All The Varieties Of Cheese Costco Uses In Its Mac And Cheese

With 13 million followers on TikTok, Jordan Howlett (aka Jordan_The_Stallion8) is a bona fide social media sensation. In his videos, he shares secret recipes from restaurants or establishments that he claims treated him rudely or those that eliminated a popular menu item. Perhaps his most famous feud in the past year is with Costco, where an employee refused to believe that Howlett and the person in his membership card photo were one and the same. The recalcitrant employee ordered Howlett to return the mac and cheese he was about to purchase, and after that infuriating experience, Howlett filmed a video recounting what happened and, in a delicious form of revenge, he leaked the secret recipe for Costco's mac and cheese for us all to enjoy. 

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A simple mac and cheese recipe might only include one cheese, often sharp cheddar, but a mac and cheese that's a bit more luxe might have up to three cheeses. According to Howlett, however, Costco's mac and cheese recipe — now called "Costco Revenge Mac 'n Cheese" — is truly decadent with five cheeses: White Cheddar, medium Cheddar, Gruyere, Romano, and Parmesan. Gruyere is a surprising addition since this nutty and earthy French cheese is a lot more expensive than the other cheeses in the recipe list. A mac and cheese recipe usually starts with making a bechamel, and in the Costco recipe, it's unctuously rich with a stick of butter, a cup of cream, and three cups of milk. 

Making mac and cheese doesn't have too many rules, but if you would like to personalize the Costco version, you can try changing out the pasta shape and the cheeses. Many recipes — like Paula Deen's and Patti LaBelle's Southern-style mac and cheese — start out with elbow macaroni, perhaps in deference to boxed Kraft Mac & Cheese, which has a lot of additives, some natural, some artificial. Costco's recipe has cavatappi, which is a short, s-shaped pasta with ridges that hold sauces well. Other recommended pastas include ziti, penne, rigatoni, fusilli, and small shells. But any shaped pasta that is a good vehicle for carrying the gooey cheese will do. 

You could then use different cheeses that reflect your personal taste or create an upscale version. Cheddar is the foundation for mac and cheese, and of the one-and-one-half to two pounds of cheese you'll need, Cheddar — sharp, extra sharp, or white — should be at least half. The other cheeses should be melting cheeses, like gouda, fontina, or Havarti, and avoid bland cheeses like Monterey Jack and Colby. The cheeses you select should have a big flavorful punch, and if you're partial to blue cheese or brie (peeled), toss some in the pot as well. Or, if you're content with Costco's version, stick with the five cheeses the grocery chain uses to recreate a fan favorite. On a final note, Jordan Howlett returned to Costco and confronted the same rude employee, who again questioned Howlett's identity. In retaliation, Howlett leaked Costco's churro recipe next.