Compare mac & cheese

Research · Mac & cheese

What our research found about mac & cheese

Boxed mac and cheese is a pasta plus a cheese-sauce mix, so there are two labels in one. The pasta can be wheat, whole wheat, rice, or chickpea; the sauce is cheese powder or a liquid pouch, often with whey, milk proteins, starch and salt. Color usually comes from spices such as paprika, annatto or turmeric, though some products have used synthetic dyes; the ingredient list says which.

Sodium and saturated fat are the main nutrients to compare, and prepared quantities matter because the box instructions add butter and milk. Dairy-free versions replace cheese with nuts, starches and oils and are better compared with each other.

Products

141 brand

Full labels recorded

857% of the shelf

Maker says organic

0maker’s claim

List an added sweetener

0of 8 labels

List a seed oil

0of 8 labels

Typical label length

2ingredients (median)

Counts use complete, current ingredient labels only. Records without a published label stay unknown and are never counted as clean.

What to compare

• Color source. Check for paprika, annatto or turmeric versus Yellow 5 or 6.
• Sodium per serving. Compare as prepared, not just the dry mix.
• Pasta type. Whole-wheat, rice and chickpea pastas change texture and protein.
• Dairy-free options. Plant-based sauces use different bases; compare them separately.

References

1. Color additives: questions and answers for consumers U.S. Food and Drug Administration
2. Food dyes Center for Science in the Public Interest
3. Sodium in your diet U.S. Food and Drug Administration
4. Dairy Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health