Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner: Labelgrade C (60/100)

The short answer

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner delivers 6g of protein and 210 calories per 1 PACKAGE (USDA FDC 1592690). Per 100g that’s 10.9g of protein; per oz, 3.1g. The Labelgrade is C (60 / 100): Additive-heavy formulation (phosphate additives and maltodextrin or corn syrup) and high sodium per 100g.

Why this Labelgrade

How it compares

Read the label as a floor, not the finished bowl

The single most useful thing to know about the blue box: the numbers above are “as packaged.” USDA lists the dry pasta and cheese-sauce powder — 210 calories, 3g fat, 6g protein per package — but the box’s own directions tell you to cook it with butter and milk. Those additions don’t show up on this label and they’re not trivial. Follow the recipe and a prepared bowl typically climbs toward 350–400 calories with noticeably more fat, much of it saturated from the butter.

So the practical takeaway cuts two ways. The carbs (39g) and sodium (460mg) you see are close to what you’ll actually eat. The calories and fat are an undercount of the finished dish. If you’re tracking macros, build the butter and milk into your numbers — or prepare it with milk and skip the extra butter to keep the prepared bowl closer to the label.

The classic floor of the boxed-mac shelf

Among the three classic macs we grade, the blue box sits at the bottom — a C/60 — and the reason is the label, not the format. The cheese-sauce mix is the longest, most-processed of the dry-mix boxes: alongside whey and milkfat it carries maltodextrin, corn-syrup solids, palm oil, modified food starch, multiple phosphates, MSG, and the artificial colors Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 that give it its signature orange. That additive load is what drops ingredient quality to a D. Protein is also the lowest of the trio at 6g.

That doesn’t make it worthless — it makes it a treat with no pretensions, and a genuinely cheap one. But if you want the bowl to pull more nutritional weight, you don’t need a different recipe so much as a different starting point: stir in peas or shredded chicken for real protein and fiber, step up to Annie’s for a cleaner label and no synthetic dye, or reach for a higher-protein mac like Goodles (graded on the site) if protein is the point. The blue box is comfort food at the floor of the category — worth grading honestly as exactly that.

Scope

This page covers Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, UPC 021000037377, as represented in USDA Branded Foods FDC 1592690. Kraft sells multiple variants in this product line — other sizes, flavors, or fat levels may have different macros and Labelgrade scores. Manufacturers periodically reformulate; always cross-reference the actual package label, especially if you have allergies or dietary restrictions.

Ingredients (from the USDA Branded Foods entry)

PASTA (ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE (IRON), THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID], WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE); CHEESE SAUCE MIX (WHEY, MALTODEXTRIN, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, PALM OIL, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, MILKFAT, SALT, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES, SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, NATURAL FLAVOR, LACTIC ACID, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, GUAR GUM, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CHEESE CULTURE, ENZYMES); MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, ACETYLATED MONOGLYCERIDES, SALT, MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES, APOCAROTENAL (COLOR).

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Scope: This page applies specifically to Macaroni & Cheese Dinner · UPC 021000037377. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.