I was curious about Kraft’s apple pie-flavored mac and cheese. I tried it — and I would eat it year-round.

• Kraft’s apple pie-flavored Mac & Cheese offers a surprisingly tasty twist on comfort food.
• The author recalls past unusual food pairings, like cheddar on apple pie, that exceeded expectations.
• Trying new, unconventional flavors can lead to delightful surprises and memorable experiences.

If you’d told me years ago that cheese and apple pie could go together, like Kraft’s new limited-edition apple pie mac and cheese, I would’ve laughed.

I’ve never been the most adventurous eater, but over the years I’ve grown more curious about odd flavor pairings — the ones that sound ridiculous until you try them. So when I heard Kraft was releasing an apple pie-flavored mac and cheese for the Thanksgiving season, I knew I had to track it down.

I’m glad I did, because surprisingly, I loved it.

I bought it online at Walmart

Unlike when I drove around to multiple Taco Bells trying to find the Baja Blast pie without success, it was much easier to get a hold of the mac and cheese.

We were thankfully able to find it without having to hunt too much in stores. Kraft’s apple pie-flavored mac and cheese is currently available via Walmart online. My friend found it, and we got six boxes delivered to his apartment the next day. We were both excited about trying it.

I also looked online about ways to make boxed mac and cheese better than simply the out-of-the-box standard. I bought a couple of apples, Greek yogurt, and some cinnamon sugar pretzel sticks. My plan was to try the mac and cheese as it said on the side of the box, and then try a second version with some of the additional ingredients.

It looked like regular mac and cheese

Opening the box, it looked the same. It was a box of dried noodles with a spice packet that looked nearly identical to the original packets. The apple one, however, smelled great. I was hopeful that it would taste as apple cinnamony as it smelled from the packet.

I started with the basic version, following the box directions exactly — boil the noodles, stir in the sauce packet, and wait. When I tore open the seasoning packet, the smell hit me immediately: it had tones of warm cinnamon and sweet apple.

Once it was mixed together, though, the flavor was far more subtle than the aroma promised. The cinnamon and apple were there, but just barely. If anything, it made the mac and cheese taste brighter and more layered, almost like what the regular version should be all along.

My friend and I kept taking bites, trying to decide if we actually liked it or if the novelty was just talking. We both agreed that we liked it and that if this were available all year round, we’d buy it over the regular Kraft mac and cheese. By the time we finished the bowl, we were already talking about ordering more.

We then experimented with new recipes

We then decided to try a different version with the extra boxes the web had.

We started with plain Greek yogurt, which completely elevated the flavor of the mac and cheese for us. The yogurt made the dish creamy and slightly tangy. The cinnamon pretzels, crushed a bit on top, gave the mac and cheese an additional crunchy and sweet texture to balance things out. This had tangy, sweet, and savory all in one meal that felt more filling than the bowl without it.

In the end, the whole experience reminded me why I love stepping outside my comfort zone — especially when it comes to food. What started as a silly experiment turned into something genuinely fun and surprisingly delicious.