Trader Joe’s Mac and Cheese Bites Review

Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese Bites

Mac and cheese is a versatile food, and several clever things have been done with it over the years. For example, you can ball it up, bread it, and fry it to make little bite-sized snacks. That’s the concept behind the Trader Joe’s Mac and Cheese Bites.

Freezer Meal Frenzy readers with sharp eyes and keen memories will recall that we’ve actually reviewed these before. However, Trader Joe’s has made some changes since the last time we checked in. First of all, they replaced the ampersand in the title with the word and, and they gave these a fancy new box.

More importantly, though, they’ve tweaked the recipe. In fact, Trader Joe’s put out a blog post explaining that their old vendor was no longer supplying the mac and cheese bites, so they took that as an opportunity to revise the flavor a bit. That has the potential to be a very good thing, since the last time we tried these, we thought they were good initially, but they were just too rich to enjoy more than one or two in a sitting. With a little adjustment, these could end up being an incredibly tasty snack food.

So let’s see what these updated cheese bites are all about.

Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese Bites

The last time we reviewed these, our package contained ten bites. That’s true here too, but this time they come in a cute little tray, which you can see in the image above. This definitely makes it easier to portion out these mac and cheese bites and keep the extras packed up tightly in the box.

Our previous batch of bites was so greasy that we put them on a paper towel as soon as we pulled them out of the oven. That wasn’t necessary here, but the cooking sheet was still full of grease when we were done cooking these. Even so, we didn’t feel hesitant to pick these up with our fingers.

Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese Bites

Now, the most important change is that the cheese content was completely reworked. The old version contained a blend of cheddar, mozzarella, romano, and monterey jack — these new bites instead make use of cheddar, gouda, havarti, and swiss. It’s a much more upscale cheese blend with a sharper flavor. This prevents it from getting too rich as you eat several consecutive bites.

Additionally, we didn’t find the breading to be as mushy as last time. This time, the outer shell actually had some crispness to it, and these balls, once cooked, tend to hold their shape.

Another positive change here is the calorie count. A serving size is still three pieces, but this time that will only cost you 190 calories instead of 210. Even better, a serving contains 280 mg of sodium, compared to the 430 mg that the old version had.

The revised Trader Joe’s Mac and Cheese Bites are a pretty substantial upgrade from the previous version. They’re healthier, less greasy, and they taste better. We’re really glad Trader Joe’s decided to take these back to the drawing board!

To learn more about the heating instructions, ingredients, or nutritional content in these frozen snacks, check out our package scans below.

Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese Bites
Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese Bites
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