If you know the Annie’s brand at all, you probably know them for their mac and cheese. It’s possible you’ve tried a frozen dessert from the brand, but it really does seem like boxed organic mac is their tentpole product line. But they’re also in the frozen mac game, and that’s the fact that really made us pay attention to what they’re up to.
We’ve reviewed a few different varieties of Annie’s frozen mac and cheese in the past, and today we’re checking out another one. Yes, today is the day we finally try the Annie’s Cheese Pizza Shells with Hidden Veggies. While we do love both pizza and mac and cheese, we do admit that combining the two doesn’t always have great results. In fact, we actually prefer mac and cheese on our pizza over mac and cheese that has pizza in it. But really, if anyone has the chops to pull off this combo, it’s probably Annie’s.
Cooking this is simple. Just pop it into the microwave for two minutes, give it a quick stir, then pop it back in for a little longer. The timing of the second step will vary based on your microwave power, and there’s a handy chart on the back of the box (which we’ve scanned and posted below for your convenience). You can also try cooking this in the oven if you’d like, but the microwave is the preferred method.
First off, we’ll say right away that shells are our favorite macaroni shape, so we’re thrilled that Annie’s decided to use them here. These ones in particular are a little thin, but they still do the trick.
Instead of a cheese sauce, you’ve got a tomato paste with some cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses tossed in. That makes this almost more like a rigatoni than a mac and cheese, though there is a pretty decent amount of cheese here so you’ll get a nice, stretchy consistency.
Now, we’re not opposed to seeing our veggies, but we know there are plenty of children who disagree with us on this; perhaps you know some. So Annie’s was a bit sneaky with the veggie content in this dish. They tossed in some carrot puree, along with a bit of ground onions and garlic. We could have sworn we tasted the carrots a little bit, but that’s possibly only because we already knew they were there. We’re going to go out on a limb and say you could probably sneak this one by your veggie-averse kids.
This is a pretty lightweight meal, with just 280 calories and 470 mg of sodium. Then again, the serving size is pretty small. We’re thinking this is probably sized out for children instead of adults, so we guess the smaller size makes some sense. But that doesn’t mean that adults can’t enjoy this flavor combo too! Why should kids have all the fun?
Annie’s Cheese Pizza Shells with Hidden Veggies is imperfect but still quite good. It’s not as good as the Trader Joe’s take on this meal, but it’s still good enough to trick your kids into eating some veggies. And really, that’s got to count for something, right?
To learn more about the cooking instructions, ingredients, or nutrition content for this frozen batch of mac and cheese, check out our package scans below.
