Mac and Cheeze change

I am one of those people who would not have rebought the first version, but did give the second version another try and have reordered since. The change is a clear improvement to me. I wouldn’t want any more sauce.

Only the smell of the opened bag is still a bit apalling, but less so than before, and I know better than sticking my nose into it now. :grin:

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I’ve actually got used to the new version now…at first I wasn’t keen on some aspects (sauce cheesiness) but texture I always thought an improvement

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This is an excellent assessment–I agree 100%.

@Charlotte_Huel : The increased amount of pasta would probably be a positive, if it had much of a taste. Whole-grain pasta would be a huge improvement, too. It could be my imagination, but the gluten content seems to be a lot higher, presumably as a result of that increase in pasta. I’m definitely noticing some of the symptoms that I’ve learned to associate with higher gluten intake, which I’d never experienced at all with the original version. (Also, why the heck is it still labeled as v1.0?)

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Also agree with surrealsai’s assessment. Here’s why:

  • Every OG M&C meal I had was perfect. Lots of sauce, creamy, flavourful, just perfect. Had with every Huel order.
  • Tried the new version – honestly couldn’t finish it. I often roll eyes when people say they couldn’t stand a meal so much that they actually had to throw it away, but genuinely this did not taste nice at all. It was like tasting my own saliva and digging through an overflow of macaroni. Flavourless, couldn’t taste any creaminess, cheeze or sauce. Tested it twice.
  • I used the bag again later, this time shaking the bag upside down like a madman, then tilting it as much as necessary to get 2 scoops out, and trying that. What a difference. I would say it was about 60% enjoyment of what the OG version was.

So, I went from “I would never get this new version again” to “If they just add more sauce and flavour, I would return to having Mac & Cheeze with every single order.” I shake the bag before every H&S meal, but it was only when I did it excessively upside down and scooped wayyy more powder than I’d normally get, that M&C tasted more similar to the original. (The distinct type of flavour was still different, but tasted really nice.)

The only improvement I would have liked to the original version, was being able to add frozen veg to it and not have that disrupt the ‘cooking’ process while microwaving. I have no problems microwaving Huel H&S meals with frozen veg, except for the original Mac & Cheeze due to some macaroni pieces still being hard.

TL;DR: Please add more sauce and flavour, and you will win my cheezy heart back :yellow_heart:

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I’m jumping into this thread - created an account just to do it. I started a Huel subscription in June and received two bags of the old recipe, which I thought was great. My 2nd subscription delivery had two bags of the new recipe, which I find to be just okay. There is much less flavor, and I definitely prefer the thicker sauce of the old recipe.

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I’m really sorry to hear this wasn’t a win for you. I will make sure to pass all product feedback across. Due to us not changing the core ingredients/allergens we decided to keep this as v.1.

Thank you for your feedback, we listen to everything that’s suggested from you guys and really appreciate your honesty.

All of this feedback has been passed on to our product team, if there is anything else at all you would like me to pass on, please let me know.

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You can’t change something but then keep the version number the same. It defeats the entire purpose of the version number philosophy.

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We are planning to remove numbers from the pouches.

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Maybe they just wanted to use up remaining bags. This would be better for the environment than throwing them away. And most probably most customers don’t look at those numbers anyway.

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I would argue there are lots of customers in this thread that would say otherwise.

Cool. Long overdue :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I concur with the feedback here. I’m a new customer and have been really enjoying the Carbonara. But the Mac and Cheeze I tried for the first time today tasted of nothing!

Add me to the list of folks disappointed by the updated M&C. The creaminess is completely gone and it’s virtually flavorless. It just tastes like plain cooked noodles. Yes, it’s easier to mix and uses less water, but I would go back to the previous recipe in a heartbeat if I could.

Like others have mentioned, it feels like the ratio of noodle-to-powder is just off. There’s so little powder in each bag; it’s mostly noodle.

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I’m so sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy our Mac & Cheeze, I’ve passed your feedback along to our product team.

If you want to try and get use out of your bag, I like to add a blob of BBQ sauce to my Mac & Cheeze as I find this way it suits my personal preference.

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Hi Charlotte

Thanks for passing the feedback on. Luckily I bought 3 bags of the spaghetti carbonara and that’s spot on, very tasty.

It would be so useful if Huel provided much smaller sampler bags. I would be much more comfortable purchasing maybe a couple of hot and savory “singles” or a smaller bag to try the different flavors. I really want to try the others but a bit wary of spending over 20 quid and not liking a flavour, ends up being a massive waste.

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Mac & Cheeze is my 3rd favourite. It’s great with some chopped ham or spam mixed in.

My favourites are Pasta Bolognaise and Spaghetti Carbonara :stuck_out_tongue:

I started reading the forums just to see if there is an update on the new bars replacement and saw this thread. And I was so worried about the Mac & Cheese changes after reading this but glad that I had some bags already stocked up. And then I ate some Mac & Cheese today and realized that it must be the new one because the pasta shape is like a fusilli and this thread was actually started in January. So for me, the changes don’t seem that big, I did feel at some point that it became less saucy but the overall flavor is similar enough that I really didn’t notice. So I do think that forum representation is less accurate than sales numbers and probably those who are happy are less likely to write a post. That being said, I just want to say I haven’t ordered H&S in a while because I overstocked and started eating other stuff for lunch in the hotter weather, so please know that I love Pasta Carbonara and Mac& Cheese and would have been ordering them regularly and I’ll go back to that sometime in the autumn.
Carbonara is my favorite though - so please don’t change that, unless you want to add a little salt, I always have to add a bit of salt before eating.

I still had a bag of old Mac&Cheeze when my latest subscription box arrived. There was a Lloyds Bank Everyday Offers cashback offer, so I took my subscription while the offer was on. I always sieve out the tomato pieces because I have a colostomy, so I sieved the two bags together, and so far the mixture is working fine for me.
I have yet to try the new variety on its own. :clown_face:

I just included a bag in with my past few month switch to having H&S for dinner each day. Initially tried Mac and Cheeze earlier this year and didn’t have a great experience.

Since then I’ve learnt a lot more about ‘getting it right’. Not too much, not too little powder which impacts how strong or runny or flavourful(less) the flavour is. And enough, not too much or too little pasta as well. Too much soaking in all the water. Too little and it’s too dry and still crunchy…

Going to give it a try this month… see how it goes. I reckon I can crack it this time.

I’ll be a bit devastated if a change like this ever comes to my beloved Madras or second fav, Cajun pasta. Hopefully new flavours can add to our favourites and not replace them.

According to reddit adding nutritional yeast makes it more creamy. I am not interested in HS and therefore haven’t tried it myself. though, but for those of you who liked the old version it might be worth a try.