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Even if you’re not vegan, I think you’re going to love this vegan mac and cheese recipe. It took me 10+ attempts to get the dairy-free cheese sauce just right, and thanks to reader feedback over the years, it has only gotten better.
What you’ll love about this mac and cheese recipe is that it’s just as fast to prepare as the boxed version from the store. While the pasta cooks, you’ll toss a few ingredients in a blender to make the sauce. When the pasta is done, the cheese sauce is, too! (No store-bought cheeses required.)
With over 400 five-star reviews, I’m confident you’ll love it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Featured Review
“This is not only the best vegan mac out there, it’s also the easiest! I have made this recipe so many times as written and it is simply perfect…” – Audrey
Vegan Mac and Cheese Ingredients
- Cashews. This recipe calls for unsalted, unroasted cashews for the most neutral flavor. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, soak the ingredients in boiled water for 10 minutes before blending to help them break down more easily.
- Nutritional Yeast. Also called “nooch” in the vegan world, these flakes add a cheesy flavor to the sauce without using dairy. There is nothing else quite like this ingredient, but in a pinch, you could substitute it with a small amount of white miso, which also has a cheesy flavor.
- Spices. Garlic and chili powder add flavor, while a pinch of turmeric lends the sauce an orange hue. (But that’s optional!) While it might taste salty at first, remember that the sauce will be poured over a pound of pasta, which will dilute the flavor.
- Lemon juice. This adds a tangy flavor to help boost the overall “cheesy” taste. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice, rather than bottled, for the best flavor.
- Mustard. This adds another layer of tangy flavor and helps emulsify the cheese sauce.
- Pasta. Macaroni noodles cook faster than practically all other pasta shapes, making this a quick-cooking dish. Choose gluten-free pasta for a gluten-free recipe.
How to Make Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese
Step 1:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the pasta according to the package directions. (I usually add a teaspoon of sea salt to the water in the pot.)
While the noodles are cooking, combine the cashews, water, lemon juice, mustard, salt, nutritional yeast, and spices in a high-speed blender. Secure the lid and blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Step 2:
When the noodles are done cooking, drain and return the warm noodles to the large pot.
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Pour the sauce into the pot, and stir over medium heat until the mac n’ cheese is warmed and the noodles are well coated. Adjust the seasoning to taste, adding more salt or lemon juice as needed.
If necessary, add a few tablespoons of water to help loosen the sauce and make it creamier.
Serve this vegan mac and cheese warm, accompanied by any additional toppings you love. It’s delicious with veggies added in, such as steamed broccoli or mushroom bacon. (Yum!)
Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese Recipe Variations
- 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 3/4 cup of breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of melted vegan butter, and 1/4 teaspoon of 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 a preheated oven at 350°F 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 chopped almonds or other crushed nuts.
- 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 has a flavor profile 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 the cheesy flavors. It’s always a good idea to start small with miso, as it can overpower a recipe quickly. Start with just 1/2 teaspoon if you’re unsure about the flavor.
Storage Tips
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The sauce will thicken when chilled, but should thin out again when warmed. Add a splash of water to the pasta when heating it on the stovetop for the creamiest results.
Note: If you need to make this ahead of time, I recommend making the sauce and storing it separately in the fridge for up to 5 days. The pasta is best cooked fresh, and then you can stir in the sauce and heat it until warmed through.
The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cashews (not roasted or salted)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup water
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- ½ teaspoon spicy brown mustard (optional)
- 16 ounces Elbow or shell pasta of choice (gluten-free, if needed)
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Add a teaspoon of salt to the cooking water to make the noodles well-seasoned.
- While the pasta is cooking, combine the cashews, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, water, salt, nutritional yeast, chili powder, garlic, turmeric, cayenne (if using), and mustard in a high-speed blender. Secure the lid and blend until silky smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add another tablespoon or two of water and blend again. You can taste the sauce, but remember that pouring it over a pound of pasta will dilute the flavor significantly.
- Once the pasta is tender, drain and return it to the pot. Stir in the cheese sauce and adjust the seasoning to taste. Add another tablespoon of lemon juice to brighten the flavor if needed. 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
More Recipes to Try
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below, letting me know how you like it.
Hi! I’m unfortunately allergic to cashews (and walnuts, pecans, and pistachios) but do you think there’s another nut substitute that could replace the cashews in this recipe? I’m dying to try it, it looks so amazing!
Hmmm… can you have other tree nuts, like Brazil or Macadamia nuts? I would think those would work well.
I’ve tried using almonds before and the sauce wasn’t quite as creamy as the cashew-version, but if you soak the almonds for 4-6 hours before hand, they should blend pretty smoothly! I’d say any nut (other than peanuts… that could be gross) would work, though the flavor might be slightly different– but still good!
This looks simply wonderful. I’m on an anti-candida diet right now and unfortunately cashews are a no-go, so I am so excited to try this with almonds! I have whole almonds and slivered, which do you think would work best? Thanks for posting!!
Made this tonight and used Brazil nuts (store didn’t have raw cashews. ) it was great!
did you soak them?
Because I’m a rebel and I love the taste of peanut butter and cheese, I want to try it with peanuts! 😉 Different can be tasty! (But thanks for the idea because I miss peanut butter and cheese sandwiches now that I’m trying to go vegan. I’ll put some nutritional yeast on my peanut butter and be happy!) Will try original version too, though!
you can also try sunflower seeds.
Do you think hemp seeds will work? I, too, cannot have cashews.
You never know until you try! The hemp seeds may affect the flavor and texture, so you might have to experiment a bit… but it’s worth a shot!
Let us know how it goes! 🙂
I never followed a recipe before and I still haven’t… I replaced the water with vegetable broth and added some Hemp seed milk to make it more creamy… Best Mac&Cheese I ever had.
Try chickpeas instead of the cashews….I didn’t have enough cashews so I added some chickpeas and it was very good and had the creamy texture you would desire for “Mac and chese” 🙂
There is a great recipe with sunflower seeds and veggies. Its from Isa Chandra. Its delicious. Sunflower Mac. Google it!
I bet you could do it with pepitas! I boiled mine for 15 minutes last time I made a cheese sauce with them.
Well, another fabulous Sunday meal. We will definitely try the broccoli and rice with “cheese” sauce. When you turn on the blender. It’s like magic. Cashew and stuff= Cheese! Way cool.
Oh my! I made this today for lunch and everyone snarfed it! So good! Thanks for sharing your recipe. Can’t wait to make it again.
I hate to admit it but I used to LOVE the mac n cheese out of the box. But this version looks amazing! I’m going to try and give that recipe a shot this week!
Are you looking for a new job? Cause I’ll pay you to come be my personal chef…
Yes, I’d love to be your personal chef! I’m whipping up a batch of macaroons with YOUR name on it as we speak. 😉
Yes!!!!!
Okay, definitely bookmarking this! I have always loved mac ‘n’ cheese but my sister? She is absolutely crazy about it and has been pushing me to make her a vegan version since she wants to start cutting back on dairy. This looks like it would do an amazing job of convincing her to FULLY give up dairy.. maybe. I can dream. 😉
I really need to get a vitamix!
Before I got my vitamix, I used a good quality braun hand blender in a plastic juice jug (round with smooth, straight sides). It worked really well for stuff like this. When blending nuts, if you don’t have a vitamix or blendtech, don’t add a lot of water to start, make it into a thin paste and then add more liquid. It will come out smoother. (A tip I got from someone else, when learning how to cook vegan!)
You are en fuego! That looks so awesome!
This looks foodgasmic, I want some now, send me a spoonful? 😉
I’d send you some, but the leftovers are already gone! Good sign, I guess. 😉
Well. That’s got to be the fastest a recipe has ever been bookmarked in this house… look at you go! Thanks for sharing!
Oh, good! Hope you get to enjoy it soon. 😀
Made this tonight, also with roasted broccoli and sautéed mushrooms. Delicious! Will become a staple for me. Thanks!
Wow, first of all, let me say this was amazing. The flavor is out of control good. At first I thought with all the spices that it was going to be HOT , but it wasn’t at all. It was more a zesty deliciousness that I loved. I decided to steam the broccoli instead of roasting it and it came out awesome. By the time the pasta was done I was too impatient to wait and bake it in the oven for a little longer, so I ate it as is and it was delicious. My mom was super skeptical about trying it because its vegan, but after trying just one small bite, she was hooked and wanted an entire bowl full. This recipe is a winner. Anyone who hasn’t, definitely needs to try it!
Made this recipe tonight for my family, added kale, spinach, tomatoes, and fried tofu. I used chickpea pasta too! Everyone loved it, even my skeptical dad. The recipe was pretty simple too which is a bonus!
Jah…
Chick oea pasta is amazing.. Ticks all the boxes, I’m low carb and my wife is Vegan! ZenB do the best pea pasta I’ve ever had.. Their yellow pea macaroni pasta, (used in this recipe), is nothing short of amazing!
Thanks for this recipe Detoxinsta..
5 stars! 😀
Rich..
This is so good!!!!! I honestly couldn’t believe how cheesy it tasted!!!
This is my favourite Mac & Cheese recipe. Very easy to make with simple ingredients. Yum