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Given their link to a slew of serious health conditions, many people try to avoid ultra-processed foods as much as possible. But with these foods making up 70% of our food supply, it’s harder than it sounds. While some ultra-processed foods, like hot dogs, are more obvious, others are a little more sneaky. Enter mac ‘n’ cheese.
When you make mac ‘n’ cheese at home, the ingredients are straightforward: Pasta, butter, cheese, a little flour, milk, and salt. But while the packaged stuff is a definite departure, it can be tricky to know just how much processing each mac ‘n’ cheese product actually goes through.
A website called True Food, which was created by researchers at Mass General Brigham in Boston, spells it out. The site breaks down the various levels of processing in foods commonly found in Whole Foods, Target, and Walmart, giving them a score, with numbers closest to zero having the least amount of processing.
Typically, foods are divided into four categories based on their processing: unprocessed, processed culinary ingredients, processed, and ultra-processed. However, Giulia Menichetti, PhD, an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and investigator in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, says the website tries to help people recognize that food processing happens on a spectrum so they can make their own decisions about whether or not to buy a product.
True Food breaks down the level of processing across a range of product categories, including mac ‘n’ cheese. Here’s which brand is considered the least processed — plus why nutritionists say you shouldn’t confuse that with the most healthy.
What is the least processed mac ‘n cheese?
According to the data, Stouffer’s Macaroni and Cheese Frozen Meal with Broccoli is the least processed mac ‘n’ cheese. This dish scores an impressive one in terms of processing. (By comparison, Quaker Old Fashioned Oats received a score of five.)
Other mac ‘n’ cheeses with lower levels of processing include:
Stouffer’s is made with a “real cheddar cheese sauce” and is free of preservatives, according to the Nestlé, which owns Stouffer’s. The ingredients list is relatively simple, featuring cooked pasta, two types of cheddar cheese, flour, salt, oil, butter, plus a few stabilizing ingredients to maintain texture.
Which mac ‘n’ cheese brands have higher levels of processing?
Overall, boxed mac ‘n’ cheese products are much more likely to have higher levels of processing scale than their frozen counterparts. These foods need preservatives to make them shelf-stable, compared to frozen products, which rely on colder temperatures to maintain freshness, says Jessica Cording, MS, RD, author of The Little Book of Game-Changers: 50 Healthy Habits For Managing Stress & Anxiety. (However, it’s important to note that many frozen products also have some amount of preservatives.)
These are the most processed mac ‘n cheeses at the grocery store, according to the data:
Why minimal processing doesn’t always mean “healthy”
While the levels of processing in these popular products are eye-opening, dietitians stress that it’s important to consider more than just processing when making a decision about what to eat.
“We still need to take into account what that food is,” says Cording. “What is its nutrient content? What vitamins and minerals does it provide? Does it have protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and fat? We need to look at all the nutrients.”
It’s often good for foods to be minimally processed, “but if it’s not offering a lot of nutritional value, you probably shouldn’t be eating lots of it,” Cording says.
Stouffer’s Macaroni and Cheese Frozen Meal with Broccoli contains 21 grams of fat, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 18 grams of protein, 900 milligrams of sodium (or nearly 40% of the recommended daily allowance), and no added sugars. “This is something that’s fine in moderation, but not something I would recommend as an everyday thing, based on the sodium content,” Cording says.
Antonette Hardie, RDN, a dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, recommends reading food labels and ingredient lists carefully to see what a particular product offers. “Some lesser-processed foods can still be high in calories, fat, carbs, and salt,” she points out. Hardie also stresses that processed and ultra-processed foods “aren’t always bad.”
Overall, Cording recommends looking for nutrient-dense foods. Meaning, they have a lot of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and fiber to support your needs. “You also want to choose something that’s not high in added sugar or additives,” she says.
But Cording says there’s no need to be upset if you eat some ultra-processed foods in the context of a healthy diet. “It’s the whole picture that matters,” she says.
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