This cheesy homemade vegan mac and cheese recipe will take you straight back to the classic macaroni and cheese from your childhood!
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The best vegan macaroni and cheese
Growing up, my mother was usually the one who cooked for us, preparing elaborate and wholesome meals from scratch, with plenty of vegetables.
But every now and then, my dad would take over the kitchen. One of my absolute favorite lunches he would make us was boxed Kraft macaroni & cheese.
I called it “cheese soup” because he always added extra milk so there was twice as much creamy cheese sauce.
Although I haven’t eaten the boxed Kraft version in years, I still love my mac and cheese with a ton of extra cheese sauce.
Serve me a bowl of homemade macaroni drenched in so much cheese sauce that you cannot even tell there is pasta in the bowl, and you will never hear me complain!
Also be sure to try this Vegan Chocolate Cake
Easy vegan pasta dinner idea
Both online and cookbook vegan macaroni and cheese recipes are definitely hit or miss. And the bad ones truly are awful.
I remember back when I first went vegan, trying a recipe that attempted to mimic the cheesy taste by using a combination of nutritional yeast, miso, and Dijon mustard.
The vegan recipe claimed to taste just like real mac and cheese. Spoiler alert: it not even come close.
I’ve also tried some vegan restaurant versions or packaged varieties (not naming brand names) so far away from tasting anything like mac and cheese that I honestly do not know how they ever made it onto shelves.
With this simple vegan mac and cheese recipe today, I am not going to tell you it tastes exactly like Kraft or Velveeta. But it is absolutely delicious in its own right and completely satisfies even my strongest mac and cheese cravings.
You may also like: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Everyone loves this vegan mac and cheese recipe
Today’s nondairy recipe has received a resounding stamp of approval from every one of my non vegan friends and family members who have tried it.
This is hugely important to note, because if someone who remembers what traditional mac and cheese tastes like says it’s good, you know it must be true!
I am not saying vegans have inferior taste buds (obviously my taste buds are super awesome). But I do admit that sometimes we can get excited about a dish simply because a plant based version is offered.
I can think of quite a few examples of this from over the years, especially with things I’ve ordered at restaurants.
Those vegan cannoli that tasted like someone who’d clearly never been to Italy simply stuffed vanilla frosting into a cannoli shell… were they they best cannoli I’d ever had in my life? No.
But on the other hand, I got to order vegan cannoli on a restaurant menu! So actually yes, best cannoli ever.
What ingredients do you need?
To add thickness and creaminess without flour or heavy cream, I turned to cashews this time, which gives the sauce a rich and velvety texture.
You can substitute macadamia nuts for a low carb version. Or I also include a nut free and soy free vegan cheese sauce option in the recipe below.
Unlike many other dairy free macaroni and cheese recipes on the internet or in a box of Annie’s vegan mac and cheese, this one contains no butternut squash, silken tofu, cornstarch, or cauliflower.
If you do prefer a cauliflower version, try this Cauliflower Alfredo Recipe.
The classic orange color and rich flavor are thanks in part to a surprising antioxidant packed healthy ingredient: roasted carrot!
If you want to make mac and cheese without nutritional yeast, just use the shredded vegan cheese option instead. Vegan cheddar, mozzarella, 4 cheese Mexican blend, Parmesan, or Monterey Jack all work.
With mac and cheese, it is good to have options.
What kind of pasta works best?
Pretty much any noodles will work here, and whole wheat or gluten free pasta is fine to use as well. I am partial to tube noodles because they trap more vegan cheese!
For the photos, I really wanted the recognizable Kraft pasta shape but could not find it anywhere. So I ended up buying boxed vegan mac and cheese and using my own sauce recipe instead of their packet.
The cheese sauce can be used with much more than just pasta.
If you are on a keto or low carb diet or simply do not feel like boiling noodles one night, feel free to use the sauce as a cheese dip. Or pour it over steamed veggies, cauliflower rice, baked potatoes or sweet potatoes, or even spaghetti squash.
(My recommended method for cooking the best spaghetti squash in the oven or microwave can be found here: How To Cook Spaghetti Squash.)
Or spread the cheesy sauce over toast for an easy vegan alternative to grilled cheese.
Mac and cheese recipe tips
You can bulk up the mac and cheese by stirring steamed or roasted veggies in at the end. I especially love adding chopped steamed broccoli.
Or give the pasta a protein boost by adding crumbled tempeh, baked tofu or seitan, or your favorite protein of choice.
Finally, if you are a cheese lover like me and want to drown your pasta in a gallon of cheese sauce, feel free to make a double batch!
Readers also love these Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Vegan mac and cheese recipe video
Above – watch the step by step video.
How to make vegan mac and cheese
Start by completely covering the nuts in a bowl with water.
Let them soak anywhere from two to six hours. Or refrigerate the bowl and soak overnight. Then drain fully and pat dry.
Combine all of the vegan mac and cheese ingredients (including 1/2 cup water, but not including the optional cheese). Blend in a blender or with an immersion blender until the sauce is thick and completely smooth.
Transfer to a small saucepan and heat to your desired temperature, stirring the optional cheese shreds (such as Daiya or Follow Your Heart or Miyokos) in at the end.
Taste, and add extra seasonings such as onion powder, salt, nutmeg, paprika, or black pepper if you wish. I usually add another 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of additional nutmeg. Serve over cooked pasta, rice, veggies, or whatever your heart desires.
You can also stir in some 5 ingredient Vegan Meatballs!
Store any leftover vegan cheese sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Or freeze in an airtight covered container after the sauce cools. Thaw frozen cheese sauce, then reheat in a saucepan on the stove top before serving.
Vegan Mac And Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts (for nut-free, try this Vegan Cheese Sauce)
- 1 medium carrot peeled and steamed or roasted (80g)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast OR half a cup shredded vegan cheese
- 1 tsp white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water plus more for soaking
- 2 tsp vegan butter (optional for added richness)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
- 6 oz macaroni noodles or you can put the sauce over veggies or use it as a dipping sauce
Instructions
- To make vegan mac and cheese, completely cover the nuts in a bowl with water. Let soak anywhere from 2-6 hours, or refrigerate and soak overnight. Drain fully. Combine all sauce ingredients (including 1/2 cup water, but not including the optional shredded cheese or macaroni noodles). Blend in a blender or with an immersion blender until completely smooth. Transfer to a small pot and heat to your desired temperature, stirring optional cheese shreds in at the end. Taste, and add extra seasonings (onion, salt, nutmeg, pepper) if desired. I like to add another 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch more nutmeg. If using, cook the pasta according to package directions. You can serve the sauce over noodles, rice, spaghetti squash, toast, or roasted vegetables.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
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OK, this looks AMAZEBALLS! Can’t wait to try it. I clicked on it after seeing it on Instagram yesterday and on a vegetarian and vegan Facebook group today, because it looked so like the Kraft macaroni and cheese which I adored. I normally never buy nutritional yeast, even though I love it, because here in Spain it’s really expensive, but you’ve inspired me to go get it!
Plus it must have been the hardest subject to get a good photo of! Kudos for the great food photography, as usual!
I’ve made this twice and I love the flavor but I can’t get it creamy! The first time I thought maybe soaking the cashews longer would do the trick although it didn’t make a difference the second time (I soaked for over 6 hours). Any ideas??
try blending the cashews and water first. then add the other ingredients to the blender.
I agree with Dawn. If you don’t have a high speed blender, it’s harder to get the nuts really smooth and creamy without. Before I got a vitamix, someone said starting with a smaller amount of water also helps get them creamier.
Do you think cashew butter can be used instead of blending raw cashews? My blender isn’t a high speed one. And if so how much cashew butter?
Thanks.
We believe you could but have never tried it so honestly can’t say for sure how it would taste or if raw or roasted would be better. Half a cup of raw cashews weighs around 60-80g, so you’d need about a third cup of cashew butter. Be sure to report back if you experiment!
Makes a great sauce with the cashew butter.
I don’t think it tastes like cheese but it is so yummy! I wanted to eat all three servings myself!
Thanks for the measurement conversion.
I don’t have a high-speed blender. I boil my cashews & let them soak an hour or two. Then I run the blender, with the ingredients, for quite a while. It will get creamy.
Omg this was soooo good! Really similar taste to Kraft mac n cheese and definitely one of the best vegan mac n cheeses I’ve ever had!
Hi. You said a serving of of the cheese for the Mac and cheese is 1/3 of the recipe so got much is that for just the sauce?
Made this last night and the best part is that the kids loved it. Thank you for helping us start the new year in a more healthy way.
Non Vegan here. Made this for family that’s doing plant-based diet.
They, my 9 year old son and I really liked it!
My picky 4 year old was not happy it tasted a little different than his usual boxed Mac and opted for plain noodles.
But the rest of us had seconds and the recipe was shared!
Warning: it did smell a little bad while blending. But it was worth the taste! It really did taste like cheese. I followed the recipe to a tee (nutritional yeast).
Yummy. Plus, one person noted that their air fried cauliflower was good in the sauce as well! Will definitely do this again. So much healthier than the other stuff. Thank you Chocolate covered Katie!
This was a hit with my cheese crazy husband. I used olive oil instead of butter because that’s what I had on hand. And I used garlic powder instead of onion. I added a little bit of the pasta water to make it a little silkier. It was definitely gourmet quality. We’ll be eating this again for sure.
Made this for dinner tonight and put over a baked potato with beefless crumbles- delicious!! Thank you!
A bit of background – I’m doing veganuary so not usually vegan (I’m veggie though).
This was pretty good! Tastes like Cheetos (the crisps). I think my blender isn’t very good so the sauce was a wee chunky but overall a solid 7/10
i really like this sauce. how i like it most is as a dip for vegetables or as a nacho cheese sauce. looking forward to discovering what else i like it with!
Wow the sauce for this is amazing!!
This is going to be made quite often.
I’m not sure what I did wrong but the taste of this was not palatable. I expected it to be delicious but it was yeasty and both my cousin and I, crestfallen, gave up on our late night mac n’ cheese dreams.
Yeasty? Nutritional yeast definitely has a flavor that not everyone is a fan of. Just try it with the non-nutritional-yeast option if you aren’t a nutritional yeast fan 🙂
Just made this and thoroughly enjoyed it. I used apple cider vinegar, roasted carrot, added a little garlic powder and paprika, left out the nutmeg because I just don’t like it (and my taste buds pick it up from a mile away), and completely spaced on using the butter substitute. It came out great. I followed the advice I read in a comment to mix the cashews and water first, and the sauce came out a perfect consistency. Even made that mac ‘n cheese snicky sound when stirred. Such a nice, savory, warming dish on this cold and rainy day. I’m going to enjoy making this again, and trying different variations – thanks so much for posting.
This came out AMAZING! Soooo good!
Boyfriend seal of approval!
That looks amazing!
I stopped eating dairy two years ago and have tried to find a good Mac and cheese recipe. This is the BEST. It’s so creamy and gives me the satisfaction and comfort of eating Mac and cheese. I find that the best vegan cheese substitutions don’t taste like the original cheese but are a delicious replacement in their own right. This recipe will be a regular at my house. I can’t wait to use it on veggies.
It was very good, not a mac and cheese replacement by any stretch, but worthy as a sauce in its own way. My daughter also enjoyed it but could tell right away that it was a vegan cashew cheese sauce (I’m vegan, she’s not so she gets a mix of sauces). I’ll make it again for sure as it was very enjoyable.