When I was growing up, there was always one thing that was fully stocked in my house no matter what. Mac and cheese.

Obviously, when it comes to mac and cheese, my heart is set on Kraft. Due to it being a childhood favorite, I’ve always assumed it was the best option. Though Kraft is my favorite, many other mac and cheese brands also have their own version of instant noodles. This led me to go out and buy five brands of cup mac and cheese to see which ones I like better.

The first Mac and Cheese I tried was the original Kraft. This allowed me to have a baseline to compare everything else to. The directions were simple, even though I don’t always follow them, but for anybody wanting to make their meal right every time, they come in handy.

The meal took a little less than five minutes to cook, and the first spoonful of that cheesy delight reminded me why I wake up every day.

The noodles were a perfect consistency, not too dry, not too moist, and on top of that the cheese melted in my mouth. It was like cheesy heaven.

Adding more than too much of any ingredient could have easily ruined the texture or cheesiness, but as of this time, it was perfect.

The serving size for Kraft can feed any little sibling, toddler or settle as mid-day craving relief.

Now, this might be a personal choice, but I tend to like the powdered cheese over the liquid because it not only makes cooking easier, but it makes less of a mess, and you get more cheese out of it.

Velveeta mac and cheese is one that uses liquid cheese rather than powdered, and not only that but uses shell pasta instead of regular.

The shell pasta itself has an awkward texture that is rough on my tongue which already makes it weird to eat. It also doesn’t help that my pasta was not cooked all the way, even though I followed the directions.

The mac and cheese was watery and lacked any cheesy consistency which was disappointing because I only ate the meal for the cheese.

The portion size was very similar to Kraft, but because there was more liquid than cheese I felt as I if got less out of it.

The Velveeta also had a sour smell that made me a little queasy when I got a whiff of it. Maybe it is just because my heart is set on Kraft, but this did not exactly remind me of the mac and cheese that I love so dearly.

Velveeta really disappointed me, and although it is another very popular brand, I would have to say it is a no in my book.

The next brand of mac and cheese I tried was Annie’s Organic Farm. I have heard many great things about it, so I was excited to try it even though it being “organic,” kind of threw me off because I don’t often go for the healthy options.

Automatically while reading the directions, I saw that it took a minute and thirty seconds less to cook than any of the other mac and cheese I bought. At first, I was worried my noodles would not be cooked thoroughly, but after cooking they were done to par.

Thankfully Annie’s uses powdered cheese, so my expectations were already higher than they were for Velveeta.

After mixing the cheese my meal already began to look cheesy and I was oddly surprised by it. Sadly, when I took that first bite, the cheese was very lacking.

The taste and overall texture of the mac and cheese were very familiar to Kraft, so I was able to have that homey feeling that I always get when eating Kraft mac and cheese, and I was not dissatisfied with it at all.

I do wish the mac and cheese tasted as good as it looked. However, since it’s a “healthier” option, I am not going to complain.

While picking out my mac and cheese I picked up another organic option, Simple Truth Organic Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese.

The instructions and time it took to cook itself were very similar to the Kraft and Velveeta that I had previously tried.

As I tore the lid off the cup, the white powder that came on the noodles spilled everywhere. The cheese also came in liquid form, and the raw noodles themselves smelled overproduced.

I cooked the noodles according to the directions, and as they were cooking, I opened my cheese. The cheese was crusty and had the consistency of a hardening Play-Doh.

When I opened the microwave the water from inside the mac and cheese cup pooled over leaving my noodles dry, but at least they were al dente.

As I poured the cheese in, I noticed it was not melting. There was a brick of cheese sitting on my noodles.

I was already disgusted and did not want to even try to eat the noodles. After being convinced to eat the mac and cheese, I automatically noticed a sour taste. I couldn’t even actually taste the cheese.

Simple Truth Organic was a no in my book, and I think my stomach agrees too.

The last brand of cup mac and cheese that I tried was Kroger. I was excited by the huge cup but once I looked inside and saw that there were very few noodles I was disappointed.

After cooking it in the microwave for the designated three and a half minutes I noticed that it was very watery, unlike Kraft where the noodles soak up the water.

Instead of draining it I listened to the directions and let it sit to thicken up a bit, but after 5 minutes my noodles were still swimming, and it was only 10 minutes later that they finally “thickened.”

The first taste of the noodles reminisced of the taste of when my sister and I used to eat stale noodles.

Not good.

The smell itself was very unsettling, and like the Simple Truth Organic mac and cheese, it was sour.

With the noodles being so watery, there was a lack of actual cheese and for that, I would never decide to eat the Kroger brand of mac and cheese.

Of the five mac and cheeses only three of them were edible, Kraft, Velveeta, and Annies Organic Farm. Kraft is my favorite, Annies coming next in line, and the other three coming right after the other. As always, Kraft for the win.