We Tried It: Kraft Dinner Ramen
When Kraft Dinner announced it was turning Canada’s favourite boxed macaroni into instant ramen, we had one mission: find it. ASAP.
Boy, was that easier said than done.
This ramen quickly became our office’s white whale. Store after store came up empty, and we were dangerously close to attempting a DIY version before we finally struck gold. All three flavours—Extra Cheesy, Medium and Extra Spicy—were quietly tucked away on the bottom shelf of our local Metro.
With forks in one hand and chopsticks in the other, Team Chatelaine got to tasting. Here’s what we thought of Kraft Dinner Ramen.
The first impression
Each cup comes with two packets: one filled with KD’s signature cheese powder, and another with ramen seasoning. After adding boiling water, letting the noodles sit for five minutes and draining the excess liquid, the instructions tell you to stir it all together.
Immediately, we noticed a major problem: the ramen seasoning completely overpowers the cheese.
Visually, things don’t improve much either. The noodles sit in a pool of bright yellow cheese water, with most of the sauce swimming stubbornly at the bottom—making it surprisingly difficult to get one cohesive, cheesy bite.
What about the flavours?
Extra Cheesy came the closest to delivering what we were hoping for from this concoction. It was undeniably cheesy and offered little hints of classic Kraft Dinner, but we really do mean hints.
Original (or Medium) landed exactly where you’d expect: perfectly fine and ultimately forgettable. Like the rest of the lineup, the ramen seasoning took centre stage while the cheddar flavour quietly faded into the background.
Then there was Extra Spicy. Based on the name, we had a carton of milk on standby. Instead, we kept waiting for the roaring heat to arrive—and it never did. The spice barely materialized, making the name feel more spit than fire.
Our final verdict
Kraft Dinner ramen isn’t bad—it just doesn't taste much like Kraft Dinner.
Instead, it feels like a mediocre instant ramen with a pinch of nostalgia sprinkled on top. The iconic cheese powder never really gets its moment to shine. So if you’re cracking open a cup expecting that unmistakable childhood KD flavour, you're better off reaching for the OG blue box instead.
Sarah Bauly is the assistant editor at Chatelaine. Outside of writing, she can often be found getting lost in her favourite ’80s hits, lingering in bookshops or exploring the city in search of her next go-to coffee spot.
