Upgraded Kraft Mac N Cheese
"This recipe came from a Kraft newsletter. It's very simple, takes the 'blue box' of mac and cheese and adds just a few ingredients and steps to make it taste a bit more homemade. Note that this calls for the "dinner" Kraft mac n cheese, which is the one with the packet of cheese that you squeeze out, not the standard one with the powdered cheese. If you have to use the standard variety, use 2 boxes and add more milk or sour cream, as it tends to dry out during baking."
photo by Caroline Cooks
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 6
- Serves:
-
5
ingredients
- 1 (14 ounce) package Kraft macaroni and cheese (dinner, blue box)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1⁄2 cup sour cream
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground red pepper or 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 butter flavored crackers, crushed (like Ritz)
- 1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine, melted
directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Prepare Mac n Cheese dinner as directed on package.
- Stir in 1/2 cup of the Cheddar cheese, the sour cream and pepper.
- Spoon into greased 1-1/2 quart baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese.
- Combine the melted butter and cracker crumbs and sprinkle over the top.
- Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Questions & Replies
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is it safe to fix and eat a box of this if it is a month past expiration date on box -
Are you able to make this ahead of time? Thank you! -
From reading recipe I thought that I should use the regular Kraft Mac and Cheese, with powdered cheese but one comment says that it should be box with the liquid cheese. Can someone clarify? -
do i have to use sour cream? -
For 14 ounces, does that mean it needs 6 boxes?
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Reviews
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I really wanted to doctor up the box of mac 'n cheese I had but was disappointed when I discovered I only had vanilla flavored almond milk left! I didn't even have sour cream, but I had a little over a 1/2 cup of french onion dip, and some panko bread crumbs. So, I decided to nix the milk and use the dip adding some water to add creaminess to the base. I chose black pepper and the results were amazing! The panko with butter baked so crunchy and I had extra sharp cheddar which was so good. That surprise flavor of the onion dip was really good.
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I have never liked boxed mac and cheese but this recipe changed that. The buttery garlic flavoured Ritz crackers I used, and crushed red peppers really kicked up the flavour. -
absolutely divine
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My Husband and I enjoyed this recipe very much !!! It was creamy, cheesy and delicious !! I omitted the cracker crumbs. Thank you for the recipe !!!
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Very delicious. We make this all the time. It's very easy to adapt. We like to ad cream cheese and/or sour cream, a little spicy brown mustard, and whatever cheese we have on hand. Sometimes we ad ground beef, ground turkey, sliced ot dogs or bacon, but its the rits topping on the top that makes it sooo good.
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Tweaks
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So today while putting my 15 month old down for a nap, I asked myself what am I going to make my picky little munchkin for for lunch. The first thing that quickly popped up in my mind was mac and cheese. I had quite a few boxes of Kroger box mac and cheese, but if I really wanted baby to eat, I knew I had to put some FLAVA in it. I followed your recipe, but added some extra to it. Since I cooked my noodles through not paying attention, instead of adding the cheese seasoning I added velveeta cheese, milk, butter, sour cream, shredded cheddar and parmesan cheese. I also added a little garlic salt into my boiling water for my noodles. I did not add the red pepper flakes though. It turned out so delicious and my baby was full and satisfied. I am learning more about cooking, but the more I research and try, I get my own little ideas and add my own tweaks. Thank you for this life saver recipe! Oh! and those ritz bitz crackers was a A+ Lady. -
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I add some pan seared red peppers, garlic and real bacon bits to this reciepe. Had a party and it got gobbled up like no tomorrow.. it was really flipping good -
I decided to add some Parmesan cheese and since I don't eat ritz crackers I used bread crumbs instead. It tasted yummy!
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Was very good but a little dry (my fault!) I added the full cup of cheese and mixed rather than have mixed in and 1/2 on top. Was still good, just extra cheesy! LOVED the cracker-crumb topping. Will use Ritz crackers for toppings instead of saltines when needed, gives it a buttery taste. Will make again; with2 small boys we have mac and cheese frequently so this will be a 'fancy' change. Made for Cookbook Tag 2010. -
I used two 7.25 boxes. Boiled noodles separately, al dente, set aside. Continued box recipe with butter, milk and cheese packets. Stirred in 2/3 sour cream and half cup cheese. Folded noodles back in. Poured half in a buttered dish and layered 1/2c cheese on top. Poured remaining half of mixture and added another 1/2c on top. Mixed 1T butter and 10 ritz crackers to make crumbles drier and then sprinkled on top. Baked for 25-30 minutes because 20 minutes didn't brown it enough. This is pretty good but in no way as good as from scratch and pretty much the same if not more steps.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
jaynine
United States
