Let me preface this by saying that I never promised these recipes would be healthy. This is a holdover from my high school/college days. I rarely eat it now, because my body protests if I over indulge, but I still love it.
In high school, it was common to have the lunch lady ladle nacho cheese into a bag of hot cheetos. That combination was heavenly. But getting perfectly melted nacho cheese at home can be difficult, so I experimented, and eventually settled on mac & cheese & cheetos. I have no idea how this would taste with regular cheetos, but you’re welcome to experiment if you aren’t a fan of spicy food.
As a side note, the photo shows standard Kraft mac & cheese, because they were out of the shell version, which, in my opinion, is much better. So follow the recipe, not the photo.

What You Need (Serves 2)
- 1 box Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Three Cheese with Mini-Shell Pasta
- 4 tbsp butter
- ¼ + ¼ cup milk
- 1 Md or Lg bag hot cheetos
- 2 bowls (or 1 if you’re really hungry)
How to Make It
- Cook the shells as listed on the package, then drain thoroughly.
- Return the pot to the stove to use the residual heat (or, if using a gas stove, turn the stove back on to low) and add the butter, stirring well to make sure it’s fully distributed (gas stoves, turn off heat again).
- Add the first ¼ cup milk, then the cheese powder and make sure it’s fully distributed. Add the second ¼ cup milk. You want the cheese sauce to be runny.
- Add your desired amount of hot cheetos (I usually go for about 1 snack bag-ish amount) to the bowl(s), then add the mac & cheese over it. Mix well. Your cheese sauce should be reddish.
- Enjoy!