Is Kraft's New Mac & Cheese Deluxe Frozen Worth the Hype?
Last week, Kraft launched the newest item in their cheesetastic lineup: frozen mac and cheese dinners. Believe it or not, this is the company's first venture into the frozen foods category for their Deluxe offerings, since before now, Kraft has only been found on grocery shelves in their slim, iconic, blue-and-yellow box. We gave it a whirl in the microwave to see how it stacked up against the original.
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What is the new Kraft Deluxe mac and cheese?
The newest mac and cheese from Kraft is their frozen Mac & Cheese Deluxe, which is a single-serve meal that's available in two flavors, Original Cheddar and Four Cheese. The products feature perfectly cooked macaroni pasta covered in a creamy, homestyle cheese sauce and topped with real cheddar cheese.
Kraft says that the new formulation of mac and cheese was born out of necessity because people are turning to their favorite comfort foods more than ever before and are buying frozen foods for the sheer convenience of having dinner on the table in less than 10 minutes. And indeed, these new cheesy frozen meals require minimal prep, cooking time and clean-up.
What does the frozen mac and cheese taste like?
The meals come out of the microwave in about six minutes flat and are totally ready to eat. There are no additional ingredients required (unless you get creative with some mix-ins). The cheese sauce is that bright yellow-orange hue that reminds you of your childhood and is mixed with the perfectly-cooked al dente elbow noodles. The two flavor offerings are a bit different. There's the classic original cheddar and the four cheese.
The original cheddar tastes and looks like an updated version of the dried boxed stuff. However, I didn't think it was nearly as tangy or salty as the original. I thought it was a tad bland and could have benefitted from some oomph, like a mix-in or two. I was surprised that it wasn't saltier, considering each serving is over 1100mg of sodium. Texture-wise, it reminded me of homemade mac and cheese while the boxed version is that bright, slippery, cheesy OG Kraft that I grew up eating. I thought it was definitely creamy, and much creamier than the original. The larger macaroni shape was my favorite part of this bowl since the silky sauce coats each and every bite of the pasta.
And then there's the four cheese, which is a bit sharper with the addition of mozzarella, Asiago and Parmesan. I liked the taste of this one better ultimately, but the cheese sauce didn't coat as well as the original cheddar and was a little thin. There was also a noticeable sprinkle of the "real cheese" they promised on this one, but it was missing from my box of original cheddar.
What is the difference between the new Kraft Deluxe mac and cheese and the dried, boxed version?
The main difference is that the newer, frozen versions don't require any extra ingredients like butter or milk. You also don't have to boil the pasta and then add the butter, milk and cheese sauce. This is a one-and-done heat-and-serve meal, which I appreciated. There are directions on the box for baking it in the oven too (but who has time for that?). The other difference is in the nutrition facts. While the boxed stuff clocks in at 250 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving, eating the whole bowl of Deluxe is 630 calories and 30 grams of fat. The elbow noodles are much larger than the dried version but it still has that same mac and cheese look, feel and sound as the one you grew up eating.
Related: 13 Boxed Mac and Cheese Brands That Taste Better Than *Dare We Say* Homemade
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Kraft put a fun spin on this release too, designing a sweater along with their mac and cheese so you can eat your dinner and, uh, wear it too. The sweater is inspired by the classic Fair Isle sweater design, and Kraft is cleverly calling it the "frozen (a)isle sweater." The comfy oversized knit features alternating rows of the iconic noodle smile and snowflakes. They're only available on Amazon for a limited run, so once they're gone, they're gone.
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Where to buy the new Kraft Deluxe mac and cheese
You can find the sweaters on Amazon for $19.99 and the Deluxe mac and cheese bowls for $4.29 in the frozen section of Target beginning this month.
By The Cup Kraft Frozen (A) isle Sweater Blue
