Velveeta’s New First-Of-Its-Kind Product Is Serious Competition for Kraft

Tailgating food is serious stuff—almost as serious as the football fandom it feeds. It doesn’t need to be fancy or pretty, but it does need to be shareable, satisfying, and frequently the type of food that has you jokingly saying, “My diet starts tomorrow.” And while we have no actual statistics to back this up, we’d say that at least 50% of those tailgating treats involve cheese.

Whether it’s queso dip with tortilla chips, meatball sandwiches topped with provolone, or creamy, cheesy Buffalo chicken dip, it’s not a football party without some cheese-filled decadent dishes on the table. But the absolute must-have cheesy dish for any tailgate has got to be macaroni and cheese.

Some occasions—like birthdays and holiday dinners—call for homemade macaroni and cheese that takes a little love and a lot of work (like the viral Tini mac and cheese, which calls for grating the multiple pounds of cheese, making a roux, and adding the ingredients in layers before baking). But a tailgate is not one of those occasions.

On the contrary, Football Sundays call for ripping open a box, boiling pasta, and adding a pre-made cheese sauce to the pot—no ovens, no nonsense. Which explains why Velveeta just released a macaroni and cheese that was practically designed for tailgating.

Velveeta Introduces Football Shapes & Cheese Macaroni and Cheese 

Velveeta’s latest boxed macaroni and cheese is the brand’s first foray into shaped pasta—something Kraft has all but mastered. The Football Shapes & Cheese Macaroni and Cheese comes with pasta shaped like footballs, helmets, and goal posts, as well as a cheese sauce packet features the brand’s signature melty, orange cheese.

Like Velveeta’s other macaroni and cheese, it couldn’t be easier to make. Simply boil the pasta, drain it, squeeze in the cheese sauce, and mix it all together. You can make one 10-ounce box for a few tailgaters or several boxes all at once to feed a crowd.

Instagram’s @markie_devo posted his excitement for the product, saying, “’I’ve waited 30 years for a proper excuse to play with my food.” He described the dish as having the “creamy, indulgent cheese you already love, now with football-themed shapes.”

“NEED,” one commenter quipped. And another saw the future possibilities for a line of other shapes: “Cute concept. They could do a heart-shaped one next.”

There are about five weeks until Super Bowl LIX (that’s 59 for those of you who don’t remember your Roman numeral lessons) on Feb. 9. That’s five weeks of NFL games and tailgates to serve up this fun, football-shaped macaroni and cheese. So far, the product has been spotted in-stores and online at Target, as well as online on Amazon. We don’t know yet if it’s a limited-time offering that will disappear after the NFL season concludes, so if you want this macaroni and cheese in your next game day spread, you’d better stock up now.