The more I look at Burger King’s new Mac n’ Cheetos, the more I want to call them Mac n’ Cheeturds. I assume they’re supposed to look like Cheetos Puffs, but they’re not orange enough or curved enough, which gives me the urge to rename them.
The fast food side appears to be the successor to Doritos Loaded, a fried, triangular cheese-stuffed product that debuted at 7-Eleven locations in 2014 and was available at select Burger King locations last year, which, now looking back, was probably a test to see if Burger King patrons would buy a newfangled mozzarella stick. SPOILER ALERT: It appears they would. I didn’t have the fortitude to try Doritos Loaded after reading a bunch of negative reviews, so I can’t compare it with Mac n’ Cheetos.
The product is basically deep fried mac n’ cheese, a staple at carnivals, state fairs, and the Cheesecake Factory, but with a sprinkling of Cheetos dust in the crispy coating. A serving is five golden orange pieces that come in a Chester Cheetah-less package. I guess the rights to use Chester Cheetah would’ve cost Burger King some money, but it would’ve made the packaging as fun as what the Chicken Fries come in.
The golden orange coating has a slight crispiness to it, but Burger King’s Onion Rings have a better crunch. I nibbled on the exterior to taste whatever Cheetos seasoning may be on in it, but my taste buds didn’t register anything that made me think of the crunchy cheese snack. But the crispy coating did remind of another popular cheesy snack — Cheez-Its.
As for the interior, it’s a combination of orange cheese goo and tiny macaroni. The macaroni were tender, although they’re small enough that your teeth might not even notice them. The cheese tastes like cheddar and has a consistency that more like toothpaste than ooey-gooey cheese, making it slightly weird. The mac and cheese is adequate, but it too doesn’t have anything that makes me think of Cheetos.
As you can probably tell, I’m not impressed with Burger King’s Mac n’ Cheetos. They somewhat look like Cheetos, but they don’t have that distinguishable Cheetos flavor, not even a hint of it. And what about Cheetos dust on my fingers! They don’t even give me that.
Look, I admire Burger King for their willingness to try something like this. Someone said you can’t be successful without failure. I’m not sure who said that, probably someone who came up with hundreds of failing sayings before coming up with that winner. It’s a great idea and I was excited about them, but the execution was poor. Maybe they do deserve the name Mac n’ Cheeturds?
(Nutrition Facts – Not available on website yet.)
Purchased Price: $3.29*
Size: 5 pieces
Purchased at: Burger King
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: They kind of look like Cheetos. Adequate. Interesting concept and name. Breading reminds me of Cheez-Its.
Cons: Disappointing they don’t taste at all like Cheetos. Don’t give me Cheetos dust fingers. No Chester Cheetah on the packaging. Cheese doesn’t have an oozy-gooey consistency.
*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.
that just sounds so terrible. I’m glad to know that they sucked to someone who was excited for them, otherwise I MIGHT have had to try them.
The price of these is just out-of-whack–just like what McDonald’s tried with its deep fried cheese sticks, the price of which was fine but the product of which was miniaturized to almost Barbie-sized . . . .
they cost like $2.50 by me, in WI. Id say $2.50 is a pretty good price.
I tried it too and thought it was not too bad. It does needs some tweaking but the idea is there. I think the best idea to roll into Cheetos dust instead of just taking them out of heat lamps.
They come frozen. We just fry them up when you order them. There is not enough time for a team member to roll them in cheetos dust overtime someone orders them. Burger King does not use heat lamps either. They use heated trays and the food gets thrown out after it has passed it’s designated holding time. Where I work they are made to order and delivered fresh from the fryer.
Dropping them in a bin of pulverized cheetos takes exactly 0 seconds longer than dropping them into an empty bin for them to cool.
BK customers sure are a crazy bunch.
I actually quite like them. I think the issue is people are expecting them to taste like Kraft Mac N Cheese mixed with Cheetos, when really they taste like REAL cheddar mac n cheese (with the texture of hospital mac n cheese unfortunately..) mixed with original flavor Cheez-Its. Im going to try them with ranch dip and ketchup, because they are usually a little dry. The ones that are nice and moist are super awesome, and even the dry ones are pretty good.
Sad. Usually crumbled Cheetos improve everything. I like them on potato salad…. And in pea soup. I’ve probably tried them as a sandwich filling.