We love mac and cheese. It’s the whey to our heart! There’s seldom a better feeling than coming back to your dorm after a long day of classes, clubs, co-op, all the other Northeastern student C’s, and enjoying a creamy, comforting pot of instant mac to fill your empty belly.
Childhood nostalgia foods are in high demand for university students looking for a taste of home, and it’s one of the most iconic classic American “kid foods.” After a long summer of enjoying your mom’s famous casserole and your little sister’s triple cocoa chocolate chunk cake cookies has come to an end, we all dread the feeling of returning to campus knowing that our next meal is coming from the one and only Steast, or even worse, IV (controversial Ruby hot take). Some might be excited to chef it up in the West Village kitchens, but for most of us, cooking our meals can become more of a hassle than what it’s worth. There’s a large variety of “quick-prep” meals easily available to us, but one of the most classic college-kid friendly meals would have to be that delicious pot of creamy cheese and pasta. Coming in a variety of forms ranging from homemade to frozen meals, the wide assortment of shapes and flavors that the mac and cheese market has to offer can make it overwhelming to pick one to bring home for dinner.
Mac and cheese as we know it today is very much an “American” food, but as with almost all American foods, its true roots lie elsewhere. Pasta with cheese is generally considered to be an Italian invention that goes back at least as far as the 14th century, however the processed cheese that we so strongly associate with instant meals was originally invented in Switzerland. The United States adopted this processed cheese so heavily that the very definition of American cheese has come to mean highly processed milk-based “cheeses.” Mac and cheese has remained popular in the U.S. since being “invented,” surprisingly, by our French-loving founding father, Thomas Jefferson. Lin Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” left this part out of the musical, but Jefferson’s enslaved chef, James Hemings, was the first person to cook mac and cheese at Jefferson’s request. He was clearly very pleased with the dish, and word spread just as fast as smallpox.
But we digress. Now the only question that remains is: which mac & cheese is truly superior? How can we know which mac and cheese will be the best aspect of your girl dinner? Don’t fret; we have gone out and tried five of the most popular brands to help determine the winner! We’ve ranked each of the five macs on a five point scale according to the following categories: cheesiness, affordability, aesthetics, convenience, yummability and the average overall score. Each selection was prepared carefully according to package instructions (with a substitution of oat milk). Here is our final, personal, undoubtedly accurate, official mac and cheese review:
Kraft Mac and Cheese Cup
- Cheesiness – 3
- Affordability – 4.75
- Aesthetics – 1.5
- Convenience – 5
- Yummability – 2.5
- Overall – 3.35
Coming in at last place is the microwavable Kraft Mac and Cheese Cup with an overall score of 3.35. While this option is conveniently served at Northeastern’s very own Outtakes, you really get what you pay for (which is nothing). The portion is not enough for a meal, but maybe a side. The noodles are soft and give vague notes of packaging, which can only be expected from a microwavable meal. The cheese is strangely tangy, and the pasta is clumpy, congealed, and oddly sticky. However, what it lacks in taste, it makes up for in the ease to make it and price. Would we recommend this one? The signs point to no; the mac and cheese market has some better finds out there.
Stouffer’s frozen
- Cheesiness – 4.5
- Affordability – 3.5
- Aesthetics – 3
- Convenience – 4
- Yummability – 3
- Overall – 3.6
In fourth place is Stouffer’s Frozen Mac and Cheese getting a rating of 3.6. This meal came with enough mac and cheese to feed the both of us for the small price of $4. Coming as a frozen meal has its perks as there are no other ingredients needed to prepare this meal, but of the rest of the options in this list, it did take the longest prep time with a total of 11 minutes in the microwave (or 40 minutes in the oven). Maybe this dish is best for the girlies who don’t share a kitchen. Stouffer’s mac and cheese gives off fast food restaurant side-dish vibes; think Wawa or Chick-Fil-A with its stomach-shattering, thick cheesy sauce. However, we found this one to have a very sour aftertaste which is good news if you like sour cheese, but we weren’t the biggest fans. It’s convenient, worth the price and cheesy, but it’s giving questionable kid cuisine.
Velveeta
- Cheesiness – 4.5
- Affordability – 4
- Aesthetics – 3.5
- Convenience – 4
- Yummability – 2.5
- Overall – 3.7
Our third place contender sits at a mid ranking for a very mid dish. Velveeta Mac and Cheese earns an overall score of 3.7. As far as cheese goes, Velveeta is about as far as you can get from “real” cheese, as it is mostly made of milk and oil substances. With such a strong flavor, you really have to love the taste of Velveeta to enjoy this pick (and personally, we do not). However, the portion size for this mac & cheese is hefty and contains about three servings per box for only $4. That’s the kind of girl math we love. Velveeta is also simple to make and requires no added butter or milk to enjoy the dish. The sheer amount of sauce, and the appeal of this mac is considerable, but our bias against Velveeta cheese flavor came into play when we gave our final ranking.
Goodles
- Cheesiness – 3
- Affordability – 4
- Aesthetics – 4
- Convenience – 3.5
- Yummability – 4.2
- Overall – 3.74
Goodles pasta is actor and model Gal Gadot’s very own healthy mac & cheese brand, but don’t let that scare you! This pasta actually tastes good, is packed with protein, comes in multiple shapes and flavors, and has inclusive options such as gluten free and vegan. It’s surprisingly popular and easy to find at most grocery stores outside of campus and truly worth the price at $3 per box. The pasta is made from protein-packed vegetables but tastes just like regular old noodles, and you have plenty of control over how much it should be cooked. We chose the flavor “Shella Good,” which is a delicious aged white cheddar cheese with shells most similar to Annie’s classic mac. We highly recommend trying other types and flavors; who doesn’t love variety? She lost points for a thin, watery cheese sauce that slipped off the pasta and slightly pooled at the bottom. It is a woman owned brand, so this was mostly forgiven in flavor (but never forgotten). This pasta is almost as wonderful as the woman herself.
Annie’s
- Cheesiness – 4.5
- Affordability – 4.5
- Aesthetics – 3
- Convenience – 4
- Yummability – 4.7
- Overall – 4.14
Our top pick for best mac and cheese goes to Annie’s Shells and White Cheddar with a beautiful score of 4.14 stars! The perfect shape of the pasta with small, ribbed shells allows for the perfect cheese to pasta ratio. The recommended cook time is perfect allowing for Italian-approved al dente pasta with some bite to it. You don’t have to worry about inconsistent amounts of sauce in each bite. The white cheddar is neither too faint nor too overpowering and has a very natural, non-artificial taste as compared to some of the other brands that we rated. There’s just a bit more pasta than heavy cheese which is a great combination. We give a warning that if you don’t mix the powder with enough grit, it can leave a filmy, powdery sauce that isn’t fully meshed into the pasta. That being said, if directions are followed, the consistency of the sauce is just right and can easily be tweaked to your desire by adding in more or less milk. This organic brand can be found at just about any grocery store near campus and will only set you back about $2, a beautiful price to pay for the most comforting and satisfying meal!