Is Kraft’s New Deluxe Frozen Mac & Cheese Worth It?

Last week, Kraft launched the newest item in its cheesetastic line: frozen mac and cheese dinners. Believe it or not, this is the company’s first venture into the frozen food category for its luxury offerings, because so far Kraft has only been found on grocery store shelves in their box. thin, iconic, blue and yellow. We microwaved it to see how it compared to the original.

Related: This Hearty Recipe for Panera’s Macaroni and Cheese Tastes Just Like the Comfort Food Classic

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What is the new Kraft Deluxe Mac and Cheese?

Kraft’s newest macaroni and cheese is their frozen Mac & Cheese Deluxe, which is a single-serve meal available in two flavors, Original Cheddar and Four Cheese. Products include perfectly cooked macaroni pasta covered in a creamy homemade cheese sauce and topped with real cheddar cheese.

Kraft says the new mac and cheese formulation was born out of necessity because people are turning to their favorite comfort foods more than ever and 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 cleanup.

What does frozen mac and cheese taste like?

Meals come out of the microwave in about six minutes flat and are totally ready to eat. No additional ingredients are required (unless you get creative with some mixes). The cheese sauce is that bright yellow-orange hue that reminds you of your childhood and is tossed in 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 cheeses.

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The original cheddar tastes and looks like an updated version of the canned cured stuff. However, I didn’t think it was as hot or salty as the original. I thought it was a little bland and could have benefited from a little punch, like a mix-in or two. I was surprised it wasn’t saltier considering each serving has over 1100mg of sodium. In terms of texture, it reminded me of homemade mac and cheese while the boxed version is that shiny, 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 as the silky sauce coats every bite of the pasta.

And then there are the four cheeses, a little spicier with the addition of mozzarella, asiago and parmesan. I liked the taste of this one better in the end, but the cheese sauce didn’t coat as well as the original cheddar and was a bit thin. There was also a noticeable sprinkling of the “real cheese” they promised on this one, but it was missing from my original box of cheddar.

What’s the difference between the new Kraft Deluxe Mac and Cheese and the Dried Canned version?

The main difference is that the newer frozen versions don’t require any additional ingredients like butter or milk. You also don’t need to boil the pasta and then add the butter, milk and cheese sauce. This is a heat-and-serve meal, which I enjoyed. There are also instructions on the box to bake it in the oven (but who has time for that?). The other difference is in the nutritional facts. While the canned foods have 250 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving, eating the whole Deluxe bowl is 630 calories and 30 grams of fat. The elbow noodles are much larger than the dried version, but they still have the same look, feel and sound of mac and cheese that you grew up eating.

Related: 13 Boxed Mac & Cheese Brands That Taste Better Than *Dare We Say* Homemade

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Kraft also put a fun twist on this release, designing a sweater with its macaroni 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 cleverly calls it the “frozen(a)isle sweater”. The cozy oversized knit features alternating rows of the iconic smiling noodles and snowflakes. They’re only available on Amazon for a limited time, 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 Target’s frozen section starting this month.

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