Trader Joe’s Mac & Cheese Bites Review

Trader Joe's Mac & Cheese Bites

Update: Trader Joe’s changed the recipe for their mac and cheese bites, and we did a fresh review. Here’s a link to that. Our original review is of the previous version, and you can read that in its entirety below.

Trader Joe’s makes a pretty mean macaroni and cheese, but what happens when you roll that macaroni into ball shapes, cover those in breading, and cook them up as bite-sized snacks? This is the question that Trader Joe’s Mac & Cheese Bites attempt to answer.

According to the numbers on the back of the package (combined with our math skills), one box of these should contain about 10.5 mac and cheese bites. Ours had exactly ten, so we think that count is probably pretty accurate.

There are no microwave directions on these; you’ll have to cook them in the oven. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit, put some macaroni bites on a cookie sheet, then cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Once they’re done cooking, you’ll want to lay them out on a paper towel while they cool, because they come out of the oven a bit greasy.

Trader Joe's Mac & Cheese Bites

Even after the recommended paper towel treatment, these will still be greasy. While they look like a finger food, they’re the kind of finger food you’ll want to eat with a napkin close by.

The breading here actually has a sweet, pastry-like taste to it, which is something we didn’t expect. We were expecting something a bit more savory. The sweet flavor is great, but it’s incredibly rich — almost too rich. It’s not easy to eat more than a couple of these at a time because of that richness.

The centers are obviously filled with macaroni, as well as a gooey, stretchy cheese sauce. The cheddar and mozzarella is quite a good combo, but it’s completely overpowered by the pastry flavor. We almost wished for a more subtle breading here, because it’s pretty much all we could taste.

Oh, and in case you’re curious, the macaroni comes in the traditional elbow shape.

Trader Joe's Mac & Cheese Bites

One serving of these is three mac and cheese bites, and that serving contains 210 calories (110 from fat). Now, if you decide to eat a whole box at once, you’re getting dangerously close to 700 calories, so keep that in mind when you’re deciding on a reasonable portion. A serving also has 430 mg of sodium, which doesn’t sound all that bad until you decide to eat two or three servings at a time. Then the sodium content skyrockets. We just feel like we should warn you to be careful with these.

Trader Joe’s Mac & Cheese Bites are a bit too rich for our taste. The first bite is incredible, but the more of these you eat, the less you’ll enjoy them. These are definitely designed to be eaten in moderation. Even the recommended serving size of three seems like a little much.

If you want to learn more about the nutrition content or ingredients in these frozen macaroni bites, check out our package scan below.

Trader Joe's Mac & Cheese Bites

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Jacqueline
Jacqueline
1 year ago

Well my granddaughter, husband & I absolutely loved the Trader Joe’s Mac & Cheese Bites! They must of changed the recipe because I disagree about the Breading being sweet. It’s not! They’re compact, they’re comforting, they’re 🧀 cheesey and they’re Delicious 😋

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