This Store-Bought Mac And Cheese Falls Apart Before You Can Even Enjoy It

Pre-packaged mac and cheese is an easy side dish (or entire meal) to pull out of the pantry when you don't feel like cooking from scratch. As seen by our ranking of 13 store-bought mac and cheese products, some embody richness and satisfaction, while others are just downright disappointing. One boxed product failed our expectations in almost every way, which as you can imagine, is disappointing. It not only under-delivered on flavor, but its noodles simply couldn't hold up to its own suggested preparation. The dubious distinction of the lowest-scored mac and cheese on our list unfortunately happens to fall upon Banza's chickpea cheddar shells.

Our taste tester observed that you're instructed to rinse the pasta once you've cooked it, which is unusual for a pasta product. As the cheese sauce was stirred in, the pasta began to break apart, signaling that something was amiss. They noted, "Before I even took a bite, the smell of the dish revealed that it would not be high on my list in any respect. It just tasted and smelled off. Between the odd breaking apart of noodles and taste, I couldn't eat more than a spoonful to test this pasta."

Since Banza noodles are made from chickpeas, that does mean they are gluten-free, which likely has something to do with the texture issue. But our previous run-ins with the brand have shown us that there's more to the mix than just chickpea flour — it also includes tapioca starch, additional pea protein, and xanthan gum, which is used as a thickener in many processed food products. The inclusion of xanthan gum in this pasta is kind of a tell that it won't be your ordinary noodle, and unfortunately, when it's cooked, it also doesn't taste like it. 

We haven't had great experiences with Banza's pasta as a wheat alternative, so if you're on a gluten-free diet, we recommend steering clear of this one based on taste and texture alone. If the noodle isn't good, it will affect the final product, which is a significant reason why Banza's chickpea cheddar shells suffer so much (plus their overall prepared smell was also unappealing). If you're reaching for a gluten-free or any mac and cheese pantry product, we recommend steering clear of Banza and picking something else off the shelf.