Just 1 Teaspoon of This Ingredient Makes Boxed Mac and Cheese Taste Restaurant-Worthy

When I was 16, I babysat three neighborhood kids for the summer. This meant that I had to make them lunch every day—and being the age that I was, the only thing I could reliably make was boxed mac and cheese. The kids were thrilled, but after a couple of weeks, I got bored and started experimenting with whatever was in the fridge: ketchup, shredded cheese, extra butter.

Then. I stumbled on an ingredient that is still my secret to this day: white miso.

I started small, with a pea-sized amount (I didn’t want to ruin lunch and resort to a bag of chips), but little by little, we kept bumping up the miso until the kids started calling me “a really good cooker”—high praise indeed.

It’s a trick I continue to use, whether I’m stirring up a quick box of Kraft on a lazy night or making my homemade three-cheese version. That spoonful of miso gives it that je ne sais quoi that leaves my family saying, “Hey, you’re really good at cooking.” (Thanks, I know.)

How to Use Miso in Mac and Cheese

Boxed mac and cheese can be pretty salty to begin with, so you’ll want to start small. After you’ve mixed the cheese powder with the butter and milk (and everything’s smooth and glossy), whisk in about one teaspoon of white miso paste.

Taste, adding more miso as needed—up to a tablespoon—until it’s got a deep, savory kick that makes it taste restaurant-worthy. The result should be craveable and creamy, not overpowering or overly salty.

Adding miso to homemade mac and cheese is the same process as boxed, but you’ll have a little more flexibility with flavor. Once your béchamel or cheese sauce is smooth and thickened, whisk in one to two teaspoons of miso before adding the pasta. The heat will help the paste dissolve and mellow slightly, rounding out the sharpness of cheddar or the nuttiness of Gruyère.

It’s the kind of small, unexpected trick that makes people think you’ve done something fancy—when really, it’s just one spoonful of miso from the back of your fridge.

Choose the Right Miso for You

Miso comes in a few varieties, and each adds a slightly different flavor. Here’s a simple guide:

• White (Shiro) Miso: Mild, slightly sweet, and perfect for beginners. This is the one I use most often—it blends seamlessly with cheddar or processed cheese sauce.
• Yellow (Shinshu) Miso: A little deeper and funkier than white miso, but still mellow enough to use for picky palates. It’s a great middle ground if you want a bit more umami without going full fermentation funk.
• Red (Aka) Miso: Earthy, salty, and aged longer, red miso brings a bolder, more complex flavor that mimics the umami you’d get from aged cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Gruyère. A tablespoon stirred into homemade mac and cheese makes it taste like it’s been slow-baked for hours.