The Worst Frozen Mac And Cheese: A Surprise Letdown From A Trusted Brand

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Earlier this week, Wegmans opened an upscale sushi restaurant in NYC that sells $190 caviar. Although, by our count, the grocery chain has another culinary area toward which it could direct a little attention. In our ranking of 18 store-bought frozen mac and cheese brands, Wegmans surprised us by falling to last place.

The official Wegmans website describes its Frozen Macaroni & Cheese as "Tender Cavatappi Macaroni in a Creamy Cheddar Cheese Sauce." Unlike many chain grocery stores like Walmart and Target, the individual products listed on the Wegmans website do not come with an accompanying section for customer reviews — and indeed, when it comes to the chain's frozen mac and cheese, this is a mercy. As our reviewer noted, "The issue with this is that there was literally no flavor. I wish there was an iota of flavor for me to talk about, but there just wasn't. [...] The texture of the macaroni was nice, not too soggy and not too stiff, which would've paired perfectly with an actual cheese sauce." How can this be?  

A closer look at the product's ingredients label reveals whole milk, light cream, corn starch, salt, spices, sharp cheddar cheese, and something called "Process American Cheese Product" (made from milk, water, cream, buttermilk, and salt). With the exception of the undetectable sharp cheddar and the nameless "spices" mentioned, nothing in this roundup registers as an especially flavorful element, and it shows in the mac's finished profile (or lack thereof).

Admittedly, the bar for frozen mac and cheese — or any frozen meal that features cheese as a star ingredient — isn't exactly high. As Jesse Pinkman of Breaking Bad aptly puts it, "I, uh, I eat a lot of frozen stuff. It's usually pretty bad. I mean, the pictures are always so awesome, you know? It's like, 'H*ll yeah, I'm stoked for this lasagna!' And then you nuke it, and the cheese gets all scabby on top, and it's like ... it's like you're eating a scab" (via IMDb). Beyond the frozen cheese textural liability factor, no brand name is infallible, either. We also aren't crazy about the roasted turkey or the spaghetti with meatballs on Wegmans' hot bar of prepared foods.

Still, one Reddit thread raves about Wegmans mac and cheese ravioli, served air-fried and smothered in Velveeta cheese. This alternative product could fill the void as an actually-flavorful mac and cheese stand-in. Although, only nine U.S. states have a Wegmans store at all, so by our count, foodies might be better off just grabbing literally any other brand of frozen mac and calling it a day. If it's stocked in your local supermarket, we recommend Beecher's, the frozen mac brand that topped our ranking and somehow totally lives up to its self-proclaimed "World's Best Mac & Cheese" slogan — whereas, with Wegmans, the product hardly even delivers on the "this tastes like macaroni and cheese" baseline.