I Tried 9 Frozen Mac and Cheese Brands—You’ll Never Guess Who Won

If there were a food to be dubbed America’s sweetheart, one could make an excellent argument for macaroni and cheese. When done well, the dish is luscious, rich, and as comforting as it comes. If you ask me, it’s never a bad idea to have a box stashed in the freezer for whenever the craving strikes or you need dinner in a pinch. That’s why I set off to try nine different frozen mac and cheese brands to see which delivers the most flavor and creaminess that’s sure to satisfy your deepest cravings time and time again.

What Makes Great Frozen Mac and Cheese

This is pretty straightforward: delicious pasta and a rich, creamy cheese sauce. Now, properly al dente pasta from a frozen pre-made meal is a bit of a stretch, but they should at least not be stale, hard, or rubbery. The sauce should be silky smooth with no curdling and a sharp, ideally bold Cheddar flavor.

How I Tested

In an effort to consume all the options at the same time, as hot and fresh as possible, I consulted the oven temperatures. Since three of them cooked at one temperature and three at another, I placed one group in my oven with three trays side by side on a baking sheet. The remaining three brands were cooked one by one in the microwave. Each mac and cheese was given a good stir before consumption and tasted multiple times.

9. Whole Foods 365 Mac and Cheese

I have always viewed Whole Foods as a lovely place, so I mean no disrespect with the following sentence: Nothing about the 365 brand mac and cheese is an enjoyable experience. From preparation to consumption, it is a pasta nightmare in a metal tin.

The microwave instructions consist of removing the lid, adding your own sheet of plastic wrap, poking holes in said plastic wrap, and microwaving, stirring partway through. And since the instructions are on the bottom of the tin, it makes it very hard to refer to after you’ve popped it in the microwave (hot tin!) The instructions also advise to not let the tin touch the sides of your microwave, which isn’t the most comforting feeling. That said, the oven instructions are less problematic.

Eating this was truly a challenge. Flavor-wise, it didn’t deliver much and I ended up tossing most of it out.

8. Lean Cuisine Comfort Cravings Macaroni and Cheese

Lean Cuisine’s offering understandably falls under its “Comfort Cravings” line, but I don’t think this would satisfy any mac and cheese craving. While Lean Cuisine generally does a good job of creating satisfying, nutritional offerings, mac and cheese is just a tough food to include in that category.

Creamy, cheese-laden dishes come with a good amount of fat. It’s just what makes them what they are. So this meal is exactly what you’d expect: watered down and barely tastes like anything at all. The ingredients list includes concentrated Cheddar cheese paste, which implies big flavor but I couldn’t detect it. If I were served this blindfolded, I’d probably guess it was pasta in an underseasoned Alfredo sauce since all you get is pasta and cream. This one’s just not worth it.

7. Tillamook Classic Cheddar Mac and Cheese

For whatever reason, Tillamook decided that regular macaroni and cheese wasn’t good enough on its own and added a bunch of crushed pretzels. Perhaps if they were crushed as finely as they are on the box and presented as more of a topping, it could make sense, but the pieces are in large chunks. Their addition makes the whole container smell yeasty and salty—you know, like pretzels—instead of cheesy and comforting. The pretzel chunks also create these clumps in the pasta, and since they’re frozen and then heated, they manage to be simultaneously soggy and hard. It’s just … really weird.

Pretzels aside, the elbow pasta is very large and has a bouncy bite. Overall, the whole thing tastes dry and the cheese sauce surprisingly lacks any distinct cheese flavor, which is such a missed opportunity. Tillamook, what happened? You made the best Sharp White Cheddar in the world last year!

6. Amy’s Macaroni and Cheese

Amy’s is a well-known brand and hopes were high, but this wasn’t very good. If anything, this pasta is salty, and not in the big cheesy way you want it to be. The mouthfeel feels like sauce that has been separated and there’s a strange graininess and starchiness that makes it taste kind of old or stale. In the end, the grainy part is what put this one in sixth place—it’s just too hard to get past it.

5. Kraft Mac and Cheese Deluxe Original Cheddar Homestyle

Unlike its stovetop brother, there is no flavor to Kraft’s frozen mac and cheese. Creamy? Absolutely. Seasoned? Nope. I wouldn’t say it’s good, but the more you eat it, the more you convince yourself it’s ok. And life is too short for “ok” mac and cheese. Even from a freezer.

4. Great Value Macaroni and Cheese

Upon first inspection, the mac from Walmart is clearly trying to be Stouffer’s. Not like anyone can blame them, Stouffer’s is pretty great. This one is pretty jarring at first, almost like stale cheesy pasta water, but it grows on you, especially after tasting the other options on this list. So while I don’t love the flavor, at least it has more of it.

3. Joe’s Diner Mac and Cheese

It’s at this point in the list that we get to options I’d be happy to have in my freezer. Trader Joe’s offering is the only one utilizing four kinds of cheese (Cheddar, Swiss, Havarti, and Gouda), and while I don’t need Havarti in my mac, it is tasty, well-seasoned, and tangy in all the right ways. The texture is creamy and not gloopy, culminating in quite an enjoyable experience. Awarding Joe’s Diner third place just comes down to my preference for a bigger Cheddar flavor.

2. Stouffer’s Macaroni and Cheese

The red Stouffer’s box is a familiar one for a lot of people. The nostalgic factor is pretty big—but it’s a leader in its category for a reason. The smooth cheese sauce is a little sweeter than some others, but it’s truly a classic mac and cheese. Plus, few things are greater than when you cook it a little longer and those crispy bits emerge around the edges.

1. Beecher’s “World’s Best” Mac and Cheese

Any product that calls itself the “World’s Best” on the package is just asking for it, in my opinion. But here, it actually tracks. Beecher’s is the only one on this list to use penne and the downside of that is that any bits that stick out of the sauce while cooking will harden, but it’s nothing a good stir can’t mostly remedy. Pasta shape aside, this is a really tasty mac and cheese. The sauce is incredibly flavorful—sharp and lovely—and the seasonings are vast (Lime juice! Apple cider vinegar! Thyme!) The small dusting of chili powder on top is a nice touch, too. Beecher’s is heads and shoulders above the rest and had my husband and I fighting over the final forkfuls when all was said and done.