Epic Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe

What’s a dish that sparks joy amongst nearly every vegan everywhere?If you guessed vegan mac and cheese, you guessed right! Today we have a fantastic vegan mac and cheese recipe that will spark the utmost joy, no matter what time of day or year it is. 

This magical mac features a simple base for the vegan cheese sauce consisting of staples such as potatoes, carrots, and cashews. It’s easy to sub out the nuts for something else if you need to as well! Gluten-free? Simply grab your favorite wheat-free pasta to enjoy and get ready to be in vegan comfort food heaven.

Here’s one of the best vegan mac and cheese recipes you will ever make. It’s the perfect balance between naughty and nice. This falls under the category of a veggie-heavy side dish—so whip it up and feel good about nomming on it!

Why You Should Make This Vegan Mac and Cheese

Vegan mac and cheese is one of the most enjoyable foods on the planet. You never need an excuse to whip up this delicious dish but in case you’re needing some encouragement, here are a few reasons why you should make some vegan mac and cheese.

• A Super Side Dish – Mac and cheese goes with countless different foods. Want to balance it out with greens or salad? Or make a whole mac and cheese pizza? Go right ahead!
• Difficulty Level: Low – There’s a reason why most college students rely on boxes of mac and cheese and cups of ramen—these foods are yummy, easy to customize, and relatively easy to prepare. You just have to know how long to boil the water for when it comes to cooking the pasta and boiling whatever veggies needed to prepare the sauce.
• Customize Away – You can dress up your vegan mac as much as you’d like with bits of vegan bacon, melted vegan cheese, and other fixings such as spinach, mushrooms, onions, and more. If spice is your thing, toss on some chipotle seasoning and savor your sauce!

How to Serve Up Your Vegan Mac and Cheese

As outlined above, there are a bunch of ways to enjoy your mac and cheese but in this section we’re going a bit more in depth with some recipe recommendations and food combinations that will really get your mouth watering.

• Mac and Cheese as a Topping – You read that right, imagine topping another dish with vegan mac and cheese! Your burgers will burst with more flavor than you could’ve ever imagined. Your tacos will hardly be able to contain themselves. Your taste buds will dance like they’ve never danced before!
• Pile on the Protein– If you need a little protein boost to go along with your mac, we’ve got you covered! Roasted chickpeas, grilled tofu, or BBQ seitan are all deliciously nutritious ways to boost your protein levels with this recipe.
• Veggies, Please – Roasted veggies are a fantastic way to add some color, texture, nutrition, and flavor to your mac and cheese meal. Asparagus, broccoli, peas, and kale are here to do the job!

Best Vegan Mac and Cheese

Author: Molly Patrick

5 from 7 votes

This Best Vegan Mac and Cheese is the vegan mac and cheese recipe for mac and cheese lovers. Perfect for a cozy night in or for packing into your lunch!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 russet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (1½ cups)
• 1 cup carrot, chopped
• ¼ onion, diced (½ cup)
• 1 tablespoon peeled and diced turmeric, or 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups water, plus another ½ cup, divided
• ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 10 minutes
• ½ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Your choice of pasta, elbows or shells work best

Instructions

• In a medium sized pot add the potato, carrot, onion, turmeric and garlic with 2 cups of water. Simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on.
• After 20 minutes, add the veggies (along with the remaining liquid in the pan) to your blender.
• Drain the cashews and add them to the blender along with the nutritional yeast, sea salt and the additional ½ cup of water.
• Blend until the sauce is creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Place a towel over the blender lid, so no hot splats of sauce escape.
• Cook as much pasta as you want according to the directions on the package and then strain and rinse with cold water to stop it from cooking. Return to the pan.
• Turn heat to very low and generously pour the cheese sauce over the pasta.
• Add black pepper and salt to taste.
• If you have leftover cheese sauce, pop it in the fridge—it should be good for 7 days!

Nutrition

Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 615mg | Potassium: 604mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5347IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 3mg

Course dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American

Keyword best vegan mac and cheese, best vegan mac and cheese recipe, dairy-free mac and cheese, vegan cheese, vegan comfort food

If you try this vegan mac and cheese, let us know what you think by leaving a comment and rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more vegan recipe inspiration.

How Do I Store Leftover Mac and Cheese?

Mac and cheese is one of the easiest things to store leftovers of—just allow the leftover amount to cool and stick in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days. Freezing instead? Great! Scoop the vegan mac into a freezer-friendly bag or container and keep for 2-3 months. When ready to eat again, defrost overnight or the morning of and reheat however you’d like.

More Vegan Pasta Dishes to Try:

• Vegan One-Pot Pasta
• Super Easy Vegan Pasta Salad
• One-Pot Vegan Enchilada Pasta
• Instant Pot Pasta With Vegan Meatballs
• Creamy Hummus Pasta With Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Photos and recipe by Molly Patrick, co-founder of Clean Food Dirty Girl. Article by Amanda Meth. Please note that this article may contain affiliate links which supports our work at World of Vegan.