Earth Balance Mac & Cheese

Or as I like to call it, childhood in a box.

I remember many a nights growing up, when my brothers and I enjoyed that crappy Kraft Mac & Cheese in the blue box. OK, so it was crappy FOR you, but who am I kidding, it tasted awesome. And I ate it relentlessly throughout college. And during my first year in my first apartment before I knew how to cook. I may have ate more Easy Mac than I have any other food in my life. Kinda scary, but probably true.

Needless to say, I have not had a box in probably six or more years. For a brief time, I ate the Annie’s organic version before I went vegan, and that was even better than the Kraft. Hello, white aged cheddar shells. I still have cravings for it when I cook some for the boys I nanny for. I have to show some serious restraint not to stick my head in the bowl and gobble it all up before serving it to them.,

Yes, even vegan chefs have moments of weakness from time to time.

But I don’t need to be weak anymore. Because the geniuses over at Earth Balance have created the ultimate vegan comfort food-dairy-free mac and cheese in a box, Except it’s an orange box instead of a blue one. And it’s even better than the real cheese brands!

I had been searching for some for forever, and my local Whole Foods JUST started carrying them. I was so giddy to try them, I instantly went home and cooked up the box for dinner. I tried to pace myself, but inhaled the whole thing in about five minutes flat. Similar to their dairy-filled counterparts, a whole $3 box only gets you one heaping bowl of cheesy goodness. I don’t know who ever came up with the portion sizes for boxed mac and cheese, but all of them (sadly) don’t make much. None the less, the EB box was packed full over flavor that tastes EXACTLY like my childhood favorite. The color wasn’t as bright as I remember the Kraft version, but it was still fairly bright and enticing. It was super creamy, rich in flavor and was as satisfying as humanly possible. The small portion was surprisingly filling. I added some spinach just to get some greens in, and imagine kale or some peas would be a nice touch, too.

Anyone can take an hour and make a stellar vegan mac and cheese from scratch. But wouldn’t you love to spend just 10 minutes whipping up an awesome bowl of mac? If you prefer the latter, then you MUST go get your hands on some Earth Balance Mac & Cheese!