Goodles Mac and Cheese Review: Everything You Need to Know

The search of healthy packaged snacks for kids and quick weeknight dinners is never-ending in my home. With five hungry kiddos, full-time work and a handful of dietary restrictions I was eager to try the much-hyped Goodles mac and cheese.

The brand impressed me—read on to get the full scoop (though you'll likely want more than a single scoop).

What is Goodles Mac and Cheese?

If you're looking for rich, homemade mac and cheese flavor without any gnarly stuff—you're in for a treat. Goodles mac is just the ticket, brimming with good-for-you ingredients without sacrificing any of the addictive flavor boxed mac and cheese are known for.

Each serving boasts as much as 14 grams of protein, seven grams of gut-healthy fiber and loads of body-friendly nutrients kids need. Plus, there's a variety for nearly every palette. Cheddy Mac is the brand's direct competition with Kraft blue boxes—it looks and tastes just about the same, but offers way healthier ingredients like low glycemic index tapioca flour.

The brand's no-rennet policy makes all the options kosher, and the vegan-friendly option is entirely dairy-free. This is especially important if your child has a sensitivity or keeps a strictly kosher or halal diet.

Our Goodles Mac and Cheese review

Each box of Goodles vegan mac and cheese is a colorful, fun-to-look-at pleasure to stock in a pantry. I know it seems trite to focus on packaging, but for whatever reason, kids seem to care. The boxes are the same size as typical blue-box mac and cheese, so you won't need any added space or clever storage solutions.

Cooking this healthier mac and cheese is also just as effortless as the classic boxed stuff. Boil your water and throw the noodles in for a few minutes. Different varieties may have slightly different cooking times, but on average it takes about 7 or 8 minutes, but overall, it's quick and simple.

Then, toss in a bit of fat like a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil—this gives even the vegan variety a creamy, authentic cheese-like consistency. Finish with the milk of your choice and stir in your powdered cheese packet.

It's truly that easy, and you don't even notice the resistant starch for prebiotic benefits (though we're grateful it's there).

In the name of proper journalism, I tried making these vegan-friendly boxes two ways: totally vegan as well as purely vegetarian.

In the first scenario, I used extra virgin olive oil as my fat source and a 1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut milk. The result was a creamy treat. I'd give this option a solid 8 out of 10, and maybe it would hit a 9.5 out of 10 with the addition of some fake meat crumbles or garlicky veggies.

A few days later I swapped the vegan ingredients with a spoonful of real butter and whole milk. Our family isn't vegan, but does have strict dietary concerns that rule out most boxed mac and cheese options, so this was an exciting trial for us. Using real butter and milk made the texture somehow even creamier and it genuinely tasted like real cheese.

This was a solid 9.5 out of 10 for my kids, who asked for seconds... and then thirds.

Pros

• Can be made vegan or vegetarian
• Kosher and halal-friendly
• 14 grams of protein per serving for an extra protein kick
• 7 grams of fiber per serving (tapioca flour has more fiber than regular flour)
• 21 nutrients
• Maintains healthy blood sugar levels
• No animal rennet
• Easy to cook
• Springy, bouncy chew and mouthfeel
• Quick weeknight meal

Cons

• A bit salty (but I suppose that's half the joy)
• If you have older kids or a large family, you'll need a few boxes

Final verdict: 9/10

Overall, my kids loved Goodles—especially the Shella Good variety, which is a vegan white cheese and mini shells offering. To be honest, it tasted a bit more alfredo-ish than standard white mac and cheese, but it was downright delish. The other flavors are also excellent and worth a try as meals on their own or as side dishes.

If you're feeling sassy, feel free to add vegan meat crumbles, sauteed peas, roasted garlic cloves or other faves.

Where to buy Goodles Mac and Cheese

We suggest ordering the six-pack variety bundle which works out to a bit over $3 per box. It's a great value and allows new Goodles customers to give a few of the brand's bestselling flavors a try. You can also buy individual boxes of our favorite variety, Shella Good, through Amazon.

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