How to Make Disneyland’s Craziest New Dishes at Home: Peanut Butter, Jelly Macaroni and Cheese

Disneyland is no stranger to pushing culinary boundaries, but the company behind Star Wars: Galactic Star Cruiser’s blue prawn cocktails and Enchanted Kingdom Park’s tentacle-filled micheladas may well be serving them the most polarizing ever Products: Peanut Butter and Jelly Macaroni and Cheese.

But is the assumption of those who call this dish crazy correct? Or are those who object to this culinary pleasure just… jelly?

In early March, Disneyland put Peanut Butter and Jelly Macs on the menu at the start of the annual Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. As the dish grows in popularity, they even share how to make it at home, described as peanut butter and jelly pasta topped with brown sugar vermicelli and strawberry chips. A post on the Disneyland Blog reads: “If you love peanut butter, jelly, macaroni and cheese, then you must give your taste buds the pleasure of trying this delicious dish…you’re lucky because you can now whip up your Install this Mac in the comfort of your own home.”

The recipe, which includes elbow macaroni, strawberry jam, peanut butter, and pop-rock-style candy, serves 4 to 6 people, a value considering the in-person version at the festival’s Nuts About Cheese booth sells for $8.25.

While the pasta comes from a cheese-themed stand and looks like a traditional macaroni and cheese, you won’t find cheese in the sweet and savory treat. In fact, the inspiration for this dish leans more towards the PB&J sandwiches of our childhood.

Buy this creation of Macaroni and Cheese at the Nuts About Cheese food stand inside Disney’s California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. (Photo: Carly Karamanna)
Buy this creation of Macaroni and Cheese at the Nuts About Cheese food stand inside Disney’s California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. (Photo: Carly Karamanna)
“Nuts About Cheese’s Peanut Butter and Jelly Macaroni is inspired by the kids in all of us,” Jimmy Weita, Disneyland Resort Special Events and Festivals chef, told Yahoo Life. “I grew up eating roasted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, [this] was probably something from the Midwest, and I wanted to recreate that taste, that feeling you get when you bite into that sticky melted peanut butter sandwich.”

“And strawberry shortcake?” Vita said of the pop-rock-style candy topping. “Well, it’s just some Disney magic. While it may seem like an odd combination of ingredients, once you take your first bite, it’s as good, if not better, than the best PB&J you’ve ever had. “

Despite Weta’s belief that word of the dish deserves to be spread around, the internet is divided on the Disney treat.

“It’s probably the weirdest pasta I’ve ever had, and it’s not bad at all: think of it as a dessert pasta,” says food and travel blogger Marc Contreras, who recently tried the dish. Contreras) said. “I personally can’t get this anymore. For me, it’s a once-and-for-all novelty.”

When Attractions Magazine tweeted about the dish, followers were a little nervous about the prospect of trying it.

“This photo is giving me diarrhea,” one Twitter user said.

“Some foods don’t need to be satiating at all,” another wrote.

Still Undercover Tourist, a site for discounted theme park tickets, wasn’t mad at the dish at all.

“We wanted to hate it,” they tweeted, “but it was actually a fun surprise.”

So how does this nutty cousin of traditional macaroni and cheese really taste? To our surprise, it was delicious. The crackling on top was a little overwhelming at first, but once we mixed it together, it was the perfect combination of sweet and savory. Also, the creaminess of the noodles didn’t give off a milky taste: we didn’t find any cheese, but rather the peanut-heavy flavor of this pasta.

This dish has the taste of Thai-inspired peanut satay, but it’s more intense thanks to powdered sugar and pop rock. “It tastes like Thai peanut butter meets a childhood favorite,” said the friend I shared with.

Our verdict: Chef Weita is not wrong. This is the premium peanut butter and jelly sandwich we never knew we needed.

But Peanut Butter and Jelly Mac’s aren’t the only Food & Wine Festival food options to intimidate and a little bewildered, there’s a frozen guacamole ice pop-style treat. To our surprise, we liked this too. The cool creamy popsicles are avocado-flavored, and the pico de gallo topping rounds out the taste of traditional guacamole, albeit in frozen form. Another fun dish for this year’s festival is frozen guacamole, avocado salad with lime cream, topped with picod gallo and chile lime dressing.

The Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival runs through April 26. Outdoor gourmet kitchens can be found throughout Southern California theme parks, offering dozens of creative meals and snacks. The festival is included with park admission, and food and beverages can be purchased once you enter the gates. Choices include everything from avocado toast to Cuban sliders, and childhood favorites have so many twists and turns everyone is talking about.

Craving macaroni and cheese but not going to Disneyland anytime soon? The park’s Cozy Cone Motel offers bacon macaroni and cheese in bread cones. Feeling a little wild? Outside the park at the Blue Ribbon Corn Dog Cart in Downtown Disney, there’s always Disneyland’s fried pickle corn dogs covered in pancake batter.