My Life In Food: Joel McHale Shares A Surprising Snack Obsession

Joel McHale you may have a slight addiction to coffee.

“Boy, I drink a lot of coffee,” McHale, 53, revealed exclusively in his My Life in Food feature in the latest edition of Us Weeklyon newsstands now. “That’s all day, no joke. I think I’ve had about 12 shots (of espresso) by now.”

The only thing Community an alum might like pasta more than coffee, he says Us has been a favorite since childhood.

“There’s a reason why pasta has become one of the most popular dishes on the planet, because you can do so much with it,” he told Us when discussing his partnership with Mac-A-Roni, the latest innovation from the makers of Rice-A-Roni. “When they came to me, I was like, ‘Oh, you have no idea.’ I grew up eating Rice-A-Roni, and I love pasta. When I eat it, I go for it. And I have two teenage sons, and they can’t get enough of it. So this was as if they had made the product for me and my family.”

Available in Creamy Cheddar and Creamy White Cheddar flavors, Mac-A-Roni launched this fall with a pop-up event headlined by McHale.

“Cheese and pasta, it really enhances the flavors of your main meal,” says McHale Us the versatility of the dish, especially during the holiday season. “That’s, like, scientifically proven, and so I think it’s really true. So when you have a Thanksgiving turkey, have a side dish of pasta, you can have your potatoes, and that’s fine. But I’m a pasta man, and I was born in Italy, you know, where macaroni came from.”

Keep scrolling for more of McHale’s fun food-based anecdotes:

What special dinner would your mother or wife make on your birthday?

Oh, my wife wouldn’t cook. I will cook. If I’m at home, I cook it all.

When I was growing up, one of my favorite meals was rice and flank steak. And my mother would marinate it in honey, soy sauce, green onions, salt and pepper and ginger, and let that marinate overnight. Then, we would serve it with Rice-A-Roni. So now, it would be Mac-A-Roni.

My mother used to make – and still does – spaghetti carbonara with bacon and eggs. Those would be my perfect meals.

What did you order on your first date with your wife, Sarah Williams?

We went to a restaurant called the Swingside Cafe, which is a pasta only restaurant. I think she had puttanesca, and I think I had bolognese.

What is the snack you are obsessed with?

Boy, I drink a lot of coffee. That’s all day, no joke. I think I’ve had about 12 shots (of espresso) by now.

What would be your last meal on earth?

Probably a bone in a ribeye. Look, everyone orders it medium rare, and it’s pretty easy to do, but I would say medium or medium rare.

What is the comfort food you eat when no one is watching?

Peanut Brittle. A lot of candy.

What’s a recipe you made?

I like to take a jalapeño pepper and take all the seeds out, put it in a Cuisinart and have nothing else, just crazy diced peppers, and use that as a garnish. I put it on top of meat or pasta, and I take a lot of the heat out of the seeds, and it’s just peppers. I know that’s not something that’s groundbreaking, but people are like, “Oh, what did you add?” and I’m like, “Nothing.” It doesn’t have much salt to it. It’s not so much flavor, but, yes, just peppers.

What food did you dislike as a child?

Well, I can’t really eat a raw tomato. I have friends who eat them like apples. I love them on anything else, like, burgers with oil and vinegar and all that. I will eat them all day, but I can’t get them raw.

With reports from Sarah Jones