For The First Time, Stouffer's Is Releasing Non-Frozen Food Items

Stouffer's, the company that brought us French bread pizza and also sells a bunch of different frozen pasta dishes, started as a restaurant 100 years ago. However, for the past 70 years, it's been concentrating exclusively on the types of foods you'll find in the grocery freezer case. Well, all that is finally about to change, as the company website now has a section for pantry meals, too. This consists of just two items at present, both of these being shelf-stable macaroni and cheese mixes.

Stouffer's Supreme Shells & Cheese, as both box mixes are styled, come in a choice of cheddar and three cheese (the other two cheeses are parmesan and gouda). According to information shared with Mashed, both are expected to sell for around $3.99 per 12-ounce box. One of the main selling points, as per the company, is that both products are said to have 10% more sauce than Velveeta original shells and cheese. No comparison is made to the Kraft blue box kind, however, so we can't say how that stacks up.

As Stouffer's is just venturing into the boxed mac and cheese space, it seems to be playing things pretty conservatively with only two versions, both of which are fairly standard renditions of the dish. The company's frozen product macaroni and cheese, however, comes in a dozen varieties in four different sizes ranging from single servings to a party size meant to feed 10 people. (By contrast, the boxed mix, once prepared, is said to make 2.5 servings.)

While Stouffer's original may rank as a midcard frozen macaroni and cheese dinner, the company steps it up with a mildly spicy nacho cheese version that customers have rated five stars. The lineup also includes five cheese, made with cheddar, parmesan, romano, white cheddar, and asiago, as well as mac and cheese with broccoli and cheesy mac and beef. Additionally, you can buy three different kinds of frozen mac and cheese bites: plain, bacon, and Nashville hot. It might be difficult to recreate this last-named product in shelf-stable form, but it would be nice to see Stouffer's boxed mac and cheese range expand to offer spicy, meat, and vegetable-enhanced varieties. Perhaps this will come in time if the plainer versions prove successful.