Namaste’s Say Cheez is an allergy free option for boxed macaroni & cheese! I ordered this from ThriveMarket.com during a trial run, but it is also available on Walmart.com and Amazon. It sells for about $8 a box in most places.

Finding dairy substitutes can be difficult, especially in the cheese area. Too many cheese replacements taste exactly that, not like cheese. As usual, when I find a new thing that is safe for my house I always jump at the opportunity to try it! And I was definitely not disappointed!

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The pasta in Say Cheez cooks up perfectly in about 7 minutes. It has a smooth texture and isn’t grainy or flavored like some gluten free pastas can be.

The biggest difference between this brand and another type of boxed macaroni such as Kraft is that you have to make the cheese sauce. The sauce is a powder that you mix into the water and butter to create the sauce in a few minutes to add to the pasta. It thickened up quite well for us, but never reached a super thick sticky sauce texture. It has a good mild flavor that leaves room for adding things like hot dogs, or seasonings to your dish relatively easily.

If you are looking for a replacement for the creamiest cheesiest boxed macaroni and cheese, I don’t think at this time there is a perfect replacement. Of the ones I have found though, Namaste has the tastiest (and most importantly safe) replacement. Say Cheez has a more home-style Macaroni and cheese flavor, with the muted milky style cheese flavor instead of the in-your-face cheese flavor. I hope that makes since, it’s going to taste more (but not exactly) like something you’d have at a restaurant or home cooked by your aunt rather than the quick lunch typically found in boxed macaroni.

I’ve already started recommending this to friends that are dairy free or gluten free and have been looking to find something like this and, like me, have struggled with other brands having no or undesirable flavors. If you’re looking for a mac & cheese that’s quick and easy out of the box, with a little more effort on the sace, I recommend Namaste’s Say Cheez. With the price I wouldn’t make this a daily staple, but rather a nice side dish for suppers to have once or twice a month.