7 Fast Food Chains That Serve The Best Mac And Cheese, According To Reviews

When you think of fast food, what do you think of? Burgers and fries, right? You wouldn't be alone in thinking that — it's the iconic drive-thru meal, the combo that keeps Americans coming back for more. Even trying to find the best fast food burger is a challenge. But framing fast food in such limited terms might lead you to miss out on some other delicious options that you can pick up with the same speed. As cheesy as it sounds — pun absolutely intended — fast food has so much more to offer. And that includes menu luminaries like one of the most beloved and nostalgic foods of all time: mac and cheese.

Yes, several of your favorite fast food chains also serve up one of the all-time classic soul foods, with all the creaminess, cheesiness, and wholesomeness that implies. Better yet, several do a surprisingly good job of it, too, with dedicated legions of fans online and in real life. But which restaurant chain has the best mac and cheese that you can enjoy from the comfort of your car?

If you're going to put the word "noodles" in your restaurant chain's name, you better be able to deliver some good pasta dishes. Thankfully, Noodles & Company pulls it off. So confident is it in its mac and cheese game (and possibly to bump up some of its sales numbers at struggling locations), the chain made the slightly controversial move of completely revamping its mac and cheese options.

Once renowned for its Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, Noodles & Company pivoted to what it calls the Creamy Cheddar Mac & Cheese. As the name implies, this is a creamy and cheddar-packed bowl of goodness, with notes of jack cheese elevating it further. The gooey-melty shredded cheese topping isn't something to miss out on either. Happy fans have been all over TikTok talking up this new and improved mac, but even more than that has been the response to some of the specialty flavors like Garlic Bacon Crunch Mac & Cheese and Buffalo Chicken Ranch Mac & Cheese.

As a chain, Panera Bread has long had a reputation for excellent mac and cheese. A sizable population of Reddit even contends that its mac is underrated; other cheese fans have awarded it five star reviews. It's so popular there are even hacks based around it, such as combining Panera's mac and cheese with the its French onion soup. Talk about rich.

Panera Bread's mac and cheese game comes down to the pasta shape and the sauce. Instead of traditional elbow macaroni, Panera serves up pipette pasta, which helps guarantee the maximum amount of sauce stays in the noodles. Meanwhile, the sauce itself (which Panera provides a generous amount of in each bowl) is an aged cheddar sauce which is sharp and marvelously rich. And now, for added carb enjoyment, Panera will serve your mac and cheese to you in a bread bowl, which is handy for soaking up all the extra sauce. Fans frequently flood social media to proclaim how incredibly creamy Panera's mac and cheese tastes, giving it glowing reviews across the board.

Popeyes markets itself as oases of Southern cuisine (and as the occasional buffet) throughout the United States. Therefore, it couldn't forget to include a side of mac and cheese, one of the classics of Southern home cooking. But what surprises people is that Popeyes put in the effort to make its mac and cheese truly pop, even beyond awesome hacks.

Fans love the perfectly cooked mac with its mild cream sauce, and especially love the veins of sharp cheddar running through it or the melted cheese topping. The fact that it's made with real butter adds to its richness as well; there's a good reason this side has appeared in so many food hacks. People openly proclaim via social media how much they love it, some even arguing it's even better heated up the next day. However, even its supporters counsel that the quality can vary wildly based on the location; some Popeyes may not deliver the same level of deliciousness you want, so shopping around may be in order. Overall, though, the consensus is clear — when Popeyes' mac and cheese hits, it really hits.

Whenever fast food mac and cheese gets brought up, one restaurant in particular is virtually guaranteed to get name dropped: Chick-fil-A. It may not have been the first to make the drive-thru mac and cheese, but you can taste how hard the chain wants to be the best at it.

Sharp, creamy, tangy, with a blanket of melted cheese on top and pockets of browned, ultra-melted cheese throughout, Chick-fil-A's mac and cheese hits all the right notes. At least one person compared it positively to their mother's homemade mac and cheese, which is always a good sign. Others compared it to their own childhood mac and cheese experiences and praised its butteriness, while others note that it's (predictably) perfect for pairing with Chick-fil-A's sandwiches. There has been some backlash in years past, as well as accusations of being less-than-stellar. Some complain that Chik-fil-A actually skimps out on portion sizes, charging too much for too little. Others are far from impressed by the ingredients used to make it. But Chick-fil-A's mac has remained popular and surely improved because of these criticisms. No wonder its fans are thrilled there is a larger size option available.

Those who learn about Arby's mac and cheese often express shock, true shock, that the chain has a mac and cheese option at all. For a restaurant that markets itself on its sandwiches and curly fries, the idea it also serves a homespun fave just doesn't occur to everyone. But those who have discovered this secret call it among the best fast food mac and cheese options around.

Consistently, people love Arby's mac and cheese in part because it is extraordinarily rich and creamy, and in part because of its super-sharp aged cheddar flavor. Those who seek it out be warned though: Part of the reason you may not have heard of this mac and cheese is because it began life as a limited time item only available at a few locations; you may find it and love it only to have it ripped away. Although there are persistent rumors of the chain bringing it on as a permanent side, nothing has been officially confirmed. Keep your fingers crossed!

If you're not familiar with the Dave's Hot Chicken franchise, it's an LA-based chain famous for its namesake hot chicken which is not a reference to the cooking temperature; one of its sauces is so spicy you must sign a waiver before it's served to you. Naturally, a creamy milk-based dish would make the perfect contrasting pairing for such a spicy main course.

Or it would be. Of course Dave's Hot Chicken doesn't want to make it too easy for you; its mac and cheese also has the chain's signature spice blend mixed in, giving it a little kick not unlike its chicken. That's likely why people gravitate to, apart from being incredibly creamy and rich: There isn't another mac and cheese out there with that same smoky, sweet, and spicy flavor which makes fans proclaim it as their absolute favorite. Others just love the thickness of the cheese. The people in the know on this one love to proclaim it as one of the best, especially as a pairing for the chain's namesake hot chicken.

Potbelly Sandwich works is kind of like Subway with a greater emphasis on comfort foods. Subs, milkshakes, soups, and chips, can all be found there. Also unlike Subway, Potbelly also makes some fantastic mac and cheese its fans rave about online to anyone who will listen.

Some fans refer to Potbelly's mac and cheese as the best they've ever tasted. Even former employees talk about how much they love the mac and cheese; that's right, the very people you would most expect to be sick of the food instead brag about being able to take it home by the pot. Others shared how much they loved pairing it with the sandwiches, while still more just love how creamy and ultra-cheesy the mac and cheese tastes. The phrase "hidden gem" gets thrown around a lot online when talking about this dish, and that does seem to be the (sometimes quiet) consensus. 

To determine the best fast food mac and cheeses, we scoured and evaluated reviews on social media, formal publications, blogs, and other sources. The goal was to find a consensus of overwhelming approval and adoration for each restaurant chain's dish, discounting negative reviews if they appeared to be outliers to general opinion. Factors such as cheese flavor, creaminess, noodle quality and shape, toppings, and whether each lived up to their own hype were all considered when making our final list.