Stouffer's New Shelf-Stable Mac And Cheese Vs Velveeta: Which Boxed Brand Is Better?

Few things are as comforting as a bowl of steaming macaroni and cheese. Even some of the best homemade macaroni and cheese recipes often can't compete with the convenience, affordability, and flavor of a store-bought iteration. Though Stouffer's has long been known for its quality frozen macaroni and cheese, the brand has decided to branch out into the boxed mac and cheese arena with its new Stouffer's Supreme Shells & Cheese. This new shelf-stable, boxed macaroni and cheese will be rolling out on store shelves across the nation on September 16 and continuing throughout 2025. The line includes two flavors: Cheddar Cheese and Three Cheese. The 12-ounce box has an MSRP of $3.99 apiece, though prices may vary by retailer.

I had the good fortune of getting to sample both of these new flavors of Stouffer's Supreme Shells & Cheese. Designed to go head-to-head against Velveeta's Shells & Cheese, I went ahead and purchased a box of its classic boxed macaroni and cheese and cooked it up for comparison. I wanted to assess each based on ease of preparation, quality, and ultimate flavor. While I'm still fond of a gooey, baked, gourmet, homemade macaroni and cheese topped with crunchy breadcrumbs, I was pleasantly surprised at how bougie these new Stouffer's boxed varieties are. Read on for the full scoop.

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer/distributor/etc.

The first thing to note about this macaroni and cheese is its ease of preparation, unlike other boxed varieties that require supplementing powdered cheese with milk and butter, everything comes right in the container. Once the shells are cooked, the prepared cheese topping simply needs to be mixed in and voila, dinner is ready to eat. This has a lot of appeal to anyone who is looking for something quick and easy to feed a family on a busy weeknight.

The shells themselves had a nice texture when cooked, slightly al dente, but tender enough that they didn't taste pasty. I will say that for anyone who is a purist and enjoys a macaroni noodle versus a shell, this may not be your cup of tea. That said, shells have their own utility when it comes to macaroni and cheese. Their cup-like shape is the perfect vessel for capturing that super creamy sauce, creating pops of flavor with every bite that bursts in your mouth.

As far as the cheese sauce is concerned, I found it to be luxurious and creamy, having a somewhat less artificial flavor than other boxed macaroni and cheese brands that I have consumed. I also found it to be quite a bit less salty, which is astonishing because the sodium content in this macaroni and cheese is not exactly light, containing 1140 milligrams per serving, a whopping 50% of the recommended daily value.

Like the Cheddar Cheese, the Three Cheese offering came together in a flash. Where this product shone was its outstanding combination of Wisconsin white cheddar, gouda, and Parmesan cheeses. From the moment the cheese packet hit the freshly cooked hot shells, I was in heaven. The aroma was intoxicating, with notes of smoky gouda wafting through the air, taunting me to dive into the pot.

I did manage to temper my impulses and doled out a more sensible portion to savor. The creaminess of the Three Cheese variety was even more pronounced than the Cheddar Cheese, and the distinct combination of cheeses provided an elegance and nuance befitting of the highest quality macaroni and cheeses. One hallmark of a truly gourmet recipe is its willingness to rely on more pungent cheese varieties for added flavor. This is where this product excelled. Though the white cheddar and Parmesan were perfect, the gouda is what sold this.

Again, my only hesitation was that it did contain a rather substantial amount of sodium, coming in at 1090 milligrams per serving. This is a bit high, but macaroni and cheese may not exactly be the dish you are going to eat if you are searching for something super healthy to eat. It's definitely a splurge food that exists to titillate your taste buds and satiate your cravings, and this variety from Stouffer's will do just that.

While this was not my first time tasting the classic Velveeta Shells & Cheese, it has been a hot minute since I ate some. Growing up, ours was a blue box household, so I got accustomed to that flavor, which at this point is purely nostalgic. What I had forgotten about the classic Velveeta macaroni and cheese was how much easier it was to assemble than the blue box. I had also forgotten the contrast in texture between a cheese sauce that is rehydrated from a powder versus one that is already liquefied. To be honest, as an adult, the pre-made packet of liquid cheese was far more preferable and I found the texture more desirable. That said, I was reminded of something I never did enjoy about Velveeta: The cheese had a distinctly processed aroma and flavor that I have always found a little off-putting. It also didn't coat the hot pasta as well as I would like, though it was markedly better at this than the blue box variety. 

Perhaps my biggest issue with the Velveeta brand was the saltiness of the cheese sauce. It reminded me a lot of the stuff you can get that you squirt from a can like a whipped cream topping. There's just something about it that was overwhelming and left an almost synthetic aftertaste in my mouth, even though Velveeta advertises that it is made from real cheese.

Strictly based on flavor alone, Stouffer's Supreme Shells & Cheese was far superior in flavor to Velveeta's Shells & Cheese. That said, I'm not sure it would be fair to compare the classic Velveeta product to the Three Cheese variety. It is more akin to the Cheddar Cheese variety, so I'll reserve my assessments to these two.

The shells in the Stouffer's brand were far less delicate than the ones in Velveeta's. These tended to fall apart as they cooked, getting just a bit mushier, which prevented the sauce from nestling into the crevices of the shell the way they did in the Stouffer's noodles. This was a deterrent when it came to overall texture and the delivery of that creamy sauce.

As far as the sauce itself, I found Stouffer's to be far more velvety and creamy. It held its texture better, the way a French-style macaroni and cheese made with bechamel sauce does. Velveeta's version tended to dissolve a bit from the heat of the noodles, loosening as it melted into the pasta. My biggest issue with the Velveeta sauce was how salty it was, which is surprising because it contains less sodium than the Stouffer's products do, at 860 milligrams per serving. That said, it was so salty I almost found it inedible.

If there was ever a store-bought boxed macaroni and cheese that was worthy of the moniker "gourmet," these new Stouffer's Supreme Shells & Cheese products would qualify. They are super tasty and have a texture that is extraordinarily satiating, even for discriminating palates. My one comment would be that if cooking for children has taught me anything, they like simple flavors. It is very likely that they would enjoy the plain Cheddar Cheese variety, but I suspect that the Three Cheese would be too sophisticated for their taste buds. That said, for those who appreciate bold flavors and extra luxurious textures, the Three Cheese is the macaroni and cheese of your dreams.

If the sodium content is of concern, you could easily adjust the amount of sauce you add to the pasta and still get a robustly-flavored macaroni and cheese. That speaks to the intensity of flavor of the cheese packets. You could also round out the meal by incorporating some vegetables to the mix and adjusting the portion sizes down a bit. For my money, steamed broccoli or cauliflower is always a great addition to macaroni and cheese, and they'd perform beautifully in these to up the nutritional content. Otherwise, Stouffer's is onto something here and is sure to have a hit on its hands with this new boxed macaroni and cheese product that is designed for real cheese lovers.