My Life in Food: Joel McHale shares his surprising obsession with snacks

Joel McHale may have a slight coffee addiction.

“Boy, I drink a lot of coffee,” McHale, 53, revealed exclusively in his “My Food Life” section of the latest issue Us Weeklyalready on newsstands. “It’s a full day, no joke. I think I’ve already had about 12 shots (of espresso).”

The only thing Community an alum might like pasta more than coffee, which he talks about us was a favorite since childhood.

“There’s a reason why pasta has become one of the most popular foods on the planet because you can do so much with it,” he said. us while discussing his partnership with Mac-A-Roni, the latest from the makers of Rice-A-Roni. “When they came to me, I said, ‘Oh, you guys have no idea.’ I grew up on ris a roni and I love pasta. If I eat it, I do it. And I have two teenage sons, and they can’t get enough of it. So it was like they made a product for me and my family.”

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

“Cheese and macaroni, it really enhances the flavor of your main dish,” McHale says us about the versatility of the dish, especially during the holiday season. “It’s sort of scientifically proven, and so I think it’s true. So, if you have turkey for Thanksgiving, with a side of pasta, you can eat potatoes and that’s fine. But I’m a pasta person and I was born in Italy, you know where pasta came from.”

Keep scrolling for more of McHale’s hilarious food anecdotes:

What special dinner would your mom or wife make for your birthday?

Oh, my wife wouldn’t cook. I would cook. When I’m at home, I cook everything.

When I was growing up, rice and steak was one of my favorite meals. And my mom would marinate it in honey, soy sauce, green onions, salt, pepper, and ginger, and leave it to marinate overnight. Then we would serve it with rice-a-roni. So now it will be Mac-A-Roni.

My mom used to make — and still makes — spaghetti carbonara with bacon and eggs. These would be my ideal meals.

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

We went to a restaurant called Swingside Cafe that only did pasta. I think she had puttanesca and I had bolognese.

What’s your favorite snack?

Boy, I drink a lot of coffee. It’s a full day, no joke. I think I drank about 12 shots (of espresso).

What would be your last meal on earth?

Probably a bone in the robber. Look, everyone orders it medium rare, and it’s pretty easy to do, but I’d say it’s medium to medium rare.

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What comfort food do you eat when no one is looking?

Peanut brittle. Lots of candy.

What recipe did you come up with?

I like to take a jalapeño pepper, remove all the seeds, put it in a Cuisinart cuber and nothing but crazy finely diced peppers and use it as a side dish. I put it on meat or pasta and take a lot of the heat out of the seeds and it’s just peppery. I know it’s not groundbreaking, but people think, “Oh, what did you add?” and I say, “Nothing.” There is not much salt in it. It doesn’t taste like that, but, yes, just pepper.

What food did you dislike as a child?

Well, I still can’t just eat a raw tomato. I have friends who eat them like apples. I love them in any other way, like oil and vinegar burgers and all that. I’ll eat them all day, but I can’t just eat them raw.

With a report by Sarah Jones