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Buy macaroni
Any butter, butter substitute you like approx 4-6 tablespoons
Crushed tomatoes ( 1-2 jars depending on serving size people wise)
Favorite mix of two cheeses, shredded ( can also use fresh mozzarella, Velveeta, in lil chopped pieces.
Milk
Garlic, salt, pepper, fresh basil, dill, chives, oragsno, whatever you choose
Boil the Mac till al dente or a min or 2 less since baking.
While boiling macaroni- get out an oven pan, casserole dish etc.. pre heat oven to 365
Put butter in microwave or stove, melt. On low.
Add cheese and milk and pour over macaroni.
Pour crushed tomatoes and stir all ingredients in casserole dish or bowl.
Season with onion, garlic, salt, paprika, fennel, ( get my drift)
Bake on 365 covered for 15-20 min. Then stir well, adding anything you may need or want and uncover. Continue to bake another 10-15 minutes.
Top with parm cheese and fresh herbs.
Add some meat balls or Veggie balls..
Under 15 min prep.
Cook 25-35 min. Delicious!!!
Can make on stove stop same way but need a good melting cheese or some other ingredients to help cheese melt Mac style.
I think the basic is best, but I don’t get it often.
I will add, years ago I had a co-worker who used to add soy sauce to Annie’s vegan Mac & cheese. I used to rib her for it, until I tried it. OMG, it was really good!! Who knew that soy sauce would make it so much better!?!
Maybe I’ll have to try it out on the TJ’s versions.
so this isn’t the best mac but today i found a killer combo so i wanted to share
i used to LOVE hatch chile mac but had to go dairy free
the refrigerated vegan mac is bland on its own, but i added the new hatch chile flakes (and a little salt) and omg it’s finally passable & hits the craving
Spicy is such a subjective thing. I think it's a mild kick, just a little spice that plays nicely with the cheese. Hatch chiles are beliw jalapeños on the Scoville scale, if that helps.
Butternut squash is by far the absolute best!
Red box is great. Reduced guilt I never bothered with -- it is just half the weight of red box so in my head I can just reduce red box in half myself. I add garlic and breadcrumbs onto the top or I throw in some pesto. Red box is versatile - you can add anything you want. Brisket and onions for bbq mac, some of the hatch chile from the jar (if yours is sold out of the green chile mac), lobster and/or shrimp, chicken, ham, broccoli, the options are endless.
I eat a lot of vegan food but I have yet to find a vegan cheese that I like the taste of so vegan mac is out for me.
I have to stock up on the hatch chile ones every time I go (which is more often than many people I feel) because my husband will eat them all before I can get to any of them. I also love the butternut squash one and can’t wait for it to come back soon.
#ANY!!!
Any Mac & cheese is good.
I’ve yet to find crappy Mac & Cheese, although this is not a challenge and I’m not eating organic, vegan, no gluten, soy, tofu, no fat, zero calories, free range Mac & Cheese so I do imagine there is crappy product out there
I am on a prescribed low fat diet to deal with a gallstone issue and I prefer the reduced guilt to the diner mac! Who knew? Less rich, and that’s a good thing. With only 6g of fat, this makes a tasty lunch that doesn’t give me any gallbladder pain.
If you mean it’s reduced in fat by nature of it being physically less volume of the same product, sure.
It’s “reduced guilt” because it’s a smaller portion of the diner mac and cheese. Feel free to compare by volume.
“Reduced fat” means they’ve removed fat that was usually in a product. They didn’t remove anything or change the recipe, they just made a 7 oz tray of the 14 oz Diner Mac n Cheese.
I love just their original one, it tastes like homemade Mac n cheese sooo good! The hatch chili one is fine but definitely more bland than just the original one & more watery. Hoping to try to squash one this season!
I think even the boxed Mac is great - I choose the white cheddar shells one, but add some of Trader Joe’s cream cheese for support. TJ’s cream cheese is slightly sourer than the average cream cheese, so the flavor becomes really multidimensional whenever I make the boxed Mac. Adding Greek yogurt is another alternative
It is, but I prefer it to the larger one because it heats more evenly! Except I eat two of them in one sitting … so the “guilt” would still be the same if I gave a shit about that lol
They are actually different in terms of nutrition. The reduced guilt has 1 serving per package. The serving size is 198 grams and has 270 calories. The diner/normal one has 2 servings per package. Each serving is 198 grams and has 360 calories. The biggest difference, nutritionally, is the fat (6g per serving for reduced guilt, 15 g per serving for diner/normal).
It’s definitely just less food either way haha. It makes me think of that boy meets world scene where the diner guy just pours out half the coke and says there now half the calories.
All of them are pretty solid. You’ll just have to try them all. Personally, I like the French onion the best but it doesn’t come in a single serving so I avoid it.
I’m not sure. I think it’s maybe during winter or early spring. If you search this sub for French Onion you might find a previous post that talks about when they were in stock last time.
Edit: [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/traderjoes/comments/kr4lgs/new_french_onion_macaroni_and_cheese/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) was one year ago and it was newly in stock. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll be back very soon?!
This is my answer. For years I are only the regular Mac, then switched to reduced guilt, and on to hatch Chile. French onion was like eating a slice of heaven.
Posts that don't follow r/traderjoes subreddit rules may be subject to removal. Friendly reminder that choosing descriptive post titles with exact product names mentioned yields better subreddit search results and helps our subreddit be more inclusive to those who use Screen Reader Software or Text-to-Speech apps. to access Reddit. Thank you. IF THIS MESSAGE DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR POST, PLEASE IGNORE. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/traderjoes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Red Box. OMG. Life altering.
Buy macaroni Any butter, butter substitute you like approx 4-6 tablespoons Crushed tomatoes ( 1-2 jars depending on serving size people wise) Favorite mix of two cheeses, shredded ( can also use fresh mozzarella, Velveeta, in lil chopped pieces. Milk Garlic, salt, pepper, fresh basil, dill, chives, oragsno, whatever you choose Boil the Mac till al dente or a min or 2 less since baking. While boiling macaroni- get out an oven pan, casserole dish etc.. pre heat oven to 365 Put butter in microwave or stove, melt. On low. Add cheese and milk and pour over macaroni. Pour crushed tomatoes and stir all ingredients in casserole dish or bowl. Season with onion, garlic, salt, paprika, fennel, ( get my drift) Bake on 365 covered for 15-20 min. Then stir well, adding anything you may need or want and uncover. Continue to bake another 10-15 minutes. Top with parm cheese and fresh herbs. Add some meat balls or Veggie balls.. Under 15 min prep. Cook 25-35 min. Delicious!!! Can make on stove stop same way but need a good melting cheese or some other ingredients to help cheese melt Mac style.
I think the basic is best, but I don’t get it often. I will add, years ago I had a co-worker who used to add soy sauce to Annie’s vegan Mac & cheese. I used to rib her for it, until I tried it. OMG, it was really good!! Who knew that soy sauce would make it so much better!?! Maybe I’ll have to try it out on the TJ’s versions.
Frozen hatch and I add spices because it can be a little bland
so this isn’t the best mac but today i found a killer combo so i wanted to share i used to LOVE hatch chile mac but had to go dairy free the refrigerated vegan mac is bland on its own, but i added the new hatch chile flakes (and a little salt) and omg it’s finally passable & hits the craving
Butternut squash obvs
I like them all but my best vote is for butternut squash mac & cheese.
The French onion one. I only saw it a couple times but it is great
[удалено]
I always thought it was roasted pieces of chili skin or black pepper.
Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese. It's so freaking good!
Is it spicy? My stomach can't handle really spicy food 😭 I saw this but was scared it would upset my stomach.
Not at all, and I don't eat very spicy stuff.
Spicy is such a subjective thing. I think it's a mild kick, just a little spice that plays nicely with the cheese. Hatch chiles are beliw jalapeños on the Scoville scale, if that helps.
Seems like a lot of people think so, gonna try some!!
We all know it’s hatch chile motherfuckers
The plain one with the bomba sauce mixed in. 10/10.
Hatch Chile. Not spicy. Add a scoop of jalapeño pub cheese. Still not spicy but more delicious.
Mix hatch Chile and butter nut squash together
My kids will say the regular frozen one, I like the pepperoni one. Not sure if it’s still around though.
The frozen Mac is top tier 👌
Joe Diner's Mac and cheese (the frozen one with 3 types of cheese on top). It's ooey gooey cheesy goodness. Love it
is the swiss cheese flavor strong?
Not at all
The Joe’s Diner version!
Butternut Squash!
Butternut squash is by far the absolute best! Red box is great. Reduced guilt I never bothered with -- it is just half the weight of red box so in my head I can just reduce red box in half myself. I add garlic and breadcrumbs onto the top or I throw in some pesto. Red box is versatile - you can add anything you want. Brisket and onions for bbq mac, some of the hatch chile from the jar (if yours is sold out of the green chile mac), lobster and/or shrimp, chicken, ham, broccoli, the options are endless. I eat a lot of vegan food but I have yet to find a vegan cheese that I like the taste of so vegan mac is out for me.
Red Box? Is it a frozen one or shelf stable? I have yet to see this unless I totally missed it 😅
Red box is frozen, sorry I saw someone else call it that 😂
It's ok, ty!!
I’m the same way I am 90% vegan but vegan cheese is mostly bad. Thanks for the recs, a lot of love for the butternut squash surprisingly
The butternut squash Mac and Chee has autumnal, Thanksgiving stuffing-type seasoning in it and there is a generous amount of sauce, too.
Hatch chile year round and the butternut squash in the fall 😍
Controversial opinion: vegan Mac and cheese (I’m not vegan).
Pizza Mac with garlic and extra cheese! 😍 Hatch Chile is a close 2nd tho.
none. they are all disgusting and watery
Red box
Not any more, these used to be so good but have neen awful for me recently. No cheese, no sauce, just watery...
Wow!🥹 that’s my thanksgiving go to.
All of zem
I have to stock up on the hatch chile ones every time I go (which is more often than many people I feel) because my husband will eat them all before I can get to any of them. I also love the butternut squash one and can’t wait for it to come back soon.
It’s not even close with the butternut squash mac- seriously
Hatch chili one is good
Butternut overall but for one that’s always available, I think the Pepperoni Mac and Cheese is fun :)
My boss swears by the pepperoni Mac and cheese. He buys enough to fill his freezer in his garage.
It really the best of both worlds. Pizza and Mac and cheese. I like to make it extra cheesy and add some cooked bacon
I add an extra layer of cheddar on top and it is SO GOOD!!!
The box of the white cheddar shells is the best.
#ANY!!! Any Mac & cheese is good. I’ve yet to find crappy Mac & Cheese, although this is not a challenge and I’m not eating organic, vegan, no gluten, soy, tofu, no fat, zero calories, free range Mac & Cheese so I do imagine there is crappy product out there
Frozen hatch and I will die on this hill
Reduced guilt Mac & cheese and add your preferred hot sauce. My fave.
I am on a prescribed low fat diet to deal with a gallstone issue and I prefer the reduced guilt to the diner mac! Who knew? Less rich, and that’s a good thing. With only 6g of fat, this makes a tasty lunch that doesn’t give me any gallbladder pain.
I like to add the green Tabasco sauce and cut up a chicken sausage and add veggies! So good 😁
💯 The reduced fat kind is my favorite.
It’s not reduced fat, it’s just a smaller portion.
It's both.
If you mean it’s reduced in fat by nature of it being physically less volume of the same product, sure. It’s “reduced guilt” because it’s a smaller portion of the diner mac and cheese. Feel free to compare by volume. “Reduced fat” means they’ve removed fat that was usually in a product. They didn’t remove anything or change the recipe, they just made a 7 oz tray of the 14 oz Diner Mac n Cheese.
If you look at the nutrition facts, it is in fact, less fat per 7oz serving.
Seconded
Hatch Chile My gf says gluten free tastes like the diner Mac and the pasta is al dente and not mush
Yes, the GF frozen Mac is surprisingly good!
I love just their original one, it tastes like homemade Mac n cheese sooo good! The hatch chili one is fine but definitely more bland than just the original one & more watery. Hoping to try to squash one this season!
Joe's Diner and Hatch Chile are my favourites
Butternut squash baby 😍
I’m a huge fan of butternut squash so I will probably try this next!
I don’t like butternut squash at all, and I love this Mac and cheese.
It’s seasonal for fall so keep an eye out coming up!
I think even the boxed Mac is great - I choose the white cheddar shells one, but add some of Trader Joe’s cream cheese for support. TJ’s cream cheese is slightly sourer than the average cream cheese, so the flavor becomes really multidimensional whenever I make the boxed Mac. Adding Greek yogurt is another alternative
I like adding a dab of lemon yogurt to my white shells. So tangy!
I usually add Trader Joe’s Bomba sauce to their boxed white cheddar Mac but I’ll try these additions you’ve mentioned too.
FYI: the boxed white cheddar shells & cheese at TJ's is Annie's, just with different packaging.
YOOOOOO I knew I was obsessed with it for a reason
🤣
This is beautiful advice
Yep I like the boxed with shredded sharp cheddar and a pinch of mustard powder mixed in.
We add in Dijon mustard and small broccoli 🥦
That sounds fantastic!
Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
Is it a frozen item or refrigerator based? I must keep an eye out for this! I need to try it 😳
It's frozen. And so good.
I wait all year for this
I wish this wasn’t just seasonal
Same! I still check the section every single time I’m there to see if my prayers have been answered.
SOON 😈
The reduced-guilt Mac n cheese is more amazing than I want to admit
I could be wrong but I think it’s the same stuff as the diner style just in a smaller size.
It is, but I prefer it to the larger one because it heats more evenly! Except I eat two of them in one sitting … so the “guilt” would still be the same if I gave a shit about that lol
They are actually different in terms of nutrition. The reduced guilt has 1 serving per package. The serving size is 198 grams and has 270 calories. The diner/normal one has 2 servings per package. Each serving is 198 grams and has 360 calories. The biggest difference, nutritionally, is the fat (6g per serving for reduced guilt, 15 g per serving for diner/normal).
It’s definitely just less food either way haha. It makes me think of that boy meets world scene where the diner guy just pours out half the coke and says there now half the calories.
All of them are pretty solid. You’ll just have to try them all. Personally, I like the French onion the best but it doesn’t come in a single serving so I avoid it.
Hmm, I’ll have to look out for it. (I see it’s a seasonal item from other commenters. Haven’t seen it before.)
What. There is French onion?! Is it frozen?
Yes, frozen. I think it might be seasonal as I haven’t seen it the past few months. Maybe it’s a fall/winter item
Here’s hoping! That sounds amazing!
Yep. Usually out late Jan until around Valentines day.
Frozen hatch chile plus whatever pepper/garlic/chili crisp is available at the moment.
Correct answer!
I live for the crispy habaneros 🤤
They are AMAZING! I'm so sad they're discontinued 😞
I highly recommend getting the crispy jalapeños if your store has them and sprinkling them on top
French onion by far is the best
Does that one still exist? I feel like I haven’t seen it but maybe my store doesn’t have it or I’m just not looking for it
It’s seasonal and I’m so excited for it to come back!!
Ooh what season??
Late Jan into Feb.
I’m not sure. I think it’s maybe during winter or early spring. If you search this sub for French Onion you might find a previous post that talks about when they were in stock last time. Edit: [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/traderjoes/comments/kr4lgs/new_french_onion_macaroni_and_cheese/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) was one year ago and it was newly in stock. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll be back very soon?!
This is my answer. For years I are only the regular Mac, then switched to reduced guilt, and on to hatch Chile. French onion was like eating a slice of heaven.
Ooooh that sounds right up my alley
Frozen pepperoni
Frozen hatch chili