I taste-tested and ranked 5 fast-food mac and cheeses to find the ultimate cheesy winner.
Unless you’re making a simple box of Kraft mac & cheese (also delicious and nostalgic), making homemade mac & cheese can be a lengthy process. Sometimes you just want a little bit, and in that case, there are plenty of fast food and chain restaurants that have delicious sides of mac & cheese that you can get your hands on quickly. That said, some are certainly better than others, with two fast food mac & cheese sides nearly tying for first.
Jess Kelly/Eat This Not That
Calories: About 330
The Look:
The worst by far was the Friendly’s Mac and Cheese. It honestly looked like the saddest one right off the bat. The noodles look overcooked, and the cheese sauce looks gritty. I wasn’t feeling very optimistic before even tasting it.
The Taste:
To no one’s surprise, yeah… it’s not good. There’s a flavorless wetness tucked between dry noodles, which is pretty unpleasant. There’s almost no creaminess, barely any flavor, and the texture is terrible. Friendly’s has some decent things on the menu, but this is not one of them.
Jess Kelly/Eat This Not That
Calories: About 140-540 based on size
The Look:
Next up was the KFC Mac and Cheese. The noodles still look a little overcooked, though not nearly as bad as the Friendly’s version. They’re very soft and floppy, definitely too mushy for my taste. I prefer pasta to have a little bit of chew to it, as I think most do.
The Taste:
The cheese sauce is decent, but definitely tastes pretty processed. It’s giving Velveeta. The texture is just alright. As suspected, the noodles are a bit too soft, and are mushing together. It’s definitely towards the bottom of the options out there, but at least there’s a bit of flavor there unlike the Friendly’s version.
Jess Kelly/Eat This Not That
Calories: About 960
The Look:
The Panera Mac and Cheese stands out at first glance because they use shell noodles instead of elbows. The shells hold onto the sauce well, and actually kept their shape well, showing me that they’re likely not overcooked.
The Taste:
There’s a little bit of sharpness to the cheese that I like. It’s definitely moving in the right direction. Plus the noodles have a bit of a chew to them, and a pleasant texture. Overall, a good option.
Jess Kelly/Eat This Not That
Calories: About 450
The Look:
At first glance, I thought the Chick-fil-A Mac and Cheese might be the best. It already has a big advantage adding in the crispy bits. When it comes to homemade mac and cheese, the crispy, slightly burnt cheese on top is arguably the best part. None of the other fast food spots had that, and it’s a huge plus.
The Taste:
This is the first one that actually tastes like real cheese. It has a strong sharp cheddar flavor that the others didn’t have. Those crispy bits on top give off the flavor of a Cheez-It with a slightly toasted, intense cheesy flavor. It’s definitely a significant step up from the other options.
Jess Kelly/Eat This Not That
Calories: About 300-900 calories depending on the size
The Look:
Popeyes kills it when it comes to fast food chains, so it shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise that their mac & cheese came in first place. The Popeyes Mac and Cheese didn’t look like much, but when I tasted it, it was the clear winner.
The Taste:
The cheese sauce is creamy, rich, and dense, with a strong, sharp flavor. Compared to Chick-fil-A, the cheese isn’t quite as sharp, but rather more balanced. It almost reminds me of pimento cheese. Compared to Chick-fil-A, Popeyes is slightly creamier and has a better overall flavor in my opinion. To me, it’s the clear winner!
Jess Kelly
Jess Kelly is an accomplished freelance writer and journalist with nearly a decade of experience contributing to renowned media outlets, including The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, AAA, Elite Traveler, Eater, Food52, Insider, Wine Enthusiast, Kitchn, AAA World Magazine, Thrillist, Conde Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, Hemispheres, and TravelPulse. Read more about Jess
