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Meet the best Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe you’ll ever try. It’s quick to prepare and tastes just as delicious and creamy as the traditional version!
This recipe is just as fast as the popular boxed version, only it’s made without dairy. While the pasta cooks, you can quickly whip up the plant-based sauce in a blender.
When you stir the simple vegan cheese sauce into pasta, most people can’t tell that it’s not the real thing. It’s perfect for those looking for dairy-free comfort food.
This recipe can easily be made gluten-free by using your favorite gluten-free pasta. Brown rice pasta and chickpea pasta are both easy options! If you need a cheese sauce made without cashews, try sweet potato mac and cheese or my nut-free vegan cheese sauce.
Ingredients You’ll Need
All you need is a handful of pantry ingredients, plus nutritional yeast for a “cheesy” flavor.
Spices like garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder can add extra flavor to the sauce, and I like to add a pinch of turmeric for an orange color. (But that’s optional!) Feel free to add a dash of smoked paprika or black pepper on top, too.
See the variation ideas below, if you’d like to try another flavor combination.
How to Make the Best Vegan Mac and Cheese
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Small elbow noodles will cook in just 5 to 8 minutes, while larger macaroni noodles will take closer to 10 minutes.
While the noodles are cooking, combine the cashews, water, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt, nutritional yeast, and spices. Secure the lid and blend until very smooth.
Pro Tip: If you don’t have a high-speed blender, cover the cashews with 1 cup of boiled water and let them soak for 10 minutes. This should help to soften the cashews, so they will blend more smoothly. Pour the soaked cashews (along with the warm soaking water) directly into the blender, then add in the rest of the ingredients to blend.
When the noodles are done cooking, drain them and return the warm noodles back to the large pot.
Pour the sauce into the pot, and stir over medium heat until the mac n’ cheese is warmed through and the noodles are well coated in the sauce.
Adjust any seasoning to taste, adding more salt, as needed. You can also add an extra few tablespoons of water to help loosen the sauce if needed.
Serve this vegan mac and cheese warm, with any extra toppings you love. It’s delicious with veggies added in, such as steamed broccoli or roasted butternut squash, or you can add any other toppings you love.
Leftover mac n’ cheese can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You may need to add an extra splash of water when you reheat it on the stovetop since the cheese sauce will thicken when chilled.
Flavor Variations
Prefer baked Mac and Cheese? Add an extra 1/4 cup of water to this recipe, to thin out the sauce (because it will thicken when baked), then pour the cooked pasta and sauce into a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. For a crumb topping, stir together a 3/4 cup of breadcrumbs with a 1/4 cup of melted vegan butter and a 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, then sprinkle the mixture over the top of your mac and cheese. (Use gluten-free bread crumbs if you need to.)
Bake the casserole in an oven preheated to 350ºF for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn on your oven’s broiler and let the breadcrumbs brown for 1 to 2 minutes, just until the topping looks golden brown. Watch closely, so it won’t burn! For a gluten-free topping, try using chopped almonds or other crushed nuts, instead.
Green Chile Mac and Cheese. Replace a 1/2 cup of water with a 4-ounce can of green chilies. You can also add in a few slices of jarred jalapenos, for extra flavor and spice. (This is inspired by vegan nacho cheese, which is my favorite vegan cheese dip ever!)
Miso Mac and Cheese. Did you know that white miso tastes similar to Parmesan cheese? If you don’t have nutritional yeast on hand, you can add a teaspoon of white miso to this recipe to help bring out all of the cheesy flavorings in this recipe. It’s always a good idea to start small with miso, as it can start to overpower a recipe quickly, so start with just a 1/2 teaspoon if you aren’t sure about the flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can experiment with using hemp hearts instead of cashews, if you like. (This works great for vegan ranch dressing, so it might work here, too.) Otherwise try Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese, as an alternative.
Of course! I recommend using a non-dairy milk that has no added sweetener, but you can use oat milk, almond milk, or even soy milk if you’d like to add extra protein to this recipe. I don’t recommend using coconut milk, unless you don’t mind the added coconut flavor.
Looking for more vegan comfort food? Try Vegan Quesadillas, the Best Veggie Burgers, Vegan Pad Thai, or Lentil Bolognese for more ideas.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or ½ clove garlic)
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon spicy brown mustard (optional)
- 16 ounces Elbow or shell pasta of choice (gluten-free, if needed)
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Be sure to add a tablespoon of salt to the cooking water, so the noodles will be well seasoned.
- While the pasta is cooking, combine the cashews, lemon juice, water, salt, nutritional yeast, chili powder, garlic, turmeric, cayenne (if using), and mustard in a high speed blender and blend until silky smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add another tablespoon or two of water and blend again.
- Once the pasta is tender, drain and return it to the pot. Stir in the cheese sauce, and adjust any seasoning to taste. Serve warm, with any toppings or add-ins you like, such as steamed broccoli.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. The mac and cheese will thicken when chilled, so you may need to add a splash of water when reheating it on the stove top, plus an extra sprinkle of salt.
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Notes
Nutrition
If you try this Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
I’ve lost count now how many times we’ve made this. So good! For meal prep, I make the sauce and measure out the pasta before work. Then finish the last steps once I get home. I also like to add a tablespoon of olive oil in. Thank you!
I cut this recipe in half. Put a teaspoon of salt in the pasta water (which technically should have been 1.5 tsp) per instructions, as well as .75 tsp salt in the sauce. It is way too salty! Suggest not salting the boiling water at all and cutting the salt in the sauce in half. Then you could add more if needed.
I found this recipe okay and easy, however I found it doesn’t serve as well as leftovers as the sauce is somewhat dry. Can be solved but adding a tsp/tbsp of margarine after reheated.
I’d say this is more of a ‘make and serve immediately’ dish.
Thanks for the recipe.
This is a great recipe which I’ve made several times, but today I’m wondering if I could freeze this mac-n-chz? Thanks in advance for any input. And thanks for the recipe – it’s wonderful comfort food.
I’ve been making this recipe for years. I first made it for my husband about 6 years ago, and he was blown away by how much he enjoyed it. Sometimes we top with Parmesan (since we’re not vegan) and always hot sauce! But more importantly, my picky 5-year-old LOVES it and requests it every 2 weeks like clockwork 🙂
Turned out sooo good! Easy enough too. Will put this in the rotation 😊
This is my favorite cheese sauce I e ever made! Chefs kiss!!!!!
My go to Mac and cheese. I use walnuts instead of cashews
Literally insane how good this was! I have been vegan for over 3 years and have only ever tried a cashew based mac and cheese once, it didn’t turn out well and as a result haven’t tried anything like that since. Saw this recipe and I had all the ingredients so I thought I would give it a go. The sauce was very quick and easy to make. I used protein pasta, peas and topped with homemade TVP bacon bits and omg it was absolutely incredible! It was a hit with everyone! My sister actually said it was the best pasta dish she had ever had! This is definitely going to be something I make regularly! Thank you for this brilliant recipe 🙂