delicious, and somehow every molecule of shell feels drenched in thick, delicious cheese goo. In this way it’s like cacio e pepe. The texture of Velveeta Shells & Cheese is very much like the mac and cheese I make from scratch. Sure, it’s overly processed cheese goo, but it’s America’s overly processed cheese goo. And you can’t debate the gloriously smooth and velvety texture. Nothing comforts like Velveeta Shells & Cheese.
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- Cheetos Bold & Cheesy Mac ‘N Cheese
Cheetos has absolutely nailed it with their new mac and cheese:. It’s salty, cheesy, and dense with Cheetos flavor, just like their snacks. The packet of cheese dust that comes with this box is absolute gold. This mac is the perfect mash-up of junk food and comfort food. Hell, if a guy like Matty Matheson loves it, then it’s gotta be good. Like all of these mac and cheeses, if you want more flavor in your bowl, you can adjust the cooking ratios accordingly. Personally, I leave a tablespoon or two of pasta out of the package to get a higher ratio of dust-to-pasta. Cheetos Bold & Cheesy carries intense flavor. This is a big win for humanity.
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- Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
Kraft is a classic, but I would argue the taste has been outdone several times over by other companies. Still, there is a delightful buttery, salty, and sweet taste that keeps Kraft in our top five. After our initial taste test, editor-in-chief Justine Sterling and I went back in to taste all the macs one more time and we found that Kraft is noticeably sweeter, especially when compared to its competitors. You think it’s just standard, but there’s really nothing quite like it. Plus, there’s something comforting about its simplicity and stability. And hey, kids love it, too
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- Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Mac ‘N Cheese
Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Mac ‘N Cheese brings all the wonderful flavor of the Bold & Cheesy but with some extra heat. It’s bright red, like the color of an exit sign hanging above a stairwell, but don’t let that deter you. Cheetos’ strength is that they’ve miraculously been able to distill the flavor of their snacks into mac and cheese powder. It’s delectable. Again, they deserve a Nobel prize. Note: Make sure to buy the stovetop Cheetos Mac and not the microwavable one. The taste of the stovetop version is incomparable.
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- Annie’s Shells & Real Aged Cheddar
Personally, I feel that shells are the best pasta for mac and cheese. The little cups just hold sauce well. It’s much easier to spoon together a big flavorful serving of shells compared to forking a few tiny elbows. Annie’s also scores big points for being the only mac and cheese on this list that correctly tells you to add salted butter. The other brands either don’t specify or specifically instruct you to add unsalted. That feels wrong. Most mac and cheese, if you don’t salt it yourself, lacks proper seasoning. While you should probably be salting and peppering all of these yourself, it doesn’t hurt to cut out the middleman and add salted butter. Upon taking a bite of Annie’s, Kendahl said, “It’s flawless. It tastes like the better version of Kraft.” I agree.
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- Great Value Original Macaroni & Cheese
What I like about Great Value is their mac and cheese powder to butter and milk ratio. They tell you to add twice as much butter and milk as most other stovetop macs on this list. Great Value understands flavor. The more butter and milk you add, the better your mac and cheese will be. Outside of that, the flavor from the cheese dust is pretty standard in this one, but it gets bonus points for caring more about taste than your health. Also, dawg, get this: It costs just 43 cents. Forty-three! An amazing budget buy.
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- Cracker Barrel Cheddar Havarti Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
This mac and cheese dinner from cheddar brand Cracker Barrel is very much like Velveeta Shells & Cheese. It’s got the same smooth aesthetic, and it’s super salty, creamy, and sharp. It’s a packet-of-good type of mac and cheese, which I have a strong proclivity towards, and it brings the flavor regardless of where you fall on the stovetop mac spectrum. If you like Velveeta’s style but want something with a different flavor, Cracker Barrel Cheddar Havarti won’t disappoint.
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- Signature Select Macaroni & Cheese
“I’ve never heard of this brand before, and I’m so obsessed with it,” said Kendahl. “It’s so good and so creamy and so cheesy. Ten out of ten.” Managing editor Gwynedd Stuart loved it, too, adding, “It almost tastes like Cheetos. There’s a surprising amount of flavor here, and it doesn’t instantly dry out like other macs.” Whatever is in Signature Select’s cheese powder, it’s good. I don’t think it’s quite as good as the other macs on this list, and it didn’t stand out that much among Justine, myself, or staff-writer Jordan Myrick. But I will admit, I’m a pretty good cook, so there’s no doubt in my mind that my preparation helped. In the canon of mac and cheese, though, there are more exciting options.
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- Sprouts Hatch Green Chile Mac & Cheese
The Hatch chile flavor here is really nice and smooth. Hatch chiles, which are making their way into a lot of our favorite products these days, have a light spice and mellow fruitiness that kept Justine coming back to this mac and cheese. . This seasonal pepper from New Mexico is gaining mass appeal, being infused into grocery store almonds, beef jerky, chips, mozzarella, and now, mac and cheese. And that’s for good reason: hatch chiles have a delicious flavor and I think you’ll appreciate it here. Just a note: This mac and cheese needs salt.
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- Upton’s Naturals Deluxe Ch’eesy Mac
Nobody else really liked this one, but I’ve eaten Upton’s before and enjoyed it. To me, the vegan Ch’eesy Bacon Mac (which we also tried) was way better, but this ch’eesy mac still has value. The noodles come pre-cooked, and there’s a packet of “cheese” sauce goo, so all you have to do is heat the two together in a pan. I like Upton’s for what it is: A vegan mac and cheese option that won’t leave you feeling gross afterwards. Great if you’re on a plant-based diet or just watching your cholesterol. Plus, it’s warm, cheese-like, and filling. Add your own seasonings if you want. Some smoked paprika certainly wouldn’t hurt.
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Best of the Best
Best Texture
Best New Mac
Best Classic
Best Spicy
Best Cheddar
Best Budget
Best Havarti
Best Surprise
Best Unique Flavor
Best Vegan
Other Products We Tried: Cheese Club Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Muscle Mac High Protein Macaroni & Cheese, Simple Truth Organic Macaroni & Cheese Deluxe Cheddar, Kroger White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese, First Street Mac and Cheese, Upton’s Naturals Ch’eesy Bacon Mac, Trader Joe’s Mac N’ Cheese.
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