With Thanksgiving just around the corner, thoughts are already turning to tables full of the traditional sides: mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, apple pie, apple pie mac and cheese …
Wait, what?
That’s right — just in time to grace everything from your holiday table to your toddler’s tray, Kraft is releasing its limited-edition Apple Pie Mac & Cheese, this time in a box so green it’s worthy of Granny Smith. It’s the golden mac you know and love along with notes of cinnamon and tart apples, available exclusively at Walmart.com for $1.48, while supplies last.
As if the flavor weren’t shocking enough, Kraft has teamed up with the “ultimate pie guy,” actor and now director Jason Biggs to promote this unconventional twist on two classic American dishes. Although you’ve probably seen him more recently in “Orange is the New Black” or “The Good Wife,” this ad aims a hilariously cheeky wink at his most iconic role, Jim Levenstein in the 1999 smash movie “American Pie.”
Kraft says it was looking for a new sweet and savory combination to win over consumers, but also for something playful and nostalgic. Now that the stars, and fans, of the ‘90s movie are old enough to be parents themselves, the idea was an irresistible pairing.
Some social media commenters aren’t so sure, though.
“Kraft are you feeling okay?”
“This is a joke right?”
“Eww.”
I love a crazy flavor, and I’m still enamored of things like Matthew McConaughey’s apple-wasabi tuna salad and Wimbledon champ Iga Świątek’s strawberry pasta, so I am officially here for this. Plus, cheddar cheese and apple pie are a genuine thing! A delicious, delicious thing. I’m optimistic already, but I caught up with Biggs to ask him about the product he’s having so much fun with.
It turns out he was bullish from the outset, too, as both a blue-box fan and sweet-leaning cheese plate aficionado.
“First of all, I love mac and cheese, and this just felt like something that could work,” he tells me. “It’s got that cinnamon thing going on. I’m a big savory-and-sweet guy.”
Biggs also jumped at the chance to engage in a little seasonal merriment.
“This, to me, just felt like a real opportunity to be nostalgic — not just for me and ‘the pie,’ but because I grew up eating Kraft Mac & Cheese,” he says. “It’s Thanksgiving, a time to be with family and be happy, and we wanted to tap into something really fun … but still a little edgy and irreverent.”
It certainly does sound a bit wild. So, what was his experience with trying it? He remembers the scent hitting first.
“You’ve got that unmistakable Kraft Mac & Cheese aroma, but for me, it was like ‘Oh, holiday!’ It’s unexpected, but it’s not the craziest thing in the world. It’s actually delicious.”
Maybe nobody knows pie better than Biggs, but I can’t just take his word for it. I can’t wait to try this for myself.
Nothing seems amiss, until I spy a tiny green sliver among the orange. It smells the same, though — salty and cheesy — until it’s cooked and all sauced up according to package directions. The apple-cinnamon aroma is unmistakable through the clouds of steam, and frankly, it’s a little alarming. I can smell the cheese, but it’s taking a backseat, and I’m not sure that’s good.
That is, I taste it. It is Kraft Mac, plus. Like Biggs, I taste the cinnamon first, but a natural, lightly sweet-tart apple note follows. It’s balanced, harmonious and creamy — no joke — and you can see teeny specks of cinnamon, but there’s no change in texture otherwise. I love it.
I can never leave well enough alone, though, and I’m such a big fan of dressing up childhood faves with a little extra nutrition or fanciness. So, I topped mine with fresh apple slices and panko toasted with butter and cinnamon. The first bite was so good that I chopped up the rest of the apple and stirred it in before shoveling the whole bowl into my mouth.
As for Biggs, he’s hosting this Thanksgiving — and yes, he plans to serve it.
“My dad is really curious,” he says, noting that it’s a great conversation starter as well as something to giggle about.
And if it’s too good to make it to the Thanksgiving table before you inhale it in your kitchen standing over the stove like a horse at an apple barrel?
Well, just tell your mom you ate it all.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
