There’s no denying that boxed macaroni and cheese is among the best comfort foods. Not only is it inexpensive and easy to make, but it’s buttery, cheesy, and channels comforting memories of childhood meals. There are many ways to upgrade boxed mac and cheese and I recently stumbled on a series of TikToks featuring Walmart's smoked gouda mac and cheese.
The Walmart Mac and Cheese Upgrade That Has the Internet Talking
“There’s this girl that I follow, Bella’s Bites, and she makes this super-cheesy mac and cheese with veggies in it,” TikTok user @talibrianna explains as she eats her own version of the dish. “Every time I see her eat it, I’m like I want that right now.”
As a lover of macaroni and cheese, that's exactly how I felt. Once I saw videos paying tribute to @bellas.bites' two-ingredient mac and cheese, I wanted to try it, too. Bella’s recipe looked fairly simple: While the noodles are boiling, add frozen mixed veggies to the water. Drain, toss in a pan with butter, and add the packet of cheese sauce, some extra cheese, and black pepper. The foodie TikToker frequently posts videos of her eating this macaroni and cheese dish along with proteins like chicken wings or sausage and it looks absolutely delicious in every video.
Bella tells Allrecipes she started sharing her meals on TikTok because food is a “universal love language” that “brings people together and tastes different in different places.” An added benefit to seeing so many TikTokers try her ultimate boxed mac and cheese hack? “People trying something new because they saw me eat it makes me so happy,” she says.
How to Make the Viral Walmart Mac and Cheese
While Walmart's Great Value smoked gouda variety is Bella’s go-to for this dish, she says her add-ins will boost any kind of boxed mac dinner. “I think you should make your food how you most enjoy it,” she says. “If there’s a version of mac and cheese you like better than the one I use, then use that—I’m sure it’s just as good.”
For Bella, the smoked gouda dinner kit just tastes the best. “Mac and cheese is, and always has been, a comfort food for me,” she explains. “I tried the Great Value brand because the box looked fancy and it instantly became my favorite.”
She also feels the dish is a great way to get in some extra veggies in an unexpected way. “I love vegetables, but don’t always consider them when thinking about comfort food, so I decided to incorporate them into the meal by just adding them into the cheesy goodness,” she says. “I don’t know about you, but I’d take cheese-covered veggies over plain ones any day.”
The creator's biggest tip for enjoying her version of boxed mac at home? “Eat it while it’s nice and hot,” she says. “The creamier, the better, in my opinion.”
And, when choosing a protein to serve with the pasta dish, Bella has a clear favorite. “You can’t go wrong with a good chicken wing and mac and cheese pair,” she says. “That’s definitely my favorite.”
I Tried the Recipe, and Here's What I Thought
I tried Bella’s mac and cheese recipe in my own kitchen and was blown away by the crunchy bursts of flavor brought to the dish by the mixed vegetables. Adding a bit of shredded cheese and butter made the classic dinner even more creamy, and the black pepper added the perfect pop of seasoning. I served my upgraded mac and cheese dinner in bowls with a few chicken nuggets on the side.
@bellas.bites Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
1 box macaroni and cheese (Bella prefers Walmart’s Great Value Artisan Crafted Smoked Gouda variety)
2 tablespoons butter
1 handful frozen mixed veggies
1 handful shredded cheese (whatever variety you prefer)
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
Add pasta noodles from the boxed macaroni and cheese to the boiling water.
About halfway through the noodle cooking time, add a handful of frozen mixed veggies and allow them to cook with the pasta for the remaining time.
Drain the vegetable-noodle mixture and return to the pot with the butter.
After stirring the butter until melted and mixed into the pasta and vegetables, add the cheese sauce packet and combine. (You can also add a splash of milk.)
Add black pepper and shredded cheese to the mixture and stir until combined.
How to Make Boxed Mac and Cheese Taste Better. To improve the tang and overall cheesiness of your boxed mac, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt to the cooked and drained pasta while it's still warm. Toss to combine, then stir in the cheese powder until it's uniformly blended.
Try adding a little more salt first, because that might fix it. If the problem was the cheese you use doesn't have much flavor, then try adding some other flavors, such has mustard or hot sauce.
Take boxed mac and cheese to the next level by experimenting with different combination of add-ins. Adding cold butter to the sauce and baking the mac in the oven helps with both texture and flavor. Incorporating things like real cheese, bacon, or leftover veggies can turn boxed mac and cheese into a full meal.
Add one tablespoon of milk per cup of macaroni and cheese to a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Heat to the desired temperature and add a touch of butter and extra cheese to finish the dish.
Great mac n' cheese needs one or more cheeses that melt well, and one or more cheeses that bring the flavor. The best melters include monterey jack, fontina, baby swiss, asiago, provolone, mozzarella, and alpine-style. Cheeses for flavor: cheddar, havarti, smoked gouda, gorgonzola, feta and any other of your favorites.
In a large pot over medium heat, combine the pasta and milk. Bring the milk to a simmer and cook until the pasta is tender, 8–10 minutes. Once the pasta is cooked, remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir until fully combined.
It's very easy to adapt. We like to ad cream cheese and/or sour cream, a little spicy brown mustard, and whatever cheese we have on hand. Sometimes we ad ground beef, ground turkey, sliced ot dogs or bacon, but its the rits topping on the top that makes it sooo good.
Letting the cup sit for a minute or so lets the cheese gel and makes your microwaveable mac and cheese taste so much better. Plus, it allows it to cool off a little bit so you don't burn all the skin off of the inside of your mouth.
Simply add ½ teaspoons of cayenne, black pepper, and dry mustard with a dash of nutmeg to a mixture of 1 egg and 1 cup (0.24 l) of heavy cream. Pour this spice mixture on top of your traditional mac and cheese recipe before baking.
Finally, using a plain yogurt is one of the best options for replacing milk in kraft mac and cheese! A plain whole milk yogurt or a greek yogurt would work well. Mix it in the same way you'd mix in sour cream, until it is well incorporated. This may have a slightly tangier flavor, but that is a personal preference.
Introduction: My name is Pres. Lawanda Wiegand, I am a inquisitive, helpful, glamorous, cheerful, open, clever, innocent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ar-frozen-food-hack-walmart-4x3-9b03ec9490ba45a1b52134ccc741e799.jpg "The 1 Ingredient I’m Adding to Boxed Mac and Cheese From Now On (1)")
