This dairy-free 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!
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time35 minutesmins
Total Time50 minutesmins
Course: dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Calories: 177kcal
Author: Molly Patrick
Ingredients
1russet potatopeeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (1½ cups)
1cupcarrotchopped
¼oniondiced (½ cup)
1tablespoonpeeled and diced turmericor 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
3clovesgarlicminced
2cupswaterplus another ½ cup, divided
½cupraw cashewssoaked in water for at least 10 minutes
½cupnutritional yeast
1teaspoonsalt
Your choice of pastaelbows 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!
Notes
Allow the leftovers 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.