Jack Black does not hedge when it comes to his love of boxed mac and cheese. On a recent press stop for Anaconda, the actor appeared alongside Paul Rudd on Today’s Jenna and Friends, where host Jenna Bush Hager asked if he liked to cook. “I’m an incredible cook, I make an incredible Kraft Mac & Cheese,” he said, before warning that his method might be “controversial.”
The moment quickly circulated online because Black approached it like a dish with technique rather than a pantry default. His rules are specific, and while he uses conventional mac and cheese, they’re easily transferable to Kraft’s vegan mac and cheese (or any other boxed options).
Ratios, not rules
Black’s first move happens before the water boils. “It’s controversial [but] I take two packets [of mac and cheese] and throw away some of the mac [so] it’s a little extra cheesy,” he said. The idea is simple: fewer noodles, more sauce per bite. It is a restaurant instinct applied to a boxed product.
Using fewer noodles in proportion to the sauce concentrates flavor and improves texture, a fix that works particularly well for boxed mac and cheese, which can sometimes skew thin when prepared exactly to package directions. Kraft’s vegan mac and cheese, designed to behave like its original counterpart, responds especially well to this adjustment, producing a creamier, more cohesive result without adding anything beyond what is already in the box.
Black is equally particular about sequencing. “You’ve got to get the right amount of butter, the right amount of milk, [and] mix it properly before you dump it into the mac and cheese,” he said. Vegan cooks can translate this directly by using plant-based butter and an unsweetened non-dairy milk, fully emulsifying the sauce before folding in the noodles. The technique matters more than the ingredient list.
The controversial addition
Then comes the detail that turned a casual interview into a debate. “My secret ingredient: a tiny, little squirt of Heinz ketchup,” Black said. Instead of topping the finished dish, he stirs it directly into the pot, where the tomato acidity functions like a balance point, cutting richness and adding depth.
Black leaned into the idea with humor. “It’s like a marinara. Maybe a couple crumbles of hamburger meat and it’s bolognese,” he joked. While he has previously told WGN News that cheeseburger mac and cheese is one of his favorite meals to make, the structure of the dish does not depend on beef to work.
The Kraft Heinz Not Company
For a meat-free option, plant-based ground beef such as Impossible or Beyond slots neatly into the same role, delivering savory richness without altering the method. Sautéed tofu or tempeh offers another route, bringing texture and protein while absorbing the sauce’s tangy, cheesy profile. The ketchup addition ties everything together.
What makes Black’s mac and cheese hacks resonate are their simplicity; they treat boxed mac and cheese as something adjustable and personal—a comfort food that rewards attention and intention rather than shortcuts. As Black put it, “There’s an art to it.”
For more plant-based stories like this, read:
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