6 Best Costco Mac and Cheese Brands (Including the 27 lb Bucket!)

A little ooey and a little gooey, mac and cheese is the quintessential comfort food and a staple in many homes. It’s used as a side dish in some instances and as a main dish in others (especially for kids). It shows up on the kids’ menu of every restaurant and it has an almost cult-like following as a dinnertime staple. The first recipe for mac and cheese dates back to the 13th century, but it became popular when Kraft created a kids’ version that began selling in 1937.

One of the best places to buy mac and cheese is at Costco. Not only are there several variations to choose from, but Costco is THE place to go when you want to stock up on anything – and trust us, mac and cheese is something you’ll want to stock up on! Costco sells a few different brands and versions so we wanted to give them a review and let you know which ones are the best.

1. For Those Who Want Value: Kirkland Signature Mac and Cheese

Kirkland Signature Mac and Cheese
Kirkland Signature Mac and Cheese

Kirkland’s Mac and Cheese is one of the richest and decadent ones we have tried from a big box shop. With 2.5 pounds worth of cheesy goodness for under $12, this is a good deal. The 40-60 minute cook time is much longer than regular boxed mac and cheese, but it’s well worth the wait.

While plating it, you can see the strings of melty cheese which tells us that they don’t skimp on the cheese! This version most closely resembles and tastes like a friend made it for us from scratch. The cavatappi which is a corkscrew-shaped pasta is a bit overcooked, but it’s to be expected like most store-bought mac and cheese. If you broil it at the end, the cheese on top forms a crunchy and crispy browned topping, making it taste and look even better.

One thing to note: While this is great for larger groups or for feeding several kids, the high-calorie count makes it difficult for someone single to get through this as it has 10 servings. 

2. For Those Who Want Organic: Annie’s Organic Mac and Cheese Variety Pack – 12 Count

Annie's Mac and Cheese Variety Pack
Annie’s Mac and Cheese Variety Pack

Since 1989, Annie’s Homegrown brand has been known as the ‘healthier and organic version of everything. It’s no surprise that mac and cheese was one of the first items when they started the company, selling products out of their trunk. 

Buying them at Costco, you get a nice variety of 3 of their flavors so you won’t get bored:

  • Organic Macaroni & Cheese – Classic Cheddar (4x)
  • Organic Shells & White Cheddar (4x)
  • Organic Shells & Real Aged Cheddar (4x)

While these taste like typical boxed mac and cheese, the one thing missing is the super bright orange color of some other boxed mac and cheese. Something to keep in mind since this is a healthier version, it’s not going to look the same as the one you grew up with.

Don’t want to make a trip to Costco for Annie’s Organic Mac and Cheese Variety Pack? You can also check it out on Amazon by clicking here.

3. For Those Who Want the Classic: Kraft Mac and Cheese Boxes

Kraft Mac and Cheese Boxes
Kraft Mac and Cheese Boxes

For families where mac and cheese is a staple, Costco sells the 18-pack of the 7.25 boxes. These are great if you eat a lot of mac and cheese or have lots of hungry children. Those well-loved blue boxes work well if you are making the mac and cheese as a main dish as they serve 2.5 people, but as a side dish can feed maybe 4.

We all know and love the bright orange cheese powder that gets mixed with milk and butter to make this nostalgic dish. We’ve all had versions of it growing up, maybe mixed with hot dogs, or maybe made fancy by baking and adding breadcrumbs, or just freshly made out of the pot!

Don’t want to make a trip to Costco for the Kraft Mac and Cheese Boxes? You can also check it out on Amazon by clicking here.

4. For Those Who Don’t Like to Cook: Kraft Easy Mac and Cheese Cups

Kraft Mac and Cheese 'Easy Mac' Cups
Kraft Mac and Cheese ‘Easy Mac’ Cups

For those of you who don’t want to deal with a pot and having to boil water for noodles, Kraft came up with a cup-style mac and cheese that is cooked in the microwave.

Costco sells them in 12 packs of 2.05 oz cups. The quick microwave cups take 3.5 minutes to cook and are super convenient. Perfect for tweens who don’t know how to cook, or easily work in a dorm room for college students. These super convenient cups are designed for a quick single serving.

Don’t want to make a trip to Costco for the Kraft Easy Mac and Cheese Cups? You can also check it out on Amazon by clicking here.

5. For Those Feeding an Army: Chef’s Banquet Macaroni and Cheese Bucket

Chef's Banquet Mac and Cheese Bucket
Chef’s Banquet Mac and Cheese Bucket

On the opposite side of the single-serving spectrum is the Chef’s Banquet 

Macaroni and Cheese Bucket! For $119 you can be the owner of a bucket of mac and cheese that has 240 total servings and 25-year shelf life! 

This bucket comes with:

  • (8) 30 Serving zip-sealed pouches of Elbow Macaroni Pasta
  • (8) 30 Servings zip-sealed pouches of Cheddar Cheese Sauce

If you’re thinking that there’s no way anyone would buy these, we’re here to report that these 27-pound buckets sold out during its initial offering in Jan 2019. It’s marketed as an emergency food source, which makes it perfect for emergency preppers. As you can imagine, it also had a lot of search traffic interest in July 2020 during the height of the pandemic.

Emergency prepping aside, reviews have been positive for this never-ending amount of mac and cheese. It’s probably a great thing to have for really large groups such as a church or a summer camp. The bucket feeds a lot of people – 240 to be exact!

Don’t want to make a trip to Costco for the Chef’s Banquet Bucket of Mac and Cheese? You can also check it out on Amazon by clicking here.

6. For Those Who Want an Elevated Dish: Sabatino Tartufi’s Truffle Macaroni and Cheese with Black Truffles

Sabatino's Truffle Mac and Cheese
Sabatino’s Truffle Mac and Cheese

If you have moved beyond the mac and cheese of your childhood and are looking for something a bit more gourmet, Costco sells this specialty mac and cheese for 29.99 and it comes with six 9 oz. packs.

While the company’s description states that this is an authentic black truffle flavor, the flavor isn’t super overpowering, and adding milk makes the sauce decadently creamy. The ingredients are all-in-one, can be made in under 10 minutes, and will serve 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish.

Don’t want to make a trip to Costco for Sabatino Tartufi’s Truffle Macaroni and Cheese? You can also check it out on Amazon by clicking here.

As you can see, Costco has plenty of offerings for the mac and cheese lovers in your family. Definitely some interesting choices with the bucket, but they also have the fancy mac and cheese covered with the truffle version. If anything, it will make us all crave it like we were a child again.


If you like this post, we think you’ll really like our Costco Lasagna Review post.

Costco Mac Cheese
Costco Mac Cheese

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