How Jack Black Makes His Kraft Mac And Cheese

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Jack Black has been America's silly little sweetheart for decades, but he somehow never stops finding ways to be the world's most relatable superstar. While on a press tour for their new movie Anaconda, Black and Paul Rudd appeared on Today, where Jenna Bush Hager asked about Black's skills in the kitchen. He answered in true big kid fashion: "I'm an incredible cook. I make an incredible Kraft mac and cheese."

Kraft may offer one of the lowest-quality boxed mac and cheeses out there, but hell — we all know it's still sort of the best. Some folks try to amplify the processed cheesy flavor by buying shakers of cheese powder online and adding it to the recipe. Black said he achieves the same results by pulling a "controversial" move: He opens two boxes of mac and cheese and uses both cheese packets, but only some of the pasta.

Though he was just being playful, he was pretty impassioned about how his mac is made. "There's an art to it," he said, wiggling his fingers mysteriously, "you've got to get the right amount of butter, the right amount of milk" (though he distinctly pronounced it "milch"). He also emphasized it's important that you mix the sauce together before dumping it on the macaroni. Folks say this helps reduce lumps of powdery cheese and lets you more evenly coat the noodles.

In our eyes, Jack Black can do no wrong. Even so, he does use ketchup in one of the most controversial ways one can use the condiment. When running through his mac and cheese routine on Today, he said "My secret ingredient: a tiny little squirt of Heinz ketchup," adding in a silly tone that "it's like marinara." He even went on to joke about throwing in some ground beef to make a bolognese. However, it wasn't exactly a joke; it just goes by a different name. He told WGN News (via YouTube) that one of his three signature dishes is cheeseburger mac and cheese (the other two were cheeseburger burritos and nachos). "Let me try to think, though, on a healthy tip," before he said all too quickly, "nope, that's it."

In all honesty, adding a little bit of protein is one of the ultimate hacks for making mac and cheese better. In Black's iteration, we imagine it makes a sort of Hamburger Helper-style dish with cheese sauce, a pound or so of ground beef, and, of course, a bit of ketchup for the more refined palate. However, if you ask us, we'd opt for some spicy ground sausage or pan-fried pancetta in our favorite boxed mac and cheese. If you're dairy-free, you don't have to miss out on Jack Black's favorite dish. Daiya makes a killer dairy-free cheddar cheese sauce that, when poured over noodles, feels like a mix between Velveeta and Bob Evan's mac and cheese.