The Gourmet Mac & Cheese Made From Only Dollar Tree Ingredients

If you're a fan of cooking tutorials on YouTube, chances are you may be a fan of Andrew Rea, better known as Binging with Babish. Well-known for his takes on dishes from television shows, movies, and even video games, Babish's cooking skills are a very impressive display of creativity and culinary knowledge.

Although Babish's cooking skills aren't something to be spoken of lightly, you may notice that he uses a large amount of exotic, high-quality, and expensive ingredients in his meals. One such example is his take on Pulp Fiction's $5 milkshake, which includes gold leaf, Madagascar vanilla beans, and Louis XIII Cognac. In these times, you're not exactly able to drop that much money just for some edible gold and some fancy liquor. This begs the question: Can you make a meal that can be considered "gourmet" using only very cheap foods? If so, how exactly can you do it?

Fortunately, there is a wide selection of recipes that promise a filling and delicious dinner using relatively cheap or few ingredients. One such example is the recipe from TikTok user @karmiccreations for a gourmet macaroni and cheese using only ingredients from the local Dollar Tree. Could this recipe be something that is both delicious and, most importantly, cheap?

According to TikTok user @karmiccreations, the recipe for baked macaroni and cheese uses eight ingredients and comes out to a cost of $10. The first step involves boiling your noodles before moving on to make your roux. The roux is made from half a stick of butter and two tablespoons of flour, followed by milk and your choice of seasonings. The second step has you add to the roux a block of cream cheese, a pouch of Velveeta cheese sauce, a bowl of three to four blocks of shredded processed cheddar cheese, and one to two Kraft singles. After your noodles are finished boiling, add them to your roux and stir, adding whatever seasonings you like. Pour the combined mixture into a skillet and then top with some shredded cheddar cheese before placing in the oven to bake until the cheese is golden brown.

While the TikToker claims this recipe is "the best mac and cheese you ever had," are there any other recipes that follow this example?  One recipe from YouTube, demonstrated by one Suzanne Ridgeway, shows a recipe for Dollar Tree macaroni and cheese that includes egg noodles, Velveeta cheese, and spinach. Dollar Tree does carry classic Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, so even if you can't make it homemade, the boxed stuff is always a reliable fallback option.