Wicked KitchenVegan Mac and Cheese, BBQ King (12-Pack) Mac N Cheeze - Alive and Kickin' Smoky BBQ-Style Creamy Plant-Based & Dairy-Free Cheezy Sauce & Macaroni - GMO-Free

i bot this marked down at kroger. i was attracted to the bbq king. i wish i had paid more attention to the packaging. did not notice it was plant-based until it was already in the pot. the sauce 'powder; was like a flat brick, harder than a bouillon cube. put it underneath the bottom of the pasta for 20 minutes. still hard as a rock. igneous, sedementary or metamorphic? stay away. not sure it's a good thing, but products like this will drive vegans back into being lactovegetarians. a valiant, that is foolhardy and vain effort. if this is bbq king, sign me up for the revolution. or to sum it in a word: YUK

Some dishes are best not imitated, and things with cheese are a paramount example of this. The white sauce used in this dish isn't bad in it's own right, but it's using completely different ingredients to try and imitate the flavor, which just doesn't work. Yeast only resembles cheese in flavor... rice milk powder isn't creamy... etc... The spices in this, do contribute to a flavorful sauce, but it's not mac'n'cheese.I tried this with normal cows milk and butter to see if that would help - it slightly improved the quality of the sauce, but it's still a sad imitation. My toddler liked it though.The pasta is pretty good, and is not inferior to other normal mac'n'cheese, which is nice.The price is way too high. You'd think using no animal products would be cheaper, but not in this case.Ordered March 2023Best if used by December 2023 (9 months)Made in the U.K.

A product of the United Kingdom this vegan-friendly mac and plant-based cheese dry mix has a light smoky flavor that adds a different element to the often simple tasting familiar dish. Each box is 5.99 ounces and makes approximately 2 servings. To prepare boil 1 1/2 quarts of water and add macaroni cooking until al dente’ 8 to 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Next remove and drain the pasta and in the same warm pan add the dry sauce packet to 1/4 cup non-dairy milk of choice along with 2 tablespoons plant-based butter.Stir until smooth and then return the cooked macaroni to the pan, stir to combine and serve. The sauce is creamy although I suggest avoiding a reduced fat variety of non-dairy milk. Slightly sweet and smoky these things are subjective but while it is not the same as the regular version after a couple of bites the two adults in-residence genuinely enjoyed the flavor. It is quite filling so just adding some fruit and/or vegetables would create a quick and complete meal.If possessing sensitivities or allergies note the product does contain soy and wheat. In most prepared foods sodium is high so if watching salt intake this may be an issue--1 serving of the dry mix has 26 percent of DV (daily value) and the prepared mix is 37 percent DV although it certainly did not taste overly salted. To estimate shelf-life at the time of this review in March 2023 the Best If Used By date is 9 months in the future but dates will vary. Very good non-dairy mac and cheeze mix.

$41.99 for 12 boxes$3.50 per boxWe were very curious to try this vegan mac and cheese. Our house is typically ketogenic so 77 total grams of carbs is a lot for us. Add in 8 grams of sugar and we are flying on a food high for hours.First, I have to say that the amount of pasta in one enormous box is deceivingly small. Maybe I am a greedy mac and cheese eater, but jeesh, after I cooked the pasta and drained it, I was disappointed when it barely filled half a cereal bowl. Our usual mac and cheese is cauliflower with homemade cheese sauce with cabot cheddar, which we eat with wild disregard to portion sizes, so apparently I might need to re-evaluate how I serve meals.Next, the smell. I made this for lunch (I even gave boxes to my extremely polite and unbelievably sweet neighbors and their comment was "the smell is not appealing") and our entire kitchen smelled like the packet of cheese powder for hours afterward. I cannot put my finger on it, but the word I would use is unpleasant. It's not great. Whomever approved this packed at Wicked Kitchen is either suffering from the ill effects of long term sinus issues or they need to test themselves for a viral infection. The smell is bad.Last, the taste. My husband tasted the pasta and said it was fine. I cooked it and it was easy to cook. Boil water, pour in pasta, let cook, drain. Done. The pasta tasted like pasta. The problem is, once I added the packet of sauce (I used heavy cream and butter - I know, these are non-vegan, but seriously, I don't think I could have made it worse) the pasta got lost in a sea of thin sauce and chemical BBQ. My husband said the sauce tasted like BBQ sauce that was produced by flavorings, only. I thought it tasted nothing like cheese and more like the butter and cream with about 1/2 cup of liquid smoke added in. The taste is bad.Our amazing neighbors very politely said "the taste is okayyy". This is very polite neighbor speak for "nope".Now, again, we are ketogenic in our house and we use substitutes like lupin flour and stevia that would make some foods taste horrible to people who have never eaten them. This may be the type of food substitute that if you have been vegan for a while, your tastebuds adjust and it tastes great. I am just not that person. I eat bacon. I eat a lot of bacon. Maybe Wicked Kitchen needs to make a non-BBQ variety of this mac and cheese and they would have a hit on their hands.