The Japanese Condiment That Transforms Boxed Mac And Cheese From Boring To Bold

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Nothing hits like boxed mac and cheese for a quick-yet-satisfying dinner on busy weeknights or cozy weekends at home. To take this convenient comfort food darling from mild to wild, all you need is one ingredient that might already be sitting in your refrigerator: Teriyaki sauce. Adding a splash is one of the absolute best ways to upgrade boxed macaroni and cheese.

The thick, glossy condiment offers a sweet-salty, tangy flavor profile from a mixture of soy sauce and sake (fermented rice liquor) or mirin (a sweeter rice wine with a lower ABV). It's often used to glaze meat, veggies, and tofu, but teriyaki sauce also makes a fabulous addition when stirred into a pot of warm, gooey macaroni and cheese. With teriyaki mac, American comfort food meets Japanese flavors, instantly delivering dimensionality with the caramelization of the sweet teriyaki glaze and a slightly sticky texture that builds subtle body in the already-creamy sauce.

To do it, cook the pasta as you normally might, drain it, then stir a splash of teriyaki sauce in with the other called-for ingredients when preparing your mac and cheese according to the package directions. No milk on-hand? Butter, a splash of pasta water, the included cheese packet, and a drizzle of teriyaki sauce are all it takes. Foodies can add as much or as little sauce as desired to suit their unique preference. To serve, garnish each bowl of teriyaki mac with sliced scallions and a generous sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

Here at Tasting Table, our all-time favorite brand of store-bought teriyaki sauce is Kikkoman Takumi for its impressive dimensionality of flavor. The brand blends its proprietary umami-bomb soy sauce with mirin, garlic, sesame, and onion for sweet-salty interplay that totally delivers — and it can take your next box of mac and cheese to another level.

To create an even heartier, more flavorful bowlful, foodies could also add other Japanese-inspired toppings into the mix. Feel free to take a cue from our easy teriyaki chicken recipe, which comes together in under 30 minutes and would pair seamlessly with this mac. Or, for a plant-based protein upgrade, you could top your teriyaki mac with the tofu and veggies from our teriyaki tofu and mushroom stir-fry recipe, building an ultra-hearty meal dotted with vibrant colors and textural diversity on the mouthfeel. Like it spicy? Teriyaki boxed mac could also be finished with a dollop of another versatile Asian condiment: Chili oil crisp. In fact, many other Asian ingredients from luscious, funky oyster sauce to miso paste can make mac and cheese unforgettable, and can be used in tandem with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce to create a complex mac. Bonus points if you pair this Japanese-American fusion dish with a Japanese beverage, like Sapporo or Asahi Super Dry beer, sweet-savory iced genmaicha brown rice tea, or a rich can of Royal Milk Tea to further emphasize the sweet notes of the teriyaki sauce.