Shoppers say these mac and cheese brands use real cheddar and deliver serious flavor.
There are many mac and cheese options, ranging from boxed in the pantry to frozen in the freezer. However, not all of them are made with real cheese or taste anything like the mac and cheese you grew up eating. If you want to eat the best of the best, mac made with real cheese, there are some options. Here are the 7 best mac and cheese brands made with real cheese, according to shoppers.
Beecher’s World’s Best Mac & Cheese
Acme
Beecher’s World’s Best Mac & Cheese, with a rich real cheddar blend, is a crowd pleaser. “I really liked it. There is plenty of cheese sauce and the noodles were al dente. It seems to be cheddar and jack cheese with some spices added that blend together so well its hard to pinpoint one over the other,” says a Redditor.”Beecher’s is otherworldly,” another agrees. “Those ingredients are awesome. It’s almost like it’s real food,” a third adds. “World’s best? Nah, try solar system’s best,” a fourth jokes.
Annie’s Shells & Real Aged Cheddar or White Cheddar
Target
Annie’s Shells & Real Aged Cheddar or White Cheddar are ultra-creamy, crowd favorites. “Nothing beats annie’s white cheddar,” one Redditor states. “Just had Annie ‘s macaroni and cheese for the first time cheddar shells. Oh my goodness game changer favorite macaroni ever,” another said.
Kraft Deluxe Original Cheddar
Walmart
Kraft Mac & Cheese is as close to the original as you can get, but Kraft Deluxe Original Cheddar is a major upgrade. Fans love the silky, reliably smooth sauce. “Kraft. Now and forever,” one states about which boxed meal is the best. “I’m not sure it’s my absolute favorite, but Kraft Thick and Creamy (blue box variant) is criminally underrated,” one person says.
Cracker Barrel Sharp Cheddar
Target
Cracker Barrel Sharp Cheddar offers sharp cheddar bold flavor. “My family and I love the Cracker Barrel mac and cheese. I love that it comes in different flavors but it’s still rich and creamy. I usually don’t like the pouches but every now and then this is the one of our guilty pleasures,” says a Target shopper.”This is our favorite type of Mac and cheese besides homemade! It is very creamy and has great flavor,” another adds. “I love this cracker barrel mac and cheese it’s so cheesey rich and creamy with real cheese.. I eat it at least twice a week,” a third confirms.
Cabot Seriously Sharp Mac & Cheese
Target
Cabot is another fan favorite. “The Cabot American mac and cheese is really good. It reminds me of Prince from when I was a kid. I miss Prince. They made a boxed mac n cheese in the 80s that was awesome. It was very generic, but I liked it more than Kraft growing up,” one says. “Came here looking for someone to say Cabot! New fave,” another added.
Goodles Cheddy Mac
Goodles
Goodles makes a Cheddy Mac with a rich sauce that keeps shoppers coming back for more. “Yall have to try Goodles they are life changing,” one suggests. “They are so good!” agrees another. “I tried goodles because they claimed to be a healthier version of kraft. I fully expected to hate it like i hate most of the other versions of ‘healthy’ mac and cheese. I ended up actually loving it even more than Kraft or really any of the other box stuff. They’re expensive compared to the other brands but to me it worth it. I kinda don’t buy the whole “healthy” claims because at the end of the day it’s processed food from a box but if you just eat it for the taste it’s pretty top tier imo,” a third said.
Amy’s Frozen Organic Macaroni & Cheese
Target
I will die on the hill that you can never go wrong with Amy’s Frozen Organic Macaroni & Cheese. The health-oriented brand always delivers wholesome, delicious food with minimal ingredients that never leave me feeling gross. The organic macaroni & cheese, sold in the freezer section, has a simple ingredient list that doesn’t scare me: organic macaroni, organic lowfat milk, white cheddar cheese, butter, organic sweet rice flour, sea salt, and organic annatto. “My 14 year old tried this for the first time and loved it. He says it’s better than the Kraft he swore at one time was the best,” a shopper says. “Best frozen Mac and cheese I’ve tried and I’ve tried them all,” another says.
Leah Groth
Leah Groth is an experienced shopping editor and journalist for Best Life and Eat This, Not That! bringing readers the best new finds, trends, and deals each week. Read more about Leah
