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!
Do you melt the butter first or just blend it in a cube form when making the sauce?
Just put the butter in the blender cold or room temp. Once you add the hot veggies and liquid, it will melt the butter.
thanks! It’s a yummy sauce…hoping next time it will still work even if I cut down the butter a bit.
I think it will still be good with a little less butter.
I’ve made it twice with about 2-3 tbsp of Earth Balance. It’s worked out well. Still delicious!
Thanks for this recipe Pamela, it’s great!
Great to know! I’m going to try it with less fat next time. It seems as though many readers have had success with less as well. Thanks!
What is Dijon Mustard? Can I use regular mustard I put on my sandwiches or is this different? Im so glad to have found a recipe without nutritional yeast, I sure hope I can end up making it!!
Dijon mustard is made with white wine and has a stronger flavor than yellow mustard. You can read about the difference here: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-difference-between-dijon-and-yellow-mustard.html Dijon mustard is easy to find in any supermarket. 🙂 This recipe is fabulous. You must try it!
Love this recipe! If we only have a 9×13 dish, but don’t add any veggies to the recipe, do we change the cooking time from an 11×8?
honestly, it’s going to be kind of thin in a 13 x 9. I would do it in a 10-inch round or a 9 x 9 if you have that…
When I read the ingredients of this vegan cheese I was like huh? But it works and tastes delicious!!! I messed up though and got Smart Balance instead of Earth Balance… I wonder if it made a difference in flavor. I should of just used butter cause I’m okay with butter. Still was yummy! Can’t wait for hubby to try and see his thoughts. Xx
Yay! I think some people have tried it with avocado oil instead and others have reduced the amount of butter with success. Just mentioning. 🙂
Is there a way to make this nut free? I’m thinking that sunflower seeds would not work this case…
You can take a peek at all the comments here (they go for a few pages) and I seem to think a few people have made this nut free. Maybe adding a few cooked white beans or extra potato….
This is awesome! I’m thinking about using it as a soup base for broccoli and cheddar soup. Would you thin it out with broth or just double the recipe?
I would thin it out with broth. Check out the broccoli stalk soup recipe on my blog and see if you can do a hybrid between the two!pamelasalzman.com/broccoli-stalk-soup-recipe/
Delicious sauce! I made it with butter (the only dairy I can tolerate) and it was soooo good! I love that it doesn’t contain nutritional yeast, as it doesn’t seem to do my digestion any favors. This is going to become a staple recipe in my house!
Try dipping veggies in the sauce or pouring it over baked potatoes! Yum! Just pour it back into the pot after blending and cook it for 5 minutes before using it if you’re not going to bake it with pasta. 🙂
I will admit I was a little skeptical, but being allergic to most dairy I gave this recipe a try. IT’S AMAZING!!! So tasty and creamy! I was alone in my kitchen when I took a sample taste of the sauce and yelled “Damn! That’s GOOD!”. I don’t think anyone would’ve known it was a cheese-free mac & cheese if I didn’t tell them. I’ve made this recipe twice in two weeks, and will make the sauce for Super bowl nachos! Thanks so much Pamela!!!
I totally get your skepticism. I mean, vegetables becoming a legit delicious cheese sauce??!! So glad you gave it a go. I am obsessed with this recipe.
Oh. My. Gosh. I didn’t believe you. I figured it would be another just like, but not quite recipes I’ve subjected my family to. But this cheese sauce taste just like, but is BETTER than queso at the ball park! The consistency is perfect – I can’t wait to dip everything in it! Thank you for this life altering recipe! Ha!
Haha! I would never steer you guys wrong. And I agree — better than queso at the ball park, totally natural and more digestible for sure. Check out the “queso” version of this: https://pamelasalzman.com/vegan-queso-recipe/
Made this yesterday and it was fantastic. Absolutely the best non-diary cheese sauce ever! The only modification I made was to force the sauce through a sieve at the very end to completely get out any small bits that the blender had missed. The result was gorgeous, creamy, and smooth “cheese” sauce that made vegan mac and cheese a serious treat. Thanks so much!
Oh, that’s a genius idea for people who don’t have super strong blenders! Thanks, Lou Anne!
I really like this! After making it a couple times, I decided not to do the last step of baking it and left the breadcrumbs off. I liked it better as baking it dried it out too much for me.
Sounds good!