Woman claims we've been cooking mac n cheese wrong and people are mad at her 'genius' method

One woman’s ‘rebellious’ macaroni cheese recipe has divided social media users after they blasted her for not following tried-and-tested directions.

Kraft Mac and Cheese has been a household food staple since James Lewis Kraft invented the iconic meal way back in 1937.

While everyone has a different way of cooking the boxed dinner, the official Kraft-Heinz website says that you should first pour water into a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil.

It’s stipulated that you should cook the pasta for around seven to eight minutes in the boiling water before draining and returning the mac to the pan.

The instructions then advise you to add 1/4 cup of cut-up margarine, 1/4 cup of milk and the sachet of Cheese Sauce Mix to the pasta before stirring and serving up.

However, one woman has a ‘genius’ hack that has proved to create a ‘cheesier’ and ‘better tasting’ Kraft macaroni cheese.

Taking to TikTok in 2021, a user named Nikki Gillespie explained in her now-viral video how she’d come across a macaroni cheese recipe whilst trawling social media.

“I’ve been cooking this stuff all the wrong way,” she continued after pouring two packets worth of pasta into a pan.

She then proceeded to add water to completely cover the pasta before placing it on the hob.

As the water began to boil, she then dumped in two packets of dried cheese sauce, added two cubes of butter to the mixture and seasoned with some black pepper.

“Don’t put the lid on it because you need the extra water to cook out of it,” Gillespie continued as the pan was eventually brought to a boil.

After a time jump, the video showed her stirring a now-creamy pot as she added heavy cream to the mixture.

“No straining,” she advised. “You don’t even have to strain the noodles or anything it’s just one skillet and it’s so much easier and it tastes so much better because the pasta actually just cooks in with the cheese sauce.”

To make the meal even creamier, the mom elected to add handfuls of Kraft shredded low-moisture mozzarella and cheddar cheese because her daughters ‘loved it’.

“I added some of that in there, let it melt down and it’s a lot more cheesier and gives it a great extra flavor,” she added. “Almost gives it that homemade taste.”

The recipe hack, which has amassed a whopping five million views since it was posted almost three years ago, has divided people in the comments, however.

One TikTok user wrote: “My family wouldn't eat any box mac cheese. I'm a homemade macaroni and cheese.”

A second said: “I love that you don’t have to strain it. Sometimes having the strainer in the dishwasher means we gotta figure something else out, this is perfect.”

“Lol @ almost that homemade taste!!!! Not even close!!!! Not invited to the cookout,” lamented another user.

While someone else commented: “That’s not what the directions on the box say,” to which Gillespie replied: “I’m a rebel.”

Another typed: “I replace half the water with chicken broth, and use cream cheese instead of butter.”

So while the genius method looks mouthwatering, it appears that not everyone is impressed - but you can’t please them all, right?