13 Store-Bought Mac And Cheese Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Growing up, I basically considered macaroni and cheese its own food group. I frequently had it for lunch and dinner, and my parents would find plenty of ways to dress it up and add protein and veggies. I've had many macaroni and cheese bowls full of tuna, peas, and other canned ingredients that will take your mac and cheese to another level. Although I haven't created many of these mixes as an adult, the smell of some canned tuna brands will forever remind me of macaroni and cheese.

Now, as a parent, I regularly prepare mac and cheese for my son, taking the prerequisite tax out by the spoonful to savor a bit of that cheesy goodness. Even though we are a Kraft family, I wondered if the blue box brand was really the best macaroni and cheese out there. To put it to the test among the many competitors on grocery store shelves, I gathered boxes of macaroni and cheese from competing brands and sampled them over the course of a week. In the end, I was surprised by the results, perhaps even finding a new family favorite.

When gathering macaroni and cheese brands for this ranking, I knew I had to try Banza's chickpea cheddar shells. I had given this chickpea-based pasta brand a shot a few years ago, and, admittedly, assumed I must have made it wrong since it turned out so terrible. I hoped this macaroni and cheese would redeem my previous attempt. However, that was not the case.

As I cooked this pasta, I noticed that it simply started to fall apart. To make matters even worse, the directions ask that you rinse the pasta, providing even more opportunity for breakage. After the rinsing (which can ruin mac and cheese), the pasta then went through further torture as I incorporated the squishy cheese sauce. With the necessary stirring needed here, the pasta only disintegrated further. I hoped the mixture would at least taste okay.

Before I even took a bite, the smell of the dish revealed that it would not be high on my list in any respect. It just tasted and smelled off. Between the odd breaking apart of noodles and taste, I couldn't eat more than a spoonful to test this pasta. Those looking for a gluten-free option simply deserve a better choice.

If there's one thing you know about Cheetos, it's probably that the crunchy snack leaves behind a bright orange color, forever shading little fingers during snacking (and anywhere else unlucky enough to fall victim to the crunchy snack). This same Cheetos dust is the primary flavoring factor in Cheetos' bold & cheesy Mac and cheese. I'll admit that I certainly should have expected this, but I simply didn't. So, when I tasted this macaroni and cheese and found that it tasted and felt like mushy Cheetos, I was out.

Not only is the coloring super bright orange like the classic snack, but it also clumps as you try and incorporate it. My husband didn't hate this one as much as I did. He must have gone in with reasonable expectations, but he was quick to notice that it's the type of macaroni and cheese that must be eaten hot. As it cools to room temperature, you just won't enjoy the flavor or texture. I placed this one near the bottom of my list because the combination of the texture and the recognizable flavor just didn't translate well to this comfort food.

While not as bad as the Banza, I'll be the first to admit that Jovial's organic gluten-free mac and cheese was still one of my least favorite offerings. That said, it was definitely the best gluten-free option I tried.

The pasta itself is brown rice pasta. The texture of the pasta was convincing enough to feel like regular al dente pasta, so I certainly give that credit where it's due. In flavor, though, I felt it just wasn't cheesy enough. It tasted more like an Alfredo-type dish than macaroni and cheese, and it wasn't just because of the color of the white cheddar. As I ate a few more bites, the flavor grew on me, but if you added some salt and pepper, I can imagine the pasta substantially improving. The brand also has a vegan mac and a truffle mac, both of which are also gluten-free.

The least expensive macaroni and cheese I tried came from Walmart's Great Value private label. The blue box cost only $.68, though as I write this, it's actually on sale for $.58, making it even cheaper than the Market Pantry macaroni and cheese. Looking at the box on the shelf, you would notice that it very closely resembles a Kraft macaroni and cheese box, and I have to imagine this is by design because Great Value's version is a clear attempt to copy Kraft macaroni and cheese. It has the same kind of elbow noodles as what you might expect from the typical blue box, and of course there's a powder packet to stir in.

While I found the flavor to be pretty close to Kraft macaroni and cheese, the cheesy flavor of the powder resulted in a cheese sauce that closely resembled more of a fake nacho cheese flavor. It was obviously artificial-tasting but still enjoyable. The most interesting part of this whole box of macaroni and cheese was where the actual cheese powder packet was located. Many brands are careful to put the packet of powder toward the top. But in this case, the foil-wrapped pouch was buried precariously at the bottom of the box. If you go to make this version, you'll definitely want to note the location of this pouch, because I can easily imagine the situation where you dump the box of pasta into your hot water, and the cheese powder packet simply goes with it.

For a few more pennies (or a single penny, depending on sales), you could grab a box of Market Pantry's macaroni and cheese from Target. Like many of the store brands, Market Pantry's model for its mac and cheese is obviously the classic Kraft variety. However, if Market Pantry was going for similarity in color, it definitely missed the mark here. 

The very first thing I noticed when I went to pour the powdered cheese in with the hot noodles is that it has an obvious pink color. Granted, this color became much more normal with the additions of milk and butter, but the initial coloring of the powder definitely threw me for a loop.

After a few bites, I found that it tasted exactly like the macaroni and cheese I already knew, and I found it to be pretty basic overall. In fact, by the time everything was all mixed up and cool, my son enjoyed it just as much as he does Kraft macaroni and cheese. If you're hoping for a store variety that saves you a little bit of money, Market Pantry is a solid option. I'm rating it a little lower simply because of the odd coloring of the powder. It might throw some customers off.

One of my favorite store brand options came from Good & Gather. I found it to taste a little cheesier than typical Kraft macaroni and cheese, but still somewhere in the middle of the overall ranking. I found that there were definitely macaroni and cheeses that tasted not as good as this one, but there were certainly others that won the taste competition overall.

In general, Good & Gather offers a solid basic. Like the Market Pantry, it'll probably fool any kid you're looking to serve regular macaroni and cheese to. I admit that I slightly preferred the design of the box of this one more than others. It has a very elegant and simple look, and because of its dark blue color, it also feels like a grown-up version of macaroni and cheese, even if it's basically the same thing.

When I moved to Florida, I quickly discovered that although Publix is a very popular grocery chain in the state, it's also pretty expensive. Even still, I have found that the store label items from Publix are typically excellent replacement options. It might come as no surprise, then, that not only was the Publix macaroni and cheese my favorite of the stores' private label options, but it was also more expensive among them, though the price was still pretty low at $1.07.

Like several of the other macaroni and cheese types I sampled, the powder had a slightly different color than I anticipated. Here, it was a much lighter yellow, though it mixed very evenly with the milk and butter. The resulting macaroni and cheese was a very tasty one with just the right amount of gooeyness and cheesiness you want from a macaroni and cheese. The noodles were very basic and nearly identical to a typical Kraft noodle.

I have used Rice-A-Roni in many casserole recipes, so when I saw Mac-A-Roni as a brand of macaroni and cheese, I was eager to try it. I picked up a box of the creamy cheddar and found that it definitely lived up to that name. The sauce came together very nicely with a rich color and flavor. Not to mention, the elbows were a little bit thicker and curved. Even though I love a more typical thinner Kraft noodle, these bigger noodles have the effect of creating a richer feeling macaroni and cheese.

In general, this tasted like something of an elevated classic. It was a little surprising coming from the brand because I didn't know it existed before I went looking for it. Mac-A-Roni is definitely an underappreciated option on the macaroni and cheese shelves at your local grocery store. At $1, it's also around the same price as a typical box of macaroni and cheese, so that's always a nice perk, too.

If you want your macaroni to do a little more work for your body, check out the Goodles line of original macs in a variety of flavors, including some vegan and gluten-free. The noodles are made to include chickpea protein with nutrients extracted from cranberries, various types of mushrooms, and favorite veggies like pumpkin, broccoli, and kale. I'll admit that I went into this brand a little skeptical, but it was definitely better than I expected, landing this brand of macaroni and cheese in the upper part of my overall ranking.

I picked up a box of the Shella Good variety, and I found this macaroni and cheese had stiffer noodles that were more al dente, even when cooked on the far range of the recommended allotment of time. I found the cheese sauce was rich and even veered into Alfredo territory, though still remaining a tasty macaroni and cheese. I can imagine most people enjoying this one, but the cheese may taste a little too sharp to some and the noodles may not be quite the right texture, even if I enjoyed them.

Annie's has quite the lineup of macaroni and cheese options, including shaped noodles, different sauces, and still others that are vegan or gluten-free. For this taste test, I sampled the classic cheddar mac & cheese. Mixing it in, the cheese felt a little clumpier than other brands and definitely needed some serious stirring to incorporate. All the stirring, though, paid off to reveal a rich and flavorful sauce that tasted less artificial and boxed than others.

In my kitchen, I have long relied on Annie's products to offer options that are tasty with a homemade feel, even when they come pre-made (the cinnamon rolls from Annie's are some of my favorite canned options). I hoped Annie's macaroni and cheese line would deliver, too, and I was impressed, though not as pleased as I hoped to be. I honestly expected Annie's to take the top spot, but there were others that were simply better.

Kraft macaroni and cheese is a near-pivotal part of childhood, and it's that kind of saucy, creamy goodness that's had parents (like me) stealing noodles for decades. Like many, my husband and I always have a stockpile of macaroni and cheese in our pantry (boxed mac and cheese takes forever to go bad, anyway). It's certainly one of my son's safe foods, and I'll admit that there are plenty of days I'd happily share a box with him. 

Nostalgic Kraft mac and cheese is the epitome of comfort food. It mixes together easily, has a short cook time, and is consistently great. In the end, it was also one of my favorite boxed mac and cheese brands in this ranking.

I anticipated that there would be a bigger divide between the Kraft variety and other brands that try to mimic the classic, but I found them all much closer than expected. However, Kraft did eke out ahead of the more simple varieties, like that of Great Value and Market Pantry. There's just a richness to the flavor that the others can't quite get to. So, why is this one not number one overall? Simply put, there were two brands that simply floored me.

Since Kraft was the macaroni cheese in my house growing up, I was largely unfamiliar with Velveeta before this tasting. After one spoonful, all I felt was disappointment for all the wasted opportunities for this rich, cheesy goodness. So many macaroni and cheese meals when I could have been tasting this?

While you may wonder if Velveeta cheese slices are even real cheese, the shells and cheese definitely are. With its cheesy, saucy, rich goodness, the Velveeta Shells & Cheese is quite the jump from Kraft-type macaroni and cheeses. I was unsure how I would feel about the cheese sauce (especially considering how terribly it had gone with Banza), but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the flavor tasty, the texture was excellent, and the shells were a hearty, enjoyable departure for me. In addition to an original offering, there are also bacon, broccoli, 2%, buffalo, queso blanco, and pizza flavors within the Velveeta lineup.

For everything that Velveeta turned out to be, the Cracker Barrel brand of macaroni and cheese cranked that right up. Perhaps it's no surprise that the reigning queen of all things comfort food would produce something as saucy and tasty as this version, but I found this box of macaroni and cheese to be anything but expected.

Like Velveeta, this brand uses a cheese sauce that you mix in, without the aid of milk or butter. Unlike Velveeta, the noodles were actual elbow noodles rather than shells. Though I enjoyed the different type of noodle with Velveeta, returning to the classic noodle here does give this one more of a cozy homemade sort of feel. I enjoyed the basic elbow shape, and I liked that it was a bit heartier looking than the typical Kraft noodles, which are a little straighter and more narrow compared to these ones.

I searched for every brand of macaroni and cheese that I could find at my local grocery stores. When selecting which box to sample from each brand, I chose the simplest option available for each one. In most cases, this was a yellow cheddar cheese. To rank these, I prepared each box according to the package instructions. With the support and opinions of my husband and mom, along with my own, I prepared these over the course of a week, typically at lunchtime. 

In the ranking, I considered such important aspects as texture and flavor. In the end, the macaroni and cheeses that were most enjoyable to eat had a texture that was soft without being too squishy, and a cheesy sauce that was the right amount of mild and sharp.