Specially Selected Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is the ultimate in indulgent comfort food. What’s not to like about gooey cheese and cooked pasta?

Aldi sells several types of macaroni and cheese, from the cheap boxed stuff that comes with a powdered sauce packet to fancier boxed pasta with pouches of cheese sauce. There’s also ready-to-heat macaroni and cheese in the refrigerated section at Aldi. In addition, the grocer sells specialty mac and cheese from time to time, including pesto macaroni and cheese.

I spotted some new additions to the Aldi mac and cheese collection during a recent shopping trip: shell pasta with several different types of cheese, including smoked gouda, cheddar and Havarti, and white cheddar and black pepper.

Specially Selected Macaroni and Cheese cost $1.89 for a 12-ounce box at the time of publication. It comes in three varieties: Smoked Gouda Cheese, Cheddar and Havarti Cheeses, and White Cheddar and Black Pepper.

This is a Regular Buy, which means you should be able to find it at Aldi any time of year.

If you’re looking out for allergens, all of these flavors contain milk and wheat.

Nutritionally, these aren’t great for you, but you already know that because it’s mac and cheese. Each box has about 3.5 servings. One one-cup prepared serving has between 310-320 calories, 10 grams of total fat (13% DV), 3.5-4 grams of saturated fat (18-20% DV), 780-810 mg of sodium (34-35% DV), 44-45 grams of total carbohydrates (16% DV), and no added sugars.

Macaroni and cheese doesn’t get any easier to make than these boxed kits, especially because you only need water to make them. There’s no need for milk, butter, or other extra ingredients.

The boxes have instructions for cooking on the stove top. First, stir the macaroni into six cups of boiling water. Boil rapidly, stirring occasionally for 10-12 minutes or to desired tenderness. Drain the macaroni (do not rinse it) and return it to the saucepan. Cut open the cheese sauce pouch and squeeze onto the hot macaroni. Mix well until cheese sauce is melted and well blended.

My family like the White Cheddar and Black Pepper mac and cheese, which had good cheesy flavor and not a very strong pepper taste. I could see a few flecks of black pepper in the sauce, but I couldn’t really taste the pepper. You could always add more pepper if you want more of that flavor.

The Cheddar & Havarti Cheeses mac and cheese was also fine. It tasted a lot like similar boxed mac and cheeses, with a solid cheddar flavor.

We also liked the Smoked Gouda mac and cheese. It has a lighter color and slightly different flavor from a traditional boxed macaroni and cheese, and it’s good as well.

The Verdict:

Specially Selected Macaroni and Cheese comes in White Cheddar and Black Pepper, Cheddar and Havarti Cheeses, and Smoked Gouda flavors. They’re all good if boxed mac and cheese is your thing. They’re also all easy to make, requiring no additional ingredients such as milk or butter.