If someone tried to coax me a year ago with a “vegan mac and cheese” recipe, I would have politely said, “no, thank you.” First of all, I actually don’t really like mac and cheese. Not the boxed kind and not even the homemade kind. Weird, I know. And sad for my husband who looooooves it. I used to have to make him the famous “Ronald Reagan’s favorite mac and cheese” recipe all the time when we first got married. Tons of butter, cheddar cheese, milk, stomach ache for me. Just not my thing. It’s now the 21st century, and we’re both eating differently and I am open minded to alternative recipes.
Although open minded or not, I’ve always felt if I’m not going to like the real deal, why would I like something pretending to be the real deal? And most vegan mac and cheese recipes call for fake processed cheese or nutritional yeast and they’re just not that tasty, in my opinion. Are you with me? Well, according to myself and according to Mr. Picky who still doesn’t like cheese except Pecorino Romano in some soups and on pizza crust, this mac and cheese is the bomb. I think it’s better than mac and cheese and he likes it because he has watched me make it and is confident there is not a morsel of cheese, real or fake, anywhere in this dish.
The only trick with this recipe is that you have to follow it exactly! No eyeballing measurements. No leaving things out. Anytime I have guesstimated an amount with this recipe, it hasn’t worked quite as well, especially with ingredients like cayenne, lemon juice (you can leave this out, but just don’t add more than indicated) and garlic. Some of the images on this post were taken of light spelt macaroni and some of whole spelt macaroni. My family much prefers the light spelt pasta with this sauce, but you should use whatever suits you. I have also tried this with brown rice pasta and a corn-quinoa pasta — both super! Once I threw some small cauliflower florets into the pasta pot two minutes before the pasta was done and made a cauliflower mac and cheese. (See above.) I’m sure broccoli and kale would be great, too! Can you see how much fun we are going to have with this??!!
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Vegan Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounce package elbow macaroni pasta, I like spelt.
- 2 slices bread, torn into large pieces (whole grain works!)
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, not vegan or organic Earth Balance (vegan), divided
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 2 Tablespoons chopped shallots
- 1 cup about 7 ounces chopped Yukon gold potatoes (you can leave the peel on)
- ¼ cup chopped carrots, about 1 small carrot
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup raw cashews, soaked for 1-5 hours and drained if you your blender is weak
- 2 teaspoons sea salt, use 1 ¾ teaspoons if using Earth Balance
- ¼ teaspoon garlic, minced (about 1 medium clove)
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, optional
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- pinch of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, add the shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion and water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, drain and put back into the pot.
- Put the bread pieces, 1 Tablespoon of butter and paprika in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until combined to a medium-fine texture, set aside.
- Place the cashews, salt, garlic, 5 Tablespoons butter, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne in a blender or food processor. Add the softened vegetables and cooking water to the blender or food processor and process until perfectly smooth.
- Pour the “cheese” sauce over the cooked pasta and combine until completely coated. Spread the mixture into an un-greased 11 x 8 casserole dish, sprinkle with prepared breadcrumb mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden brown. If you add veggies (such as 1 or 2 cups of blanched cauliflower or broccoli) to the macaroni, cook in a 13 x 9 dish.
Notes
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Wow, delicious. I made it to take to a friend’s party and it was devoured very quickly by the house full of non-vegans. I had one woman say in disbelief, “What?! I thought that was real cheese!” My non-vegan brother told me he liked it more than the traditional cheese version of the dish, which I have to agree with. It’s a pretty easy recipe, too, with common ingredients. Thank you for sharing, I’ll be pinning it as a new favorite comfort food!
Thanks for sharing, Allison! I actually like it better than mac and cheese! Next time, try the sauce on a baked potato!
I had my reservations about how this would taste, but it was awesome! I will use it again and again! Thanks.
I totally understand where you are coming from — I was so skeptical myself. Now, it’s the only mac and cheese I’ll eat!
I am trying the Vegan Before 6 lifestyle and found this recipe on Pinterest. I added a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast, bu kept everything else the same. This recipe is so uber amazing! My 9-year old son ate half of the pan, so it is kid tested and mother approved! Thank you so much for sharing.
How cool! This is the only mac and cheese my son will eat. I made it last night because I saw your comment and I was craving it!
Hi! I’m going to try out this recipe tomorrow, considering I have to let the cashews soak. Quick question, though —
If I didn’t use ALL the cheese I made, what’s the best way to store it and use again? Refrigerate obviously, but for nachos, is heating the cheese up in the microwave a big no-no? Let me know. 🙂
Just refrigerate it in a covered container and reheat gently in a small saucepan. I supposed you can reheat in a microwave, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t guess what power and for how long. 🙂
We’ve been vegan for a little over one year now, sorely missing mac ‘n cheese. We’ve been getting by with the nutritional yeast flakes/flour type sauce (which is good, but not GREAT); however, this sauce is the bomb and will now be our go-to. I found this recipe on Pinterest this past weekend and have since made mac ‘n cheese twice, and nachos today. 😛
I used russet potatoes and no shallots, but everything else exactly as the recipe called for. It is so delicious! I think the next time we try this sauce on nachos, I might put some salsa into the mixture, to make it more of a “fiesta cheese”. I will say that I prefer eating the mac ‘n cheese without baking it/breadcrumbs. Mine got a little dry when I baked it.
Thank you, Pamela!!! You have made me SO happy!!
Thank you for your awesome comment which made ME so happy! Yay for vegan mac and cheese!
hi there. i just found this recipe on pinterest and was wondering what you think if i replace olive oil for the earth balance, as we are not fans of it. can’t wait to try this because the last vegan mac n’ cheese i tried didn’t turn out so well. thanks!
this recipe is the best mac and cheese recipe I have ever had, but I have a feeling the Earth Balance (or butter if you’re not vegan) is a much better option than olive oil in making this taste creamy and “cheesy.” But that’s just my guess. I know olive oil would be fine for the breadcrumb topping, just not sure about the sauce. If you decide to try it, I would use a little less olive oil and make sure it isn’t a very strongly flavored one. Please report back if you give this a go! Thanks~
Oh my gosh, I had to quickly write back because this was sooo good! I made it minus the shallots, used a little more onion, used a peeled russet potato instead of the yukon gold and instead of earth balance used olive oil. I also added peas and broccoli. It didn’t look as velvety as the photo above but was creamy enough and made a generous amount. We ate it all up – my omni and skeptical hubby and bro-in-law and a picky preeschooler had more than one serving! I can’t wait to try this on nachos… Thanks!
Oh MY gosh! I am so excited to know that you can use olive oil. So awesome! If you use the sauce for nachos, after you blend it, put the sauce back in the pot you used to cook the veggies and cook the sauce for a couple minutes. Tastes better that way! Thank yoU!!
I’m eating this as we speak- couldn’t wait to thank you for this awesome recipe!
When I tasted the sauce I thought it was too salty but it came out of the oven PERFECT not too salty- not too anything. Just wonderful.
My boyfriend is already on seconds hah!
Will definitely be making again- you’re awesome.
Thanks!!!
Great comment — totally true about the sauce. I think it tastes salty on its own, but after it’s baked with the pasta, I think the salt is just right. So glad you enjoyed it!
Yes… this sauce is the bomb! I’ve also modified for broccoli “cheddar” soup. Diluting with veggie stock and simmering broccoli until semi soft.
Awesome, Cyndi! I am also tweaking the sauce for a potato soup recipe. Love that!
Also, I made it gluten free by using gf pasta and bread since my kids have a gluten sensitivity and still thought it was amazing!
I’m so glad you tried this out! I think it’s amazing, too! And yes, GF works beautifully. Thanks for the comment 🙂
OMG! Made this tonight and am in love! What a perfect way to sneak some veggies in my kiddos, and as a self confessed cheese addict, this is a perfect substitute. I have a feeling I’ll be making this on a regular basis. Can’t wait to try the sauce on nachos and for other recipes. Thank you!
Hello Pamela,
My 23 year old daughter is new to the vegetarian/vegan family. Mac & cheese is one of her favorite dishes. This recipe looks very good but my daughter is allergic to tree nuts. Are cashews an absolute must in this recipe or is there something else that I can use to replace the nuts? Thank you in advance for your help.
Hi Mamie, I’ve never tried to make this without the cashews, which are often used in vegan cooking to sub for heavy cream, sour cream and to help thicken. I suppose you can try making a roux by combining flour and softened Earth Balance and adding that instead of the cashews, but I haven’t tested that out yet. Sorry!