Kraft recently introduced a new version of its popular boxed mac ’n’ cheese that’s missing one key ingredient: cheese! This mac ’n’ cheese is vegan—or made without animal products.

Regular mac ’n’ cheese gets its creamy consistency from cheese, milk, and butter (see Yum, Mac ’n’ Cheese!, Science World, August 31, 2020). “We wanted to create a plant-based mac ’n’ cheese that still had the smooth creaminess people love,” says Robert Scott, president of research and development at Kraft.

To do that—without the help of cows—Kraft tested more than 100 recipes. It settled on a formula that contains coconut and fava bean powder for a velvety texture and cornstarch and tapioca as thickeners. Would you dig into a bowl?