Rating: 8/10 | Price: $3.99 |

The Trader Joes Fried mac and cheese bites were very good. According to a Trader Joe’s website article about these bites, this frozen appetizer has been featured on many lists for top appetizers. Trader Joe’s Mac and Cheese Bites was featured in lists like “Top 10 TJ’s Apps of All Time” and more! I cannot argue because these bites deserve their place on these lists. There are ten balls in the box, and the serving size is three per person. Though, I ended up eating all of them since the entire box was a good serving for me. I cooked it in a conventional oven at 425 degrees for 19 minutes. However, the conventional oven automatically adjusted the temperature to 400 degrees for 18 minutes in “baked goods” mode.

The mac and cheese balls came out super hot inside but they cooled pretty fast when I cut them open. The outside layer of the cheese ball is made of fried breadcrumbs. This breadcrumb shell was thin, crispy, and had a garlic flavor to it. On the inside, the macaroni noodles were super soft with a little bit of tenderness and the cheesy was thin and creamy. As you chew, these mac and cheese balls almost explode in your mouth. All the flavors from the cheese, noodles, and breadcrumb shell create a really well-balanced combination. Unlike a lot of other mac and cheese dishes, you can taste everything equally without the garlic flavor from the breadcrumb shell overpowering the cheesy or anything like that. As the mac and cheese balls cooled down, the shell got crunchier and the cheese got thicker which was very nice.

The Trader Joe’s Fried Mac and Cheese Balls were a delicious appetizer. They were inexpensive and I nearly inhaled them because they were so good. What surprised me the most was how little grease there was. Normally, something FRIED would have pools of grease at the base of the pan or plate, but the mac and cheese balls had little to NO grease! I gave them an 8/10 because of the perfect combination of flavors and the very little grease, but I deducted a couple of points because I thought that the cheese tasted more like creamy milk and had no hint of sharpness from cheddar or taste from any kind of cheese. I would definitely get this again because they are a perfect appetizer to share with others or lunch just for yourself. The cook time might seem like it is long (especially if you are hungry), but it is worth it in the end.

You can find the Mac and Cheese Bites at your local Trader Joe’s in the frozen food isle

Trader Joe’s Mac and Cheese Bites Article: https://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/mac-and-cheese-bites