Boxed Mac N Cheese Is Still Mac N Cheese

Macaroni and cheese may be the best side dish in the history of side dishes.  Am I wrong?  Nothing beats a great homemade mac and cheese.  To be honest, making homemade mac and cheese isn't that hard but it does take some work.  Let's not sleep on the boxed mac and cheese now.

Who has the best boxed mac and cheese?  That was the question that The Daily Meal on MSN.COM asked.  They went through the good, the bad, and the ugly to find the best of the best.  Some are better than others. Some good, some bad.

Some of these are just odd and some make sense.

Most of the boxed mac and cheese takes just minutes to prepare and for the most part, the price isn't bad.  Who knew there were so many different brands of Mac & Cheese in a box?

Homemade mac n cheese isn't as hard as ya think.  Over the past few years, I've taken on many different recipes and I even made a crock pot mac n cheese.  The recipe I stole took it to a whole new level and even changed the name of it to "Cheese & Mac".  Now, when I saw that, I was taken aback just a bit. But once explained, it made sense.

Down South, we love cheese.  We will put it on just about everything.  I mean most of us have a drawer in our refrigerator just for cheese.  The recipe I used had 5 different types of cheese and that's the reason it was Cheese & Mac.  Easter is coming up soon, so why not try homemade cheese n mac soon?

Until you are ready to break out the big guns and go all in on homemade, check out these top 4 boxed mac n cheese options.

To a lot of people, this one is going to make you go, what is Trader Joe's?  Well, it's just one of the best, if not the best, grocery stores in the history of all grocery stores.  The closest one to the CSRA is in Columbia, South Carolina.  Trader Joe's has a lot of store brands they carry but I will tell you that I didn't see this one coming from Trader Joe's.  Trader Joe's proves you can have one of the best meals ever and keep it kind of healthy by going organic.  Maybe a road trip to Columbia is on your to-do list now?

This is a classic.  This is a must-have of all the boxed mac and cheese products on the market.  In my early radio days and in college, I lived on the Velveeta Shells.  Quick easy and cheap at the time and it hit the spot.  It has been a hot minute since I've made a box of Velveeta Shells, but I feel a trip down memory lane coming on.  I probably could make this one in my sleep, I've made it so much.  Now I wouldn't recommend making food in your sleep, but you get it.

I will admit, I was shocked to see this one come in so high on the list, but it did.  There's nothing better than a big ol' bag of Cheetos while watching a movie or a TV show. But who knew that Cheetos made mac and cheese in a box?  This one is new to me.  I think my Publix run this weekend will include a box.  I may even crunch up some regular Cheetos and put them on top like the creator in the video did.  You can't say you don't like it if you don't try it.

With the top spot going to Cracker Barrel's Sharp Cheddar, are we shocked?  Pretty much anything Cracker Barrel puts their name on is going to be good.  I've had my fair share of the box mac and cheese from Cracker Barrel and I see why it took the top spot.  When I make homemade mac and cheese, I use the sharp cheddar. That makes the difference in the taste.  It has to be sharp cheddar cheese.  Plus when I make homemade mac and cheese, I do use Cracker Barrel cheese!