Review: Kraft's New Boxed Mac And Cheese Varieties Offer Orange-Hued Hints Of Jalapeño And Ranch

I confess — I upgrade boxed mac and cheese. You can catch me in the kitchen with a garlic clove floating in the boiling brined water, before I sprinkle fresh herbs atop a steaming bowl of the orange manna, and then swirl sriracha into this college-student staple. You add milk to the neon powder? Buddy, I use heavy cream. You add butter? I'm using the grass-fed and cultured stuff.

I've experimented with aromatics, fats, proteins; you name it. I've saved tablespoons of the starchy cooking water to improve the sauce, and hopefully appease the ghosts of my Italian ancestors screaming at me for not using fresh pasta. And the truth is, you can only moderately improve on the basic article. In the final product, you're not adding to, so much as pivoting from, the powerful flavor, all for variety's sake. And variety is good! But so is the no-fuss satisfaction of an unaltered box of mac and cheese — particularly when I've been reviewing whiskeys all evening, and turning on a stove already tests the limits of my culinary prowess.

But what if Kraft upgraded its product for us? In that case, we'd enjoy such enhanced flavors with none of the extra effort. Well, great news! Two new flavors just dropped: ranch for you cream-loving cowpokes, and jalapeño for when the spice is nice. Let's try 'em!

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional products provided by Kraft.

Kraft knows its processed cheese; J.L. Kraft invented it, after all. So, newly introduced flavors of Kraft Mac & Cheese stick pretty close to what's worked for eons. But while the product's expansion has so far focused on new cheese combinations, pasta shapes, or even added cauliflower, the powder-based ranch and jalapeño flavors take this classic in a new direction by altering the flavor with herbs and aromatics. Both retain the yumminess of the nostalgic staple, while adding mild twists in their own directions. Look for ranch in a sky-blue box, while jalapeño resides in hunter-green cardboard. 

Nutritionally, both of these new flavors are very comparable to the original version of Kraft's powdery mac and cheese, which on its own has 250 calories per serving, with 2 grams of fat, 560 milligrams of sodium, 49 grams of carbohydrates, and 9 grams of protein. The ranch flavor has 270 calories, 3 grams of fat, 540 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, and 10 grams of protein per serving. The jalapeño variety arrives in the middle of those two, with 260 calories per serving, and 2.5 grams of fat, 540 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, and 9 grams of protein. But remember that each box contains three servings, and these nutritional values don't include the margarine or butter that the instructions recommend adding. 

Both of Kraft's new mac and cheese flavors are available now, and should be found pretty universally wherever you get Kraft products. While these ranch and jalapeño varieties might not show up on the shelves of your local gas station or bodega — places where the turnover is low on such shelf-stable stock — they'll definitely emerge among the row of Kraft options at a typical grocery store.

Price-wise, these products are going to vary a little bit by location, but should show up with something like the same price tag as the standard-issue stuff. You can expect to find them sold for the manufacturer's suggested retail price of $1.99, though it wouldn't be impossible to pay more at any grocery store where management knows you're not going to shop around for bargains. (I'm looking at you, mini-marts in beach towns and remote villages with cabin-rental economies.) 

If you're in it for the spice, don't get too hyped yet. This jalapeño mac and cheese brings more peppery flavor than any degree of heat. That makes sense. Kids are a huge audience for mac and cheese, and they're not historically masochistic when it comes to Scoville scorching. 

So, if you're someone who lives for treats with heat, and want to explore the boundaries of Scoville superstars that would pair well with our beloved orange pasta dish, you'll probably have to keep supplementing mac and cheese with jalapeño powder, urfa peppers, sriracha, or ... gasp ... chili crisp. Still, Kraft chose wisely with this slightly spicy addition, as jalapeño blends with mac and cheese well — your friends here at Tasting Table have no shortage of proof that jalapeño loves a creamy, cheesy recipe.

Overall, this is a good box of comfort that will add a subtle amount of spice without the need to invoke extra ingredients if you're, say, stocking up for a summer rental, camping trip, or anywhere else that you want easy, one-off meals with a bit more complexity than just pasta and powdered cheese. It's only more nuanced by a smidge, but hey, the kids will eat it, and it tastes up to standard. 

Ranch is a powerful flavor, as is Kraft's powdered cheese. You might expect the ranch component in this new product to taste bold to stand up to the cheese, but in truth, it's more of a mild accent atop the familiar flavor, not a complete replacement. It's certainly not a direct substitute for that awesome ranch pasta salad you'll want to make for the next summer barbecue. Your opinion about which seasoning flavor is superior will affect your enjoyment of this new mac and cheese variety, though perhaps contrary to the way you'd expect.

If you're not a ranch fan — as is the case for one of our taste testers — the marriage of this cheese-and-ranch seasoning isn't going to convert you, and will more likely make you push away your pasta. It's not going to sneakily prove to you why ranch rules, under the guise of the mac and cheesy goodness you already appreciate. Instead, you'll just consider it as spoiling the classic Kraft taste. However, for those of us with the very American opinion that the entire world should be drenched in ranch dressing, we took one bite and said, "ooh, boy, that is good" — but more as a tangy Kraft version than as a rockin' ranch explosion.

In summary: Hardcore ranch fans will probably wish this flavoring went harder. Ranch-loving mac and cheese fans will consider it a pleasing switch-up. But ranch rebukers won't be converted by this box. 

Both flavors land closely enough to Kraft's original mac and cheese taste that the difference isn't dramatic. While the pleasant spiciness of jalapeño does deliver a nice effect and a bit of vegetal flavor, ranch will probably provide a taste more consummately devoted to what makes this boxed staple special. That is, the jalapeño tastes like slightly spicy mac, whereas the ranch definitely lands closer to, "Hey, this is ranch-flavored mac and cheese." All in all, neither flavor drastically departs enough from the main edition to stand out significantly, except as an accent.

However, that additional quality — be it ranch or jalapeño — might be evident to the point that it's not worth the venture for people who have a fixed mindset on what Kraft's mac and cheese should taste like. Long story short, it comes down to which flavor you enjoy more on its own. While the mac will lean into it with either new flavor, we think the ranch succeeds a little better. Neither is a big departure, just enough of one that it might put off people who find the flavors too alien from the classic Kraft taste.

Oh heck yeah, you should mix Kraft's ranch and jalapeño flavors. Who doesn't love a spicy ranch? Go crazy and add chipotle powder to the mix. This is a low-risk test, and I will absolutely eat it if you aren't going to finish that. 

Following the initial taste-testing of these boxes, I mixed the two flavors together and let them mingle in the fridge for awhile. Though this didn't significantly change either flavor, I would say the combined effect pushed the sum further past the "basic mac and cheese with a je ne sais quoi" level attained by either on its lonesome. To put it another way, when I took a fat forkful of the mixed stuff cold from the fridge to write this section, I wasn't able to stop at one bite. The herbs and aromatics of the ranch definitely benefited from the mild heat of the jalapeño.

In fact, why stop there? Instead of mixing the flavors cooked separately, blend the powders before rendering them into a sauce. Here's a tip if you struggle with Kraft lumps: whisk the cheese powder into the milk in a separate container first; a glass bowl lets you see that it's thoroughly incorporated. You can also make an ad hoc béchamel by adding the powder to melting butter before adding the milk, though I'm probably committing a food crime in France by employing that term for a Kraft sauce. 

Varieties of a good comfort food seems like a no-brainer, but they only work if they taste good. If you don't expect a whole new world, these are quite satisfying new ripples on the cheese-scape. If you ordinarily enjoy Kraft's mac and cheese, try these fresh flavors with an attitude that this will be a dish you love played in a slightly different key, and you'll be happy with your purchase.

However, if you're after taste intensity, skate the rainbow's edge to flavorville by adding enhancements yourself, or amplifying these boxes as a base. Grab a preferred bottle of store-bought ranch dressing and some pickled jalapeño rings, and take this pasta-salad concept to a satisfyingly tangy conclusion. 

You only live once, so why not experiment? You could save the ranch-infused cheese packet for tomorrow's scrambled eggs, and meanwhile toss some elbow macaroni in straight ranch dressing. This approach might even be less labor-intensive than dissolving that powder among the pasta in the pot. The great thing about mac and cheese — as with the college years when it becomes such a reliable foodstuff — is that it's a great playground for experimentation.