This Is the Best Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese at Walmart

If you haven’t planned tonight’s dinner yet and don’t have the requisite groceries on hand to cook an elaborate meal, then you have the perfect excuse to turn to the ultimate quick comfort food: boxed macaroni and cheese.

This affordable and nearly instant dinner option is a staple for many households in case of a meal emergency, and luckily these days there are boxed mac and cheese options available that don’t include or call for any dairy, making this an accessible pantry good for even more people.

Among the best plant-based brands of macaroni and cheese you can find is Daiya, which recently shared with Food & Wine that a new flavor of its Dry Powdered Mac and Cheese line is now available exclusively at Walmart — and customers are giving it rave reviews. (At time of publish, the product has 69 five-star reviews and an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 on Walmart’s website.)

Daiya offers a variety of plant-based products, from mac and cheese or pizza to cream cheese and frozen “cheezecake,” all made without the dairy you’d typically expect. The brand’s new Walmart-exclusive mac and cheese flavor is perfect for anyone who loves aromatic flavors, who should sprint to snag a box of its Herb & Garlic Mac & Cheese before the superstore sells out. 

Daiya’s Herb & Garlic Mac & Cheese

A brand spokesperson tells Food & Wine that the new flavor is now available in stores or online at Walmart.com — confirming that “the flavor is exclusive to Walmart and will be available for an extended period of time.”

In a March 2024 press release announcing Daiya’s new line of Dry Powdered Mac and Cheese, the company detailed that the product is “made with dairy-free cheese and gluten-free pasta” and “uses dry powdered dairy-free cheese.” You heard that correctly: This instant dinner isn’t just dairy-free-friendly; it’s also gluten-free. The brand explains in an email to Food & Wine that the pasta is “made with brown and white rice for the perfect al dente [texture].”

Dehydrated garlic and chives ensure that this rendition of the brand’s boxed mac and cheese is infused with aromatic, herbal notes. Just like its other flavors of boxed mac and cheese, Daiya relies on torula yeast (a deactivated yeast) for the cheesy, umami flavor in its quick pasta.

A single box of Daiya’s Herb & Garlic Mac & Cheese is priced at $2.97 at Walmart, and a bundled option of three boxes is available for $8.91. 

How to make Daiya’s Herb & Garlic Mac & Cheese 

You can make Daiya’s mac and cheese on the stovetop according to the instructions on the packaging. On its website, Daiya recommends that you make the mac and cheese sauce using unsweetened, dairy-free milk and dairy-free butter.

However, if you’re not dairy intolerant and simply love the product’s flavor, you can of course make it with standard dairy products like whole milk and butter if desired. Even though this exclusive flavor is already seasoned with garlic and chives, you can upgrade your mac and cheese by adding chili flakes, a dash of your favorite hot sauce, or your protein of choice on top.

What customers say about Daiya’s boxed mac and cheese

What sets all of Daiya’s mac and cheese flavors apart from other dairy-free options is their customer reception, as home cooks wax poetic about the nostalgic flavor they find in this humble boxed meal. 

“Its texture and flavor are spot-on, and it makes me feel like I am a kid again,” says vegan food blogger Elena (@bestservedvegan) in her review of the brand’s boxed mac and cheese. “If you are looking to venture into the world of vegan mac and cheese, I recommend starting with Daiya.”

One Walmart review for the new garlic and herb-infused flavor details that, “This is the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had! It doesn’t leave you feeling too heavy, and [the] garlic and herbs taste amazing. It’s creamy and flavorful.”

That’s far from the only positive review, with other customers leaving comments like “[This] item was delicious and garlicky. Fed to my very picky husband and he enjoyed it too,” which is all the reassurance we need that we should be snagging a box or three as soon as possible.