Goodles’ new mac and cheese, Thrilled Cheese, is as nostalgic as it gets. Inspired by grilled cheese, this dish delivers comfort food with a twist. This mac and cheese fits well in their lineup with a cheddar-based mac with a lightly toasted finish.
As a Goodles fanatic, I couldn’t resist getting my hands on it to see if it really tastes like grilled cheese. Here’s what it tastes like, how it compares to other Goodles flavors, and a simple topping idea that takes it to the next level.
What Does Thrilled Cheese Taste Like?
Thrilled Cheese claims to mimic grilled cheese, featuring cheddar, American, and Gouda with a light toasty finish. You can’t deny it’s buttery, creamy, and would be a great side for grilled meats. If you plopped a bowl of this mac in front of me, I wouldn’t immediately think grilled cheese. It tries, almost gets there, and once you know that’s the goal you can see the vision.
That said, this mac and cheese is flavorful. If you’re craving a bowl of cheesy goodness it hits the mark. But it just doesn’t quite invoke the grilled cheese feeling I was hoping we’d get to.
How Thrilled Cheese Compares to Other Goodles Varieties
Goodles has built quite the lineup of mac and flavors. Not only can you find Goodles that imitate your classic boxed mac and cheese, but they offer several flavrs. Down the Hatch offers hatch chile flavors while Hey Hey Elote brings a roasted corn and lime inspired Latin flair. Their flavored macs tend to get their profiles from the vegetables they’re named for. They also tend to be on the saltier side.
Thrilled cheese is like their shy cousin. The flavor is there, but it doesn’t stand out quite as much. It’s a great pick if you want something a little more understated to dress up. Next we’ll look at an option for adding more grilled cheese flair to this dish.
How to Dress up Thrilled Cheese
Toppings bring a new dimension to your mac and cheese. We eat with our eyes first, and toppings add more visual interest to your dishes. Even the most delicious combination of pasta and cheese can fall flat visually, and toppings fix that.
There are three key purposes that toppings serve. They add more color, texture, and flavor to a dish and you want to aim for topping combinations that hit all three.
To meet the visual and flavor roles in my Thrilled Cheese, I sprinkled some chopped green onions across the top. I love the bright green color and fresh flavor they provide. The addition of grilled cheese croutons really takes this dish over the top. They’re fun, crunchy, and bring even more grilled cheese energy to the bowl.
Add a Fork
Is Thrilled Cheese worth seeking out? I think it was a great experiment, and the grilled cheese croutons were a blast but grilled cheese flavored mac and cheese isn’t necessary to get the grilled cheese vibe. I’d rather grab one of their regular cheese varieties and layer it with the croutons instead. It wasn’t bad, just not something I’d go out of my way to buy again.
Grilled Cheese Croutons
Ingredients
- 4 slices bread white or sourdough work best
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar always grate fresh.
- 1/4 cup cream cheese softened
- 1 tsp chipotle mayo
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*.
- Mix the cheddar and cream cheese.
- Spread mixture between two slices of bread.
- Spread chipotle mayo on the outside of the bread.
- Grill in a skillet over medium heat until toasty, flipping once.
- Let cool slightly and chop into 1 inch cubes.
- Arrange grilled cheese croutons in a single layer on a baking dish.
- Bake for 10 minutes watching closely. Flip halfway through baking time.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool 2-3 minutes before serving.
