Is Homemade Mac & Cheese Cheaper?
No. But…
That answer is based on pricing at my local grocery store and is not scientific at all. For me, using things I regularly buy (real butter, organic milk, real Velveeta cheese, cheapest macaroni), it cost 11ยข more to make homemade macaroni and cheese than it would have cost me to buy a box of the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese at full price and make it.
A few weeks ago on my regular blog, A Blessed Crazy Life, I mentioned that we would be having homemade macaroni and cheese for the 4th of July along with all of the other goodies we were cooking. CPA Mom, from Did You See That?, commented that she’d like to have my homemade mac & cheese recipe. Jody and I were working on this site at the time so I thought it would be interesting to see which was cheaper - homemade or the box mix. The results were that homemade macaroni & cheese cost $1.49 when I made the same amount as one box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese would have made - total cost for the box mix came out to $1.38. Of course, the box stuff goes on sale often and between sale prices and coupons the savings could become even greater.
I’ll still do homemade - we like it better and I’ve always thought that powdered cheese was a little strange. But, if you prefer Kraft - go for it, you’re still being frugal!
Here is my recipe for any of you that are interested in trying it out, you can pop over to A Blessed Crazy Life to see some of the ways I dress it up occasionally!
Ingredients:
1 heaping cup of macaroni
4 ounces of Velveeta cheese
1/4 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of butterDirections:
Cook the macaroni as directed on the package, drain and set aside.
Melt the cheese together with the milk and butter.
Add the macaroni back to the choose mixture.
Salt and pepper to taste, enjoy.
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July 16th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Thanks for the recipe! I’m going to give it a try this weekend!
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July 16th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
That powdered cheese is kinda weird. I do love homemade mac and cheese so I don’t care which costs more.
Interesting research you did though.
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July 16th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
It may not be cheaper, but…. it is oh so yummy!
July 21st, 2008 at 8:51 am
I love homemade mac and cheese. I make one in the crockpot that the kiddos love:
2 c dry macaroni
4 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 c milk
1 can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
pepper(as per your eyeballing)
Boil the macaroni until al dente. Drain. Mix all ingrediants in crockpot(sprayed with PAM) and let cook on low 5 hours.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Powdered cheese and powdered mash potatoes just seem wrong to me. I use the basic recipe above and use actual real cheese. (extra sharp in large shreds)
I can see where they can be used and convenient, I have used the Kraft before. I have never done the powdered mash potatoes though-EWW. But if I have a choice, it is homemade all the way!