The best boxed mac and cheese is a beautiful thing. 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 the best stovetop mac and cheese.
Over the course of two taste tests, we tried a range of different boxed mac and cheese brands—including the classics, along with some newer additions like vegan boxed mac and cheese and gluten free boxed mac and cheese. These all came with dried pasta, cheese powder or cheese sauce, and the add-ins they advertised. The only things we added were ingredients that were explicitly in the directions, which were only ever milk and butter, if anything.
There were a lot of dissenting opinions among the Sporked staff about the best box mac and cheese (mainly people were divided on cheese dust vs. cheese goo), but overall we learned that there’s a ton of great boxed mac and cheese for sale, and a few new products that are giving the classics a run for their money. Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong, but if you’re really looking for the best of the best boxed mac and cheese, try one of the picks on this list.
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- Upton’s Naturals Deluxe Ch’eesy Mac
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I was in the minority, but I really enjoyed this vegan boxed mac and cheese. 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 pot. I like Upton’s for what it is: A vegan boxed mac and cheese that won’t leave you feeling gross afterwards. It’s great if you’re on a plant-based diet or just watching your cholesterol. Add your own seasonings if you want—some smoked paprika certainly wouldn’t hurt. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Sprouts Hatch Green Chile Mac & Cheese
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Yes, we said this is the best chile mac—not chili mac. (Though it would be good if you mixed it with some of the picks from our best canned chili ranking.)The hatch chile flavor here is really nice and smooth. Hatch chiles have a light spice and mellow fruitiness, and they are making their way into a lot of our favorite products these days. And that’s for good reason: Hatch chiles have a delicious flavor and I think you’ll appreciate it in this creamy, cheesy boxed mac and cheese. Just a note: This mac and cheese in a box needs salt. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Kraft Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower
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When you think of boxed mac and cheese, you think of that thin, blue, rectangular box. Kraft is a titan of boxed mac and cheese brands, and for good reason. And I appreciate that they’re using their platform to add a little health into the well-loved classic. Because if anything can make vegetables palatable, it’s cheese and pasta. While mac and cheese in a box isn’t the first thing most people think about when they seek out a light, healthful meal, I’m a big supporter of the mentality to “eat what you love, add what you need.” If you’re looking to incorporate a little extra veg into your dinner, this is a great way to do it. The cauliflower adds a little complexity to the flavor of the dish, but isn’t overpowering by any means. I found that as it sat, the cauliflower flavor became a little more prevalent, but that honestly wasn’t a deterrent. Is it a dead ringer for the classic that we know and love? Nah. But it’s the best stovetop mac and cheese if you’re feeling lazy and need to dose yourself with veg. — Hebba Gouda
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Great Value Artisan Crafted White Cheddar and Black Pepper
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I used to be a fan of the classic elbow macaroni. That was back when I was young and naive, and didn’t know that you could have an elbow noodle that’s double the size of a classic elbow but a million times the quality. These beefy elbows are big enough to house a hefty amount of creamy cheese sauce, and curled enough to protect it on the long journey from bowl to mouth, essentially turning each noodle into a twisty water slide of cheese sauce. The ridges on the noodle invite a little extra goodness to cling to the outside, so it’s the perfect shape for a saucy bite through and through. Great Value (yes, Walmart’s Great Value) gets bonus points for having the cheese sauce ready made in a packet with no need to add any additional ingredients, but it does lose on sauce flavor. It’s a little bland and doesn’t follow through on the promise of black pepper, so you’ll have to add your own. Still, thanks to that big ol’ noodle, this is some of the best boxed mac and cheese. — Hebba Gouda
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Cracker Barrel Cheddar Havarti Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
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Cracker Barrel is very much like Velveeta Shells & Cheese (#2 on this list). It has the same smooth aesthetic and it’s super salty, creamy, and sharp. It’s a packet-of-goo type of boxed mac and cheese, which I have a strong proclivity towards, but it brings the flavor regardless of where you fall on the stovetop mac spectrum. But it’s the addition of havarti that earns it a spot on our list of the best boxed mac and cheese. It gives it a touch more saltiness and complexity. If you like Velveeta-style but want something with a different flavor, Cracker Barrel Cheddar Havarti won’t disappoint. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Great Value Original Macaroni & Cheese
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What I like about Great Value boxed mac and cheese 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 boxed mac and cheese will be. Also, dawg, get this: It costs just 58 cents. Fifty-eight! An amazing budget buy, especially considering this is some of the best boxed mac and cheese. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Banza Mac and Cheese Made with Chickpea Pasta
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Banza is not only the best gluten free boxed mac and cheese we tried, but it also had far and away some of the best sauce of all the brands and flavors we tried. It tastes so much like cheese. I’d love to live in a world where this could go without saying, but so many of the other options were “subtle,” if I’m being kind. They tasted a lot more like butter than cheese, so I was thrilled at the punch of flavor that Banza has. You can really taste the sharpness and intoxicatingly slight whisper of funk from the cheddar, which has enough umami and salt to hold its own without any additional seasoning. The cheese is enough to make up for the lack of noodle integrity, which, because it’s gluten free boxed mac and cheese, ends up a little on the crumbly side. But despite that set back, this was the only box that got finished by the end of the tasting. — Hebba Gouda
Credit: Liv Averett / Banza
- Annie’s Shells & Real Aged Cheddar
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Personally, I feel that shells are the best pasta for mac and cheese—and Annie’s fills its mac and cheese in a box with perfectly sized little shells. 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 lacks proper seasoning if you don’t salt it yourself. 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. So, for both the choice of pasta shape and the specific butter instructions, this is some of the best box mac and cheese. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Mac ‘N Cheese
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Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Mac ‘N Cheese brings all the wonderful flavor of the Bold & Cheesy (#3 on our list) 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 makes some of the best boxed mac and cheese because they’ve miraculously been able to distill the flavor of their Flamin’ Hot snack into mac and cheese powder. It’s delectable. 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 and produces some of the best stovetop mac and cheese possible. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
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Kraft is a classic, but I would argue the flavor has been outdone several times over by other companies. Still, there is a delightful buttery, salty, and sweet taste that keeps Kraft macaroni and cheese from the box 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 that makes it some of the best boxed mac and cheese. And hey, kids love it, too. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Cheetos Bold & Cheesy Mac ‘N Cheese
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Cheetos has absolutely nailed it with their 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 mac and cheese in a 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 and an instant place on our best boxed mac and cheese list. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Velveeta Shells & Cheese
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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. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Kraft Deluxe White Cheddar & Cracked Black Peppercorn
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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 in a box. It’s sharp, peppery, creamy, and downright sublime. I cooked a bunch of boxed mac and cheese brands for our initial taste test, but 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.) This remains the best boxed mac and cheese you can buy. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Merc / Amazon
Best Vegan
Best Unique Flavor
Best Sneaky Vegetable
Best Big Noodle
Best Cheese Combo
Best Budget
Best Gluten Free
Best Cheddar
Best Spicy
Best Classic
Best Flavor Blasted
Best Texture
Best of the Best
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, Great Value Gluten Free, Great Value with Black Pepper, Velveeta with Bacon, Velveeta with Broccoli, Signature Select Macaroni & Cheese
