Fast Food Mac And Cheese, Ranked Worst To Best

Comfort food essentially follows one rule, and that's to make you feel good while you eat it. We can name plenty of foods that give us cozy vibes — side dishes spring to mind, like mashed potatoes or biscuits — but a giant bowl of mac and cheese? Yes, please. We'll devour it whether it comes out of the classic blue box or is made from scratch by grandma, but when you boil it down to accessibility, the almighty drive-thru has most of us beat. 

Nobody can claim you don't have choices, either. Tons of franchises deliver cheesy goodness while shaking up the ingredients to keep it interesting. However, that can lead to feeling stumped about where to go when all you want is to get in and out with your order. Add in disastrous pitfalls like plastic-like cheese and gluey sauce, and it doesn't inspire much confidence that there's anything better than the instant stuff. With that in mind, we've ranked fast-food mac and cheese from worst to best. See where your favorites stand. 

Elbow noodles are the defining feature of macaroni and cheese — it's no coincidence we refer to the pasta as "elbow macaroni," correct? So the fact that Boston Market uses rotini to craft its signature side dish immediately caught our attention. At a chain known for its meatloaf and rotisserie chicken, we know the mac craving will be strong. But an overly liquid sauce (if you can call it that) with gummy pasta just doesn't bode well for filling our stomachs.

First off, the punchy orange hue should be a hint that this mac goes extra heavy on the cheese. To our disappointment, the taste is much tamer than the "mixture of cheddar cheeses" lets on. Corkscrew pasta is an excellent vessel for trapping thick globs of sauce, but we found Boston Market simmers it too much.

Using al dente pasta and emphasizing the cheesiness could have brought its grade up, but when the broader market explodes with possibilities, we wouldn't trip over ourselves for a taste. And with a wealth of copycat recipes, there's no reason you couldn't make it yourself from scratch. 

Au Bon Pain crafts wholesome fare such as sandwiches and salads, so you might not suspect something as junky as mac and cheese to be on the menu. But alas it is. Simmered with delicate shell pasta and a Parmesan-cheddar blend, customers can grab a small, medium, or large helping. It's like the stovetop version you ate as a kid — a little smooth, soft to the touch, easy going down, and maybe even topped with chopped hot dogs and ketchup. 

Our first warning sign was seeing that Au Bon Pain's mac and cheese is classified as a soup, rather than a lone-standing noodle entree. Indeed, the section harboring giant vats of broccoli cheddar and tomato bisque is, in fact, the same place where you'll find the cheesy delicacy biding its time. The texture is so puddly and almost broth-like that it'll require a spoon to slurp up. While you're sipping away, you also won't sense much of the cheese's sharp zip. Considering you're spending more than commonly charged at the drive-thru, we think it's a tad dime-a-dozen for what you get. 

Does the mac and cheese from El Pollo Loco pass the test? After all, the Latin American chain isn't short on pairings to complement its flame-broiled chicken. With a lineup showing pinto beans and rice, it's difficult to see where cheese-drenched noodles fit in. Our takeaway is that on a location-to-location basis, it's fine. Some customers swear by it as a hidden gem, whereas others experienced slimy cheese sauce and water-logged elbows. At any rate, there aren't a lot of bells and whistles, which means it'll please any palate down to the absolute pickiest. 

Considering so much of the appeal comes from its simplicity, it's hard to fault a franchise for playing it safe. This is your standard saucy macaroni and cheese, down to the little elbows in a pureed yellow sauce. Piping-hot with plenty of cheese flavor, it manages to remain creamy without curdling from the steam. Who can ask for more? For the general preparation — and the budget — it does a decent job of satisfying the bare minimum, but it's not adequate for ranking among the all-timers.

The mac and cheese from Potbelly consists of generously sized elbows coated in a "creamy 3-cheese sauce." Throwing in a cup to go with your chicken club is standard practice, but the bigger bowl can also be a main course if you want. It's a humble, basic dish, but retains a richness that's far more elevated than the usual fast-casual fare. If you're unable to stomach plain pasta, Potbelly provides a few toppings to boost your bites, like crumbled bacon or red peppers.  

We can't specify the exact cheeses mixed in, but the paler coloring suggests white cheddar — a top-notch pick for melting smoothly and punching up the flavor profile. The sauce has a slight heft, and while the noodles are definitely tender, they don't completely clump together in a thickened mass. It's not gritty or mealy, just straightforwardly creamy. 

Potbelly definitely treads on the middle ground. While there are no red flags with the mac, it doesn't reinvent the wheel in any meaningful way. Our expectations for such a stripped-back dish could be high, but when you're aware of the possibilities for delicious fast-food mac and cheese, you want to see more. 

Other franchises might score higher on the baked front, but Popeyes packs a punch. As a decadent ode to the potluck staple, the homestyle mac & cheese gains on its competitors due to the abundance of gooey, creamy glory. Nobody was really talking much about the Louisiana Kitchen's past riff until the upgraded version dropped a few years ago, and we believe there's a valid explanation: The ingredients have improved. Actual dairy (butter included) puts points in Popeyes' favor. That ridiculously rich sensation filling your mouth? It's the real stuff at work. 

The indulgence is committed to the textbook definition. Without a doubt, mac aficionados tend to fall into two camps: Those wanting a blistered crust, or those who just gobble it straight from the pot. Neither is wrong, but Popeyes executes the first style pretty well. The cheese blankets the surface in an even coating, and the chewy shards of toasted cheddar get swirled about for a toasty little surprise. Not to mention, the sauce packs in a solid sharpness that's ideal with the Cajun-seasoned chicken.

Slim Chickens, an Arkansas eatery verging on 200 restaurants across the country, gets plenty of hype for its breaded tenders. But to sleep on the sides would do your family dinner a major disservice, since the menu veers into true comfort food territory with fried okra and potato salad. The macaroni and cheese is no exception and simply excellent. We enjoy the tanginess of the white cheddar along with the firmer elbow noodles that cradle pockets of thick cheese sauce. Having seen many macaroni noodles simmered to mush, cooking them al dente works wonders with the sturdier base. Gooey, yes — but not at all gluey. 

Regular and large containers are available for your lunch, but grabbing a small crowd or large crowd bucket will be inevitable for instant devouring. The comforting taste appeals to our inner kid, but suffice it to say, the flavor is a big step up — to the point that a soul food kitchen could sling it proudly without anyone being wiser. Any divergence from the radioactive orange sauce is also welcome in our books. Should you be close to a location, do yourself a favor and check this one out. 

In the takeout sphere, Panera veers pricier in the budget department. But if you ask us, splurging on the mac & cheese will always be a wise investment for satisfying your cravings. From top to bottom, these cheese-coated noodles have you covered for creamy decadence. The dish is mix-and-matchable with any sandwich or soup, or get a bowl (or for carb-lovers, the bread bowl) to really dig into the brilliance. The flavorful white cheddar, oversized shells, thick sauce ... it's hard to compete with its wholesome warmth. 

Upon breaking things down, it's clearly a signature dish for good reason. The cheese sauce clings beautifully to the springy noodles while being smooth enough to glide over the pasta. These aren't any old shells; Panera uses pipettes which remain one of our favorite shapes for viscous cheese sauces. They're sturdy with ample ridges, and for al dente fans out there, they come in handy for hoarding the melty cheese. At most it's a little salty, but otherwise, keep it in your back pocket for a rainy day.