Don't Be Fooled By The Pretty Box. This Macaroni And Cheese Is The Literal Worst

Macaroni and cheese might be the most iconic pasta dish this side of the Atlantic. If a scratch-made mac and cheese casserole is too much work, there's nothing easier than tearing open a store-bought box that will be ready in minutes. Whether you've got hungry kids or want a comforting and nostalgic quick dinner, there are countless brands to fulfill your cravings. We tasted 16 different boxed mac and cheese varieties and ranked them according to the flavor and consistency of the sauce and noodles. The worst one? Bowl & Basket.

Bowl & Basket mac and cheese failed our taste test criteria on all counts. The box is an eye-catching blue with a giant bowl of steaming mac and cheese depticted on the front, but looks were certainly misleading here. The type of pasta in the image on the Bowl & Basket box are spirals, which are a great pasta shape for catching cheesy, creamy sauces. Unfortunately, the pasta that came out of the box was all broken up into bits and pieces. On boiling the pasta, our taste tester was left with a measly portion of oddly shaped pasta shreds. They gave the sauce the best possible chance by mixing in both milk and butter, but were still left with an underwhelming taste. On top of a muted cheese flavor, there was an offputting earthy spiced aftertaste which we can only guess is from the turmeric listed as an ingredient on the back of the box.

Bowl & Basket is the store-brand from ShopRite, a grocery-store chain in six Northeastern states. Like most store-brand products, Bowl & Basket is significantly cheaper than big-name brand counterparts. And while ShopRite fans over on Reddit praise certain Bowl & Basket products, the mac and cheese is a miss for us. Considering many states don't have ShopRites, the Bowl & Basket mac and cheese is easily avoidable. But even if you live near a store you should leave this box on ShopRite shelves. There are plenty of other store-brand boxed mac and cheeses we ranked much higher on the list from more widespread national chains. We liked Walmart's Great Value Mac and Cheese and Trader Joe's mac and cheese was one of our favorite boxed mac and cheese brands.

And if you're willing to shell out an extra buck, there's nothing like the classics. Kraft remains a fan favorite, and there are many different Kraft flavors to choose from. We ranked Goodles, a fairly recent brand, even higher, and it even has delicious gluten-free options. Most surprising of all, our top spot goes to none other than Cracker Barrel. 

If you want to spend even less time preparing a mac and cheese supper, you can check out our ranking of frozen mac and cheese brands wherein many of the same boxed brands appear. At the other end of the spectrum, you can upgrade boxed mac and cheese with a slew of easy additions.