Macaroni & cheese

Breakdown

Ultra-processed · 5 ingredients to avoid

Macaroni & cheese scores 5/100 on Tallow — our avoid band. That number comes from what is on the label: the ingredients, how processed it is, and what it is packaged in. It is not a verdict on your diet — Tallow does not weigh calories, portion size or how often you eat it, so a high score means the ingredients are clean, not that the food is unlimited.

Macaroni & cheese lists 28 ingredients, starting with Semolina Wheat Flour Enriched With Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin and Whole Milk. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so the first few make up most of what you are eating.

At 5/100 Macaroni & cheese scores worse than most pasta & noodles we have scored. A higher-scoring option in pasta & noodles is Rao's Homemade Spaghetti at 100/100.