33% Of Americans Said This Is The Best Brand Of Mac & Cheese
While Canada outdoes America in its mac & cheese consumption by a respectable 55%, the warm and cheesy comfort food is still a dinner time staple in the States. For instance, the Macaroni and Cheese festival, where ticket-buyers are entitled to unlimited mac & cheese tastings, is celebrated in four different locations across California and New Mexico. And New York-based ice cream company Van Leeuwen even released an exclusive Kraft Macaroni & Cheese ice cream flavor.
And while nothing beats a homestyle mac and cheese recipe, sometimes you just need the convenience of the boxed version. And these days, grocery store aisles are filled with everything from boxed Cheetos mac & cheese to white cheddar versions.
But of the many businesses offering mac & cheese options at the grocery store, a Mashed poll of 526 United States-based respondents revealed that one boxed mac & cheese brand stands above the rest.
Kraft was voted the number 1 company for mac & cheese
Kraft's boxed mac & cheese first appeared in 1937, per the official Kraft website. The company advertised its pre-packaged pasta as being able to fill a family's stomachs for cheap during the Great Depression. Decades years later, the brand is still known for its economical prices. Its storied history and affordability likely contributed to Kraft coming out on top, with 33.65% of Mashed's poll's voters naming it their preferred mac & cheese brand.
In second place was a mac & cheese brand that uses a different recipe but is still sold under the Kraft Company's umbrella (per Smithsonian). Velveeta's mac & cheese earned 25.67% of the vote. Following Velveeta was Stouffer's with 16.16% of voters' favor and then Annie's with 12.55%. The title of least-favorite mac & cheese fell to Marie Callender's; the company's lineup includes flavors ranging from Creamy Vermont to Kansas City Style Pulled Pork.
Mashed's survey suggests that Marie Callender's is at the bottom of the mac & cheese food chain. But by voting two of Kraft's brands into first and second place, respondents indicated that Kraft is the champion of mac & cheese.