Worried Your Box of Kraft Mac and Cheese Might Have Gone Bad? Here’s How to Tell

Over the past century, Kraft macaroni and cheese has cemented its role as an enduring pantry staple. And as the prospect of rising grocery prices continues to cause concern, it’s likely many will keep this budget-friendly item in stock.

Kraft invented the boxed meal in 1937 during the Great Depression, marketing it to families as a way to whip up an easy dinner at a reasonable cost. At the time, the product known as “Kraft Dinner” came with the tagline “Make a meal for four in nine minutes” and was sold for just $0.19. Today that catchphrase has been changed to “Help yourself to a bowl of comfort,” likely in nod to the nostalgia this food can invoke.

So, how long could Kraft macaroni and cheese last in pantries for those wishing to stock up? Here’s what you need to know about the dinnertime staple’s shelf life, along with a few other fun facts and chef-inspired tips to spice it up. 

How long does Kraft Mac & Cheese last unopened?

According to Alyssa Galiardo, the associate brand manager for Kraft Mac & Cheese, “The recommended shelf life for Kraft Mac & Cheese Original Blue Box is about eight months.” So at a bare minimum, you can buy as many boxes at once as you think you can eat in eight months.

However, that’s just the official response. As the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) explains, many foods are still safe to eat past the expiration dates printed on their labels. “The quality of perishable products may deteriorate after the date passes, but the products should still be wholesome if not exhibiting signs of spoilage,” the FSIS explains. 

Obvious signs of spoilage will include cheese powder that’s off-color, smells strange, or has mold. And if you ever notice that dried pasta has mold on it or has changed in texture, don’t eat it.

One Redditor sums up the way you should approach a slightly expired box perfectly, saying “If the cheese packet has [spoiled] it will turn a darker orange-yellow color. I’d open the package and make your decision based on that. If the cheese packet has changed color, it won’t make you sick (probably), but it definitely won’t taste right. If the expiration date is three weeks ago it is probably fine though.”

In short, if the box expired recently it’s likely still good to go. But if the cheese packet has changed in color, that’s a sign that you shouldn’t eat it.

Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Keeper resource states that dried pasta can remain safe to eat for up to five years if stored “in the pantry from the date of purchase.” So while you may want to avoid the packet of cheese dust, you can still use that boxed pasta long after its best-by date. 

How many flavors of Kraft Mac & Cheese are available?

Here’s the good news: You don’t have to stock up on just one flavor. As Galiardo shares with Food & Wine, the brand currently has three exciting new flavors on store shelves: the returning Jalapeño and Ranch, plus Smoky Barbecue, which they just announced this month. Smoky Barbecue marks the fourth new flavor Kraft Mac & Cheese has rolled out in less than nine months.

Galiardo notes that “Another four flavors are set to hit the market before the end of the year.” That includes the return of its limited-edition Everything Bagel macaroni and cheese, which is coming back this summer at Walmart in snack-sized cups. “We just launched Jalapeño and Ranch in cup format, as our first-ever flavored cups,” Galiardo adds. 

But that’s not even close to all of the variety available. According to the brand manager, “For our Deluxe product, we offer Rich & Creamy, Four Cheese, White Cheddar Garlic Herb, White Cheddar Bacon, White Cheddar Alfredo, White Cheddar Cracked Pepper, and Southern Homestyle.”

As for just how many boxes people are scooping up, Galiardo reveals the company sells “more than one million boxes per day of the original Kraft Mac & Cheese.”

How can you make Kraft Mac & Cheese even better?

“If you ask every person on the Kraft Mac & Cheese team, they’ll give you a different ‘mac hack’ that’s their favorite trick to take their mac to the next level,” says Galiardo. “From a touch of dill to bacon bits, hot dog pieces, and more, the options are endless.” 

Plenty of other cooks and chefs have their own hacks too, including Grace Vallo, the founder and recipe creator of Tastefully Grace. “One thing macaroni and cheese should always be is creamy. Whole milk helps us get to that creamy finish, but adding some half and half adds a bit more indulgence than just whole milk alone,” she says. 

Shawna Clark from Healthy Foodie Girl tells us her number one Kraft Mac & Cheese hack is “hands down, chili crunch oil. Just a drizzle transforms the whole bowl into something next-level. It adds bold flavor, a little heat, and that crispy crunch that keeps you coming back bite after bite. So simple but seriously game-changing.” 

And Kyle Taylor, the founder and chef behind He Cooks, says he likes “to stir gochujang and pasta water into the cheese sauce and then top it with some sliced scallions. This adds an incredible amount of depth, a touch of heat, and enough funk without interfering with the nostalgic cheese flavor.” 

But if you really want to take things up a notch, you could always emulate chef Maricel Gentile, owner of Maricel’s Kitchen in New Jersey and the author of Maricel’s Simply Asian Cookbook. 

“Although I spend my days teaching others how to cook bold, beautiful Asian dishes, I’m also a mom — and let me tell you, raising two boys in America meant there was always a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese in our pantry,” she says. “Even now that they’re grown, macaroni and cheese is still one of their favorite comfort foods. Over the years, I came up with a little Filipino-inspired twist just for them: adobo bacon bits.” 

She makes the topping by soaking thick-cut bacon in a splash of soy sauce, vinegar, lots of garlic, and cracked black pepper, “just like a traditional Filipino adobo marinade. Then I cook the bacon low and slow until crispy, chop it up into bits, and sprinkle it over the mac like a crunchy, salty, tangy topping. It’s smoky, garlicky, and packed with umami, and it turns that blue box into something special.”

But even without all these extra accoutrements, we love the simple taste of classic Kraft macaroni and cheese on its own. Just make sure to give it a quality check if you’re opening that box after eight months.