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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 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
If you’ve been disappointed with other dairy-free mac and cheese recipes, I hope you’ll give this one a try. It took me over 10 attempts to get it right, and thanks to reader feedback over the years, it has only gotten better.
What you’ll love about this vegan cheese sauce is that it’s not labor-intensive. 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 hundreds of five-star reviews, I’m confident you’ll love it.
Vegan Mac n Cheese Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Cashews. Use cashews that are not salted or roasted 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 powder, onion powder, and chili powder add flavor to the sauce, while a pinch of turmeric lends an orange hue. (But that’s optional!) While the sauce might taste salty at first, remember that it’s being 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 Vegan 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 pot of water.)
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 very smooth.
Detoxinista 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. Pour the soaked cashews (along with the warm soaking water) directly into the blender, then add the remaining ingredients to blend.
Step 2:
When the noodles are done cooking, drain and return the warm noodles to the large pot.
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.
Step 3:
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!)
Vegan Mac 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 in the fridge for up to 5 days. The pasta is best cooked fresh, and then you can stir in the sauce and heat until warmed through.
Flavor Variations
- Baked Mac & 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 with 1/4 cup of melted vegan butter and 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 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 aren’t sure about the flavor.
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 Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below, letting me know how you like it.
I loved this one. I will admit that it didn’t make it to the oven. We tried it after we mixed it all together and couldn’t stop! Thank you!!
WOW!!! I just made this for dinner and it is so good!!! YUM! I followed the directions exactly except I didn’t have any paprika. I used dijon mustard not yellow…And it is amazing. The only change is I will cook it a little less next time to keep more of the creamy texture. I plan to make this often!!! Thank you so much!!
WOW!!!! I finally got around to making this and my family LOVED it and all said it was so delicious and asked for seconds!!!!!!!!!!! I haven’t had mac ‘n cheese for YEARS and I gobbled this up!!! I will be making it again SOON!! My one tip though is to reduce the baking time to about 5-7 min…just enough for it to be hot. It was so creamy and delicious before I baked it, but afterward, seemed pretty dry, so I ended up adding about a 3/4 cup of almond milk…so, the next time I make it I’ll just pop it in the oven for about 5 min. or so. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART for this amazing recipe that I will be making for YEARS!!!! 🙂 I also love that the ingredients are ones that most of us vegans/clean eaters have on hand!!! 🙂 Nutritional yeast is the bomb!!!! 🙂
I am a new vegan and giving up mac and cheese was for sure the hardest thing for me. I found this recipe and I was scared because I didn’t think it could be comparable, but it is! I am not easy to please. I am picky, and I am especially picky when it comes to my mac and cheese. This is so good. I promise, everyone should try this, vegan or not.
I just made the recipe and it’s delicious. I added roasted broccoli and spinach. I’m thinking next time I might also add some sauteed leeks. This recipe is a keeper– a “go to” recipe. I loved it.
I’ve just started experimenting with Vegan recipes and lots of them call for nutritional yeast, like this recipe. Is it for taste or for nutritional value ?? Going to try this recipe tonight, do you think it could fool anyone into thinking there is cheese and not “cheese” 🙂 in it ?? I hope so cause I love cheese and it’s been soooooo difficult not eating it !
The nutritional yeast is added for a “cheesy” flavor. I think it depends on who you want to “fool,” too. My husband gobbled it up, and I didn’t even tell him it wasn’t cheese until he was halfway done with his plate! But, I’ve heard that others wouldn’t be “fooled” into thinking it wasn’t really cheese… but, either way it’s a tasty sauce! I’d probably serve it to guests as “Mac n’ Cheese” and wouldn’t expect them to question it.
This was very good. A cheesey taste. Wouldn’t fool anybody but it is delicious in it’s own right. For those that made comments about mustard or lemon make sure it is level tsp/Tbs. I even used half the mustard and it tasted good. Can always add the rest. Excellent suggestion for the add-ins; I used mushrooms and spinach as that is what I had. So good!
This is an amazing recipe! I have been veggie for over 10 yrs and scared to try vegan mac and cheese – I am sorry I have waited so long. I put peas, onion, garlic, peppers, and a couple veggie burgers to give it extra protein. Rice noodles have gotten much better over the years, too. I am making this again and have been raving about it to other friends. Thanks!
So-I just made this for dinner and LOVED it! We added some extra cayenne because I love a good kick in the taste buds :o) Brown rice noodles, sautéed mushrooms and spinach-and did not have the yeast flakes so I will have to try it again soon. GREAT recipe-I even posted it on my Facebook&Instagram to share with others!
This was amazing! My go-to comfort meal is mac n cheese and chili cheese dogs. Not exactly the healthiest meal! I’m lactose intolerant as well so finding a decent mac n cheese recipe that tastes good and is good for you that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg with the ingredients is hard to come by. This was delicious. It took me a bit to find the nutritional yeast but I’m glad I didn’t give up. I had a hard time getting the cheesy sauce to the right thickness so I had to add about a half cup more of the cashews, which ups the recipes fat and caloric value, but not by a whole lot and it was worth it. I personally prefer Dijon mustard over yellow, but it almost came out a little too mustard-y so I think next time I will cut back a little on the mustard and up the nutritional yeast for a more cheesy flavor. The husband is gone for the next few days on business and this will definitely be my dinner for the next few days! So delicious! Thank you!