Add This Creamy Ingredient To Boxed Mac & Cheese For Better Texture And Flavor

Macaroni and cheese is a true comfort food, particularly when it's made from scratch with thick noodles and gooey, decadent cheese. But sometimes a homemade version is out of reach, whether you don't have the ingredients on hand or you just don't have the energy. In that case, your favorite boxed mac and cheese is a reasonable substitute, and it's something of a comfort in its own right, with its familiar bright orange color and ease of preparation. There are many ways you can doctor up your boxed mac to give it crunch or a zip of heat, but if you just want to enhance the existing texture and flavor, reach inside your fridge and pull out the mayonnaise.

No joke, adding about a tablespoon of this ingredient to boxed mac and cheese ups the creaminess, makes the cheese sauce more velvety and rich, and creates deeper, more complex flavors. It might seem impossible that such a simple condiment can upgrade a pantry staple so much, but it has to do with the major ingredients that go into mayo: eggs, oil, a bit of vinegar and/or lemon juice, and a dash of salt. These are held together in a stable emulsion that imparts lusciousness to the mac, while the ingredients themselves add depth to the cheese sauce.

Even better? Mayonnaise can actually be used as a substitute for milk or butter (or both) because of its fat content.

Whether you're looking for a flavor or texture boost that will complement the milk and butter added to boxed mac and cheese, or you're out of either (or both) and need a quick fix because you're hungry in a hurry, your refrigerator likely already contains at least one addition that will save the day. Kewpie mayo is a Japanese brand of mayonnaise traditionally made with egg yolks rather than whole eggs, making it richer and even creamier than regular American mayo. This makes it a perfect candidate for boxed mac and cheese.

Now, if you don't have any mayo on hand, you can also use sour cream (and if you're out of milk, it can stand in for that ingredient, too). In addition to making the whole pot creamier, it also lends its signature tang to the dish. It's the same kind of deal with Greek yogurt, which will also give your meal a boost of protein, if that's important to you.