It’s a funny thing, but the recipe I’m asked for most often is the one I’m most reluctant to give out. Every time I mention that macaroni and “cheese” is one of E’s favorite dishes, parents wanting to wean their kids off the dairy stuff and onto something more healthy ask me for the recipe. For a long time, I had to tell them the hard, cold truth: The “cheese” that E loved above all others came from a package, and though I tried recipe after recipe, she wouldn’t eat any other mac and cheeze.
And then one day I decided I’d had enough. I was having to mail-order Road’s End Cheddar Style Chreese in bulk once every couple of months to keep E supplied with her quickest comfort food. (Her other favorite comfort food, lasagna, doesn’t fit into the make-it-on-the-fly category.) Each time I made it, I would look at the short list of ingredients and think that there had to be a way to recreate it at home and I just hadn’t hit the right formula yet. So in the interest of eating more local and fewer packaged foods, I started experimenting. I took the sauce from the one cheezy recipe that she had liked, Scalloped Potatoes, and tried that on macaroni. No dice. What worked on potatoes didn’t work for her on pasta. So I tinkered with it and then tinkered some more. Finally, sometime last spring I hit on a formula that worked, and we’ve been Chreese-free ever since.
But I was still reluctant to share the recipe because vegans are notoriously picky about their mac and cheese. Look at any vegan bulletin board and you’ll see someone praising a m&c recipe and someone else declaring that the same recipe tastes like $#!+. What works for my family won’t necessarily work for everyone else, and I would hate for anyone to spend the time to make this recipe and then be disappointed. Plus I’m just sensitive enough not to want to read online that my recipe tastes like someone’s backside.
But enough people want this recipe that I’m issuing it with a disclaimer: If you are used to nutritional yeast sauces AND you like Road’s End Chreese, then this might be the recipe for you. Notice that it’s not baked in a casserole dish with bread crumbs or anything fancy (E hates that, unfortunately). It’s macaroni and sauce, period, though sometimes we do add frozen green peas to make it Macaroni and Peas. But it’s quick to throw together on a week night, and I have to admit that our whole family finds it addictive.
Easy Vegan Macaroni and Cheeze
Besides being low-fat, this recipe is also low in sodium, so salt-lovers may need to add salt. The tahini adds a little fat but a lot of flavor; still, leave it out if you need a completely oil-free dish.
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta (regular or gluten-free)
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 cup plain, fat-free soymilk (may use other non-dairy milk)
- 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon mellow white miso (or additional salt)
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put the pasta on to boil, according to package directions. While it’s cooking, blend all remaining ingredients together in a blender. When the pasta is al dente, drain it, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and return the pasta to pan. Add the sauce mixture and cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Add a little of the pasta water if more moistness is needed.
- If the sauce is not as flavorful as you’d like, add a little more mustard and onion powder.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 25 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 303 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 54g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 316mg Sodium; 5g Fiber. Also, if you use nutritional yeast fortified with B-12, one serving provides 100% of the daily requirement of that vitamin.
Serving Suggestions: We like to have this with a bean dish, such as barbecued beans, and with steamed vegetables, most often a blend of broccoli and cauliflower.
Additional Uses: Heat the sauce alone until it thickens and use it to pour over baked potatoes or top pizzas. Or stir in some salsa and it makes a yummy dip for tortilla chips.
More Mac & “Cheese”
If you don’t love this recipe, maybe one of these will tingle your tastebuds:
New Farm Mac and Cheese adapted by Jess of Get Sconed!
Tofu Mom gives us Vegan Cheese Sauce
Re-Vamped Mac N Cheese by Sarchan
Lauren’s Vegan Mac and Cheese by Lindyloo
Share This Recipe:
{ 163 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this recipe! It's a staple for me now and I had forgotten where I got it from. Now that I see it's only 10% calories from fat I am even happier!
I like to eat this with chopped up tomatoes. Yumm…!!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I made this tonight and thought it was wonderful. Used regular soy milk and added peas with toasted bread crumbs on top. It really hit the spot! Thanks again.
Made this recipe the other week, and my boyfriend, who's not a vegan, LOVED IT! YAY!
Thanks so much!
We love this at our house! The other day, I sauteed up some broccoli in a little bit of salt and pepper, tossed it all together and it was amazing! Tasted a lot like cheesy broccoli and rice casserole, only a lot healthier I'm sure!
Hands down, the best vegan mac and cheese I have ever tasted. Creamy enough to satisfy the non-vegans in my home, tasty enough that even though you'd never fool anyone into thinking it was mac and cheese with real cheese that nobody cared!
I love this!!! This is the first time I made this and being both vegan also allergic to dairy. This is my new favorite.
. And then Mac and Goodness!!!
My meat eating boyfriend called it Mac and Loveliness
I am going to make it all the time.
PS I just started following your blog and I love your recipes!!!
Hope you and your family have a great thanksgiving!!
this recipe is delicious! we also added sauteed mushrooms, tomato, and chard.
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/10/easy-macaroni-and-cheeze.html
thanks so much!
Just tried the recipe for Mac n' Cheeze….I loved it! And guess what? My 4yr. old is eating it! Thank you!
Thank-you Susan. As a relatively new vegan, I miss cheese way more than I'll ever miss meat. I turned this into Welsh Rarebit, by substituing some beer for a 1/2 cup of the water and adding some Annie's Worchestershire, a dash Tobasco and some freshly grated nutmeg. I cooked the sauce on the stovetop and served it over toast points. I could have cried … it was that good!
I made this recipe for dinner last night. Delicious! Will make again.
i made this again, but it baked it this time. i only used 2 TBL of cornstarch and added in some shredded almond cheese. it was so rich and satisfying, and the sauce thickened nicely.
i made this tonight sans paprika/cayenne and it was freaking AMAZING! thanks for the recipe
Thanks for this great recipe. I'm such a rookie that I can't make it w/out the box & mix…..until now!
Fast, easy and deeeelish! Only had regular paprika and it worked fine. Will look for the smoked kind for next time. Also, will try baking it next time….I thought it might be good, but I was in a hurry to get lunch on the table.
Made this for super bowl Sunday. Served it with some steamed broccoli and there was not a noodle left. 4 of us ate it all up! Delish! Thanks again!
This is my favorite Mac 'n Cheese recipe! It's totally perfect if you like the box-type stuff.
I made this recipe tonight and my husband and daughter(who is 5) and I loved it! We've been vegan for about a year and a half. None of us really like Road's End, and we have tried one other vegan mac and cheese recipe (didn't like that either).
I didn't have onion or garlic powder so I subbed veggie broth powder. I used rice milk and I did add about a Tbs. of Earth Balance. Thanks for this quick, easy, and delicious recipe! We finally have a vegan mac and cheese recipe!
This looks yummy! I was wondering if it is reheatable? Or should I try to downsize it to what can be eaten in a single meal?
Kellyzkool, it's very reheatable. I just add a little soymilk to moisten it first and then reheat it in the microwave or on the stove.
it was amazing!i was also wondering if it froze well?
I've posted a comment about this recipe before but I really needed to come back to say again how much I LOVE it. All of the ingredients are things I always have in the pantry or 'fridge and it's such a quick, simple yet tasty thing to throw together. For those who have a Vita Mix, it's even easier to make. While the water is heating, measure the ingredients. I usually do wet in one bowl, dry in another. Once the water boils, add the pasta then pour the wet ingredients into the Vita Mix. Start on low-1 then increase to low-5. Pour in the dry ingredients and replace the lid/damper. Increase to low-10 then to high. Allow to process and when the pasta is done, so is the sauce and piping hot. Just drain pasta, return it to the saucepan and pour the sauce over the pasta.
I just tried the Mac n Cheese. It's okay,but don't expect a "cheesey" taste. It a good sauce for macaroni. I liked the suggestion of using it as a dip for nachos (if you make it a little more peppery/salsa-like) I'm sure it would be good on a potato. I do have one concern, sodium, lots in the miso and less in the nutritional flakes, but still substantial. Can you do nutritional info for the recipes?
All in all, good. I'm looking forward to trying others. Trying to keep the sodium down is a bummer for me, vegan AND low-sodium, it's definitely a challenge! Thanks for lots of good looking ideas.
Anonymous, the nutritional info is right there at the end of the recipe.
I discovered you last week when I was searching for "meatless corned beef." That recipe was good (would have been better with a different meat substitute – I used Trader Joe's beef-less strips). But this recipe was excellent! We are not vegans or vegetarians, but my husband didn't have a clue that this wasn't mac and cheese until I came clean. I added an extra little splash of lemon juice for a more pungeant flavor, otherwise this was just perfect! I haven't used nutritional yeast since the 1970's (really), so that was a nice discovery. Thanks for the delicious and healthy recipe!
Um. This was too good for words.
I halved the recipe, thinking I'd have half again for my dinner and the rest for lunch tomorrow. Well, I'm now polishing off the whole thing.
It was just great! I put in a little bit of French's mustard instead of dry, cos I didn't have it. Blew my socks off. GREAT WITH KETCHUP!
This is absolutly AMAZING! i made it for breakfast and it was indescribably delicious. thank you soo much for this recipe, and all the others on this wonderful blog.
I think next time i make tis i'll add peas and cauliflower….mmm
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I just made it today and we loved it. Can't wait for my son to get older so he can try it too.
Would you mind if I translated and posted your recipe on my greek blog (of course with links to this page, and reference to your blog). I'm trying to get as many good vegan recipes translated in greek as I can for all the starting vegans in my country. It you don't want me to translate and crossport, no problem. Thanks anyway!
keep the good food coming.
Hi Foxy Vegan, I would love for you to translate the recipe into Greek! I'm excited to think of people making my recipe in Greece.
Susan
This looks very good, but I was wondering, can you taste the tahini or does it blend well with everything else? While I love my hummus, my kids aren't necessarily big fans! Thanks!
jessyburke88@gmail.com
Jessica, I would say that the tahini just adds depth to the flavor. When I taste the sauce, I don't notice the taste of tahini at all.
My omni husband and I made this tonight for dinner and it rocks our socks! We’d planned on going through a few mac and ‘cheeze’ recipes to find the perfect one, tonight was trial #1, and at the end of the meal he turned to me and said “I think we should stop here.” And we’re both having it for lunch tomorrow; him taking vegan food to work for lunch is the best cooking compliment around in our house! Thanks for a winner!
Yay! Vegan Macadoodles and Chessers! Me n my Two year old are so happy, and my carnivore man was impressed as well. You are amazing! Thank you Thank you Thank you much!
My kids still love this one. I just made it again and it is, as usual, a hit. They are super picky eaters, too. I am going to try and think up ways to make it even healthier but for now I am just happy to wean them off the kraft.
I just made enough sauce for the whole recipe, but put it in with five servings of pasta… the results were like thick creamy mac n’cheese, like the kind i loved to eat by the box when I still ate things like velveeta shells n’cheese. Except this has an awesome spice to it!
Sadly I couldn’t hold myself back and ate the whole thing… but so worth it :]
THANK YOU!!
I’m just eating your mac ‘n’ cheeze now, and it’s awesome! Very filling. Thank you for sharing it
I really enjoyed this. I used my Vita-Mix to make and thicken the sauce, which made it even more of a breeze. I ate this as my pre-run meal. Great carbs and easy on the tummy. Thanks again!
Crissie
Hi! I am missing the tahini, has anyone tried it without? Is it a crucial flavor in the recipe? Also, I was wondering what would happen if I threw in some firm tofu in the blender? Thanks for the recipe! I miss cheese!!
Tahini adds a little richness and flavor but it’s not essential. Don’t throw in too much tofu or it’ll dilute the seasoning. Plus, I’m afraid that firm (rather than silken) tofu would give it a grainy texture.
I am a little confused! Did you use the Road’s End Cheddar….I didn’t see it listed in the ingredients.
Thanks!
No, this recipe is meant to be used as a replacement for Road’s End.
Add vegan ground “chicken,” ground rosemary and “bacon” bits – yum!
Thank you so much for this! I’ve been lactose intolerant my whole life, but recently found out i’m allergic to eggs too, but I’ve been craving mac and cheese like crazy! I like that this doesn’t really require anything too strange; that I have most of it in my cabinet. I can’t wait to give this a try and not have to worry about the stomach ache that follows!
Macaroni and cheese was always one of my favourites when I was a kid. So ever since I’ve been vegan I’ve been trying to find a good recipe. This one was fantastic! It was exactly what I wanted. It even managed to taste like what my grandad used to make…though that could be my imagination
. I added some mushrooms, used fresh onion and garlic, and added some thin slices of vegan sausage. I also baked it in the oven, because that’s what grandad used to do. I could eat this all day.
Thanks you so much for your recipes and this wonderful blog!
My son was so excited when I told him I was making mac and cheese tonight, so I was hoping he would love this. Mine definitely tasted more mustard-y than anything else, but it was still very good. I warned my son that it wasn’t like the mac and cheese he was used to (I’m very new to the no animal products thing) but he loved it too. He tasted it and said “Mmm, this is so good.” My one year old also loved it, he ate every bit, which is rare for him! Thanks for giving us a new recipe to add to our stockpile, the ones that I can write “Boys loved it!” on are especially valuable!
I cannot help myself! Every time I make this I want to log on and leave another comment about how much I love it! Since I make it a lot, it’s a good thing I resist the urge about 99% of the time. lol You really should give this recipe a try!
I was skeptical about this mac and cheeze recipe, having being disappointed before. But I am so glad that I tried this recipe! Yum!
I made this last night .. was SO good. Best cheeze sauce ever! Thank you for the recipe. I did find the need for more flavor – so added more paprika, garlic pwdr, onion pwdr and mustard. The consistency around the macaroni was just perfect to my liking! Thank you so much for this easy and kinda healthy “cheese” sauce!
This was amazing! I’m not officially vegan yet but I’m vegetarian and allergic to dairy so I try to cut way down on it. I love macaroni and cheese almost as much as I love ice cream so that’s hard to do but thanks to some amazing vegan bloggers it’s getting easier. This was sooooo good! My omni hubby didn’t think the texture was right but I loved it. I cut the tahini in half because I don’t like too much tahini flavor and I used regular yellow mustard instead of dry because I didn’t have any. It was awesome– thank you for an amazing mac and cheese that doesn’t give me migraines– and one that is good to animals!
Made the “cheeze” component which came out really tasty. I put it in a sealed container to use in recipes this week. Planning to try it on a vegan burger too! Any idea how long this should last in the fridge?
I would guess about a week. There’s nothing in it that should go bad very quickly but no preservatives either. Hope you enjoy it!
I’m making this tonight – a mix of 2 of your recipes actually – this and Chili Mac. We’ve made this recipe before and loved it – and I wanted to try chili mac but with a creamier sauce. Probably won’t add the corn or kale.
Love your recipes – thanks for saving supper as always
Tried this recipe today as I had a “hankering” for one of my favorite comfort foods from earlier years. I did use the green peas as well but left out the tomatoes (out of season) and cottage cheese (dairy). I have used a vegan “cheese’ sauce for several years since beginning the vegan journey and have tried many but they have all been somewhat unsatisfactory in some way or another. This is very close to my “go to” except for the absence of fat and thus it is likely to take over top billing. I used plain rice milk which was not fat-free, did not have the smoked paprika so used the sweet that I did have but I left out the tumeric, cayenne pepper and tahini and miso–I also added 2 oz. roasted red pepper. If I ever come close to those other seasonings I will try it your way just to judge the flavor difference. I am lazy about cleaning up so I love the idea of just putting the sauce back in with the pasta rather than thickening it in another pan–it worked well. Definitely a “do again”.
Just made this recipe for the first time – not the first vegan Mac & Cheeze recipe I’ve tried, but definitely the BEST! My concern is getting it past my newly-vegetarian, non-vegan husband who is very picky. I didn’t have tahini, but I use a vitaMix and I had sesame seeds, so I added 2 Tbs of sesame seeds and a drop of olive oil instead. I added some xantham gum to thicken it up. I LOVE it, but I think my husband will notice a lack of the ‘buttery’ taste of the old Kraft Mac n’ Cheese sauce. Going to try it again and substitute Willow Run Margarine for the tahini and regular paprika for the smoked paprika.
This sounds very nice, and I plan to try it. Thank you for sharing it! In the meantime, I wanted to share a recipe that I make for my toddler son in lieu of mac and cheese or mac and fake cheese: mac and almond butter sauce.
You just mix equal parts of almond butter with un-sweetened almond milk, and add Bragg’s liquid aminos or soy sauce to taste. Pour it over your pasta, and voila! It’s rich and creamy, satisfying like mac and cheese, but without any substitute flavors. It doesn’t sound appealing, but it’s tasty and fast. We like to pour it over gluten-free pasta in fun shapes. But it works over any pasta.
Susan, I’m sitting here groaning over my too-full tummy because of this awesome recipe. This is better than Road’s End–definitely more flavorful. I used raw cashews instead of tahini and served it with some vegan chili (my own recipe). Thank you so much.
Me again. I just made this for the third time is as many weeks. I found this fun new pasta shape at Food Lion called Ronzoni Quick Cook Macaroni: http://pasta-products-ronzoni.newworldpasta.com/Quick-Cook-Macaroni-ZX007130001013ZX25 It looks a lot like the stuff in the blue box.
oh,this is great! I was considering buying the box kind and just substituting the sauce. My 4 y/o is suspicious of pasta shape changes…weird, I know.
this is SO GOOD! i love it! and it passed the true taste test – my boyfriend (not a veg) also really loves it!
I just made this tonight, and it it excellent! And yes, very addicting…At least it’s healthy! I’ll be having this for lunch the next few days. Thanks for sharing (I even think that my non-vegan family will love this too)!
Oh, this is the recipe that caused me to start following you! I LOVE this recipe. If a few don’t care for it remember, you can’t please all of the people all of the time. This is a great recipe!!
So delicious!! I have been craving Mac and cheese since I became a vegan a year ago and have never found something this yummy! I mixed in broccoli with mine – thank you for posting!
I tried this recipe yesterday and it was really tasty. I’m having a hard time giving up cheese and would have liked this to taste a bit cheesier. Do you have any suggestions to add a little bit more of this cheesy tast? Like I said, the flavor was really good, but I feel like it’s missing something.
-Bert
Sometimes more nutritional yeast and mustard powder can give it more cheesiness. Also, if you’re not committed to fat-free eating, adding margarine can fool the tastebuds into thinking it’s cheesier.
Thank you so much Susan. I really appreciate all of your time and advice!
Thanks Susan for all your hard work fine-tuning this recipe. I made it last week for my husband and we both loved it. He surprised me tonight by having it almost ready when I came home from grocery shopping! He likes how easy it is to put together. We use unsweetened soy milk (but not fat-free), and instead of heating the sauce and noodles together, this time we baked it for 20 minutes with some bread crumbs on top. Then served it with a fresh salad. Perfect!!! We are very grateful that you have this wonderful blog.
I just tried this for the first time, having tried a few other ‘cheese’ sauces, and this was my far the best. It was easy and quick to make, and I used it for mac and cheese, and then the left-overs for a dip. I had to eyeball it a little because I was cutting down the amounts, but it worked fine.
My husband absolutely loved this! I on the other hand did not!
I think it was the tumeric that I didn’t care for. But I love that it has so much nutritional yeast with all those b vitamins!
This recipe was awesome! I used half whole grain elbows and half steamed, chopped cauliflower and added a cup of shelled edamame. I sprinkled the top with crushed Trader Joe’s multigrain corn tortilla crackers. The turmeric I used has a very orange color so the final dish was sort of neon in color. Might cut the turmeric down next time. My husband (not vegan or vegetarian) was extremely skepticle when I told him what I was making. All I had to say was the recipe was from Susan’s fatfreevegan blog and he said “Oh, okay, then I’ll try it. Everything you’ve made off that blog is delicious.” I always look forward to making and sampling your recipes.
Wow, this is almost the exact recipe i created on my own like 2 years ago. I put it up on the Vegan Freaks forum. I remember being proud of it as it was one of the few Vegan Mac an Cheese recipes that was actually fat free. Could i have had a part in this. Who knows!
Well, I’d say it’s more likely that I had a part in your recipe, seeing that this one was posted 4 years ago.
Hmm, In my haste I was mistaken, I actually posted my recipe closer to 5 years ago. Time flies, wow but I definitely didn’t get my recipe from you. In fact I don’t even own a cookbook. I just like to tinker with ingredients in the kitchen and wanted a fat free Mac an Cheese. It’s cool we both had the same idea though. Great minds think alike.
One of the main differences in our recipes though is that I add a lot of nutritional yeast to mine. I feel it makes the whole dish seem cheesier. Anyways sorry for the delayed reply. Have a great summer and I promise to try some of your other delicious recipes, they look amazing!
I have to say- I wasnt impressed with this recipe unfortunately!!! I followed the recipe exactly, then added a little more of the spices bc it was kindof tasteless. Did I miss something? so bummed
Think I know what we are having tonight! I have grown to love the nutritional yeast so much.
I thought it was really good. I added some vegan Worcestershire sauce like someone suggested. It was very creamy but the taste was too much like nutrional yeast to me. if you like nutritional yeast, you’ll love it. My daughter would not eat it though. and she loves macaroni and cheese. I added ketchup to hers because she’ll eat mostly anything with ketchup. I added a little to mine and it made it taste a lot better for me personally. I had three bowls! and she ate some.
Love this-I was doubtful, but it’s terrific. I’ll be trying it on my 2-yr old-Mac&cheese-obsessed daughter tonight!
I just made this sauce and it’s delicious!
I sauteed mushrooms, lightly cooked some broccoli and added 1 cup white beans to the mix. All of that got covered in the sauce. Delicious!
Just made this tonight and it is by FAR the best Vegan Mac & Cheese I have had so far. Didn’t have Tahini or Miso, and only had plain yellow mustard, but still it was so yummy. Just added a little extra onion and garlic powder. Thank you for sharing! Your blog has been perfect for me, as I am just in the beginning stages of vegan-ism.
This was GREAT!!!! We loved it! It’s our first dish using nutritional yeast. We will DEFINITELY be eating this again! Thanks!
I can’t believe the comments on this page. I tried this recipe and it was horrible. Even my husband who will eat anything could not eat it. This was a waste of time and money, as we could not stand the taste and had to throw it out.
Sorry, but this one was a big 0/10 for us.
I was looking for a Vegan Mac and Cheese and found your recipe. I was so happy to find this recipe here, because I also wanted something that was more healthy. I made it and it’s SO EASY to make and SO TASTY!!!! Thank you very much for sharing this amazing recipe with us!!!!
I’ve already commented on this recipe a few times. Every time I make it I feel compelled to redeclare my appreciation to Susan for this recipe. Luckily I only actually leave a new comment about every 10th time I make the dish.
This is just too delicious and such a great comfort food. THANK YOU!
Ooh that looks good! I make a similar one except I don’t add miso (can’t find it in the store).
I’m not vegan, but this is so tasty that I crave it whenever I’ve gone too long without eating it.
Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I’m completely new to this type of cooking. What is the nutritional yeast for? Is it a texture thing, or just to add extra nutrition? Thanks!
It gives it a cheesy taste while providing vitamin B12. But it’s really there just for the flavor–the nutrition is just a bonus.
This was good and easy. I will keep trying different mac & fake cheese recipes, but I would eat this one again.
I’ve just made this and it’s great. I’ve only ever had the Kraft version and never had mac and cheese during my childhood, I think (I’m Irish, it seems to be a North American thing?). Anyway, I don’t know how it compares to the “real” thing, but it’s very enjoyable as is. Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you!! I have been trying to find the perfect substitute for chreese FOREVER (one of many attempts documented here http://vegangirlswag.com/2011/07/27/vegan-mac-n-cheez/) And I cant wait to try this one….
Thanks again!!
Is it possible to use any alternative to yeast in this recipe?
Not really. That’s the whole basis for the flavor. If you can’t use nutritional yeast, I would try to find a recipe that doesn’t use it, which will be hard because most vegan cheese recipes rely on it. I wish I had better news for you!
I have tried cheese sauces before and all were horrible. We can’t have nuts or oil. When I came across this recipe, I was a bit leary…..I’m glad I tried it….It was the BEST!!! Thank you….
I am a vegetarian and am thinking about trying to make some vegan recipes, but my BIG thing is cheese, it’s difficult for me to give up. I’m so excited to try this, KD is seriously one of my fave comfort foods and this would be so much healthier. I was wondering, could you possibly use a vegan margarine (like Earth Balance) to give it a more ‘buttery’ flavour? Or would it not melt well? Thanks
For me, miso is an essential part of vegan cheese recipes. I live in the UK and it is very expensive. It used to be 6 dollars (I’ve converted) for a smallish plastic pouch which I considered rather indulgent but necessary. This brand has now gone from the only shop I can find that sells it at all, to be replaced by one that costs 9 dollars!! I just can’t justify it any more but without it recipes are no where near as good. I’m trying out different sauces which is how I’ve ended up here. Your recipe sounds good but until I find a source of miso I’m not going to try it. Miso offers the slightly sweet but salty taste. So some recipes use cashews which sound good, but I also think that the bitterish nuttyness of tahini makes for good tasting cheese subs. If I used other nut butters or nuts instead, I think I would be getting rid of another component that I like. Finally, I like cheese to have a tang – lemon juice does that.
I wish I could find somewhere to buy cheaper miso!
p.s. Cheese is salty. Cheese subs will not taste so cheesy without it.
Thanks for the recipe, Susan! SO EASY & so creamy!
I used more water instead of non-dairy milk, added extra nutritional yeast and some other small tweaks. My post about it is here: http://wp.me/pR1Fv-12Q
~Ty : )
Had your Mac N Cheeze for dinner tonight ! http://immune4me.blogspot.com/2011/10/lunch.html
I just tried this recipe, and it is definitely a keeper! So creamy and tangy and wonderful! I’ve tried a lot of vegan mac and cheeze recipes over the years, and this is one of the best I’ve had. Plus, it is SO EASY that even a slowpoke in the kitchen like me can have the sauce ready by the time the pasta is done cooking! I love that you don’t have to wait for it to bake; you just heat the sauce for a couple of minutes and it’s ready to eat. I’m sure if you wanted a crunchy, breadcrumb top you could bake it, too. I did add a lot of extra nutritional yeast because I LOVE nutritional yeast, but I tasted the sauce first, and the recipe has tons of flavor as it is written! This is my first recipe I’ve made off of this site, and I definitely intend to try more! Thank you for posting this!
I can’t be trusted with 8 servings of Mac and Cheeze so I’ve been afraid to try your recipe! Do you have any tips on how you would scale this back to one or two servings for those of us who are mathematically challenged?
WOW!! awesome!!
I didn’t have a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon so might be he reason… but mine had a mustardy tangy flavor. It was soooo delicious served over baked onion, broccoli, potatoe mix. My husband and I absolutely loved it. I love your above idea about adding salsa for a chip dip.
This was amazing! I was skeptical even after reading everyone’s reviews of it as I have tried many vegan cheese recipes that were kind of gross. My 3 boys even enjoyed multiple serving of this. Thank you so much for a healthier alternative to regular mac n cheese!
I have to tell you I have made this recipe countless times and it is amazing. I’m am a vegetarian, but I also don’t eat cheese because (to put it politely) it messes with my digestive system so I was looking for something to fill my mac and cheese craving. This didn’t do it at first, but it had it’s own amazing flavor. Now that I’m not eating cheese anymore I crave other things including this recipe! I love it! It’s a new staple recipe in my family! Thank you!
I miss cheese and want to try this so bad today! Can something else be subbed for miso, or can it just be left out without effecting the “cheezy” goodness?
Stephanie, you can just add extra salt to taste instead of the miso. It won’t affect it a huge amount. I hope you enjoy it!
Had some left over soya minced all cooked up and spiced, but didn’t know what to do with it… So I checked on this site for something quick easy and yummy to make – so glad I came across it! I just chucked it all together! I tried making the portion smaller (just kind of half everything until it seems right) and came out DELICIOUS!! Thanks!
Question though, you have any ideas how to make it more sticky/stringy like real cheese will make it?
It just occured to me… what if you add some guar gum or xanthan gum for the stringy melty cheese effect… would that work?
You could give it a try. My fear is that would make it congealed rather than stringy, but you never know until you try!
Thank you so much for posting this! I follow Dr. Esselstyn’s heart attack proof diet, eliminating meat, dairy, fat, and oil. I’ve tried the name brand Chreese, and was sadly unimpressed. I tried this recipe, minus the tahini (fat content), and it was so good I did a little happy dance. I’m planning on trying to use it for other things, like cheezy rice wraps with peppers and onions. Thanks again for putting this out there. I’ll be making it regularly.
Nick
Susan – I made this last night and it is AMAZING!!!!!!
Even my picky, picky, skeptical husband kept asking me for more. WOW!!
You get an A+. Your recipes are FABULOUS!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Question about the nutritional yeast. Does it make a difference if it’s the powdered kind or the flaked kind? I usually have the powdered kind, but your photo in your nutritional yeast post looks like flaked. Thanks for your reply!
You only need half as much if you use the powdered kind.
Made this tonight, even the pickiest eater cleaned her plate
Winner!
OMG, I’m hooked on this, and I was a total mac and cheese snob, no kidding. It is better with just a little Natural Ballance. I used twice the amount of each spice in the recipe. One nice thing is if you bake it in the oven it gets all neat and crispy on the top. I had it with whole wheat pasta. I don’t recommend trying it unless you have been off cheese products for at least a month. The flavors are actually more complex than with usual mac and cheese. I dump hot sauce on almost everything I eat but you can eat this without it. Kinda wondering if adding a little tomato powder would be good. I have been off dairy for a little more than a month, and when I fist tried this I was a bit “meh” but a few hours later I started craving it. Really grows on you, or at least it did for me. Thanks for the recipe!
THIS STUFF ROCKS! It is so delicious. I’d say it’s almost too delicious! I have absolutely no self control with a big old bowl of this–good thing it is so low in fat! Thanks again for your great work.
This was the first time I tried cooking with nutritional yeast and this Mac n cheese dish turned out wonderfully! My 6 and 9 yr old gobbled it up. Followed the recipe to the T and was great. Next time I might add sautéed onion and garlic for more punch, but the written recipe was superb. I have made Mac n cheese using the Daiya cheddar cheese and it tasted terrible and fake, but using the yeast tasted soooo good. Thank you for posting this!!
We went plant based almost three months ago, and this is the one menu item my kids constantly ask for. I made this recipe this evening and added some broccoli and everyone loved it! Thank you!
I added a bit more mustard powder and then simmered it for about half an hour with some fresh garlic (2 cloves), 1 Tb of olive oil, and about 1/2 cup of vermouth. It was spectacular – creamy, rich, delicious, and the closest thing to fondue cheese I’ve found.
Hi,
wow this recipe sounds very promising, along with the comments!
I’ve got two questions:
How important would you say is it to use powdered instead of fresh mustard, onion and garlic? I use fresh stuff all the time so I’d rather not buy the dried versions unless it makes a real difference, maybe the fresh versions will add too much water?
Also, is it a must to use a blender or would it be ok to just mix it all manually?
Greetings from Germany
Hi Silke in Germany! I think fresh garlic and jarred mustard could easily be used instead of dried. Onion is a little trickier to substitute because it’ll take more to get the flavor of the dried version. I think a blender will be more important if you use chopped garlic and onion, but if you mince them very small, you could whisk it together with some work. Good luck!
I tried your easy macaroni and cheeze recipe last night and I just had to tell you how well it turned out and how delicious it was. I used a whole grain rotini instead of elbow macaroni and did not use miso. I also added mixed frozen veg to the pot. Just writing about it makes me want to go get it out of the fridge and have it for breakfast. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I love this recipe! My 9 and 6 yr old gobbles it up. I’ve made it so many times since finding it here. It simple and doesn’t take up a lot of pots and extra steps. I’ve since thrown in a small chunk of raw onion into the blender and 1-2 cloves or fresh garlic. The fresh flavors add so much taste, but in a pinch, powdered onion/garlic works just fine. I’ve also added about 1/2 cup of Daiya dairy free cheddar cheese for more richness and flavor, sometimes a little more depending on how thick I want the sauce. Thank you Susan for the great recipe!
I tried making this for lunch today…I really enjoyed it but my 3 year-old rejected it:( We are still fairly new to being on a plant-based diet so her real mac’n'cheese memories (with butter and cheddar) are a bit too fresh, I think. I poured a jar of tomato sauce over it and made kind of a rosee sauce, which she liked until it cooled off, then she rejected it again…oh, well…you can’t win them all! For dessert we had a modified version of your banana-maple oatmeal cookies with cocoa and chocolate chips…and that was a hit! Yum…love the recipes! Keep them coming!
I made this tonight; it’s so easy but really tasty! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Thanks for sharing! Now all I have got to do is hunt for nutritional yeast the next time I really do have time for grocery shopping… I am trying to reduce our consumption of animal products as far as possible (the BF will never be a vegetarian, and I am not sure about myself), and this sounds like a great recipe for trying alternatives.
After reading all the comments I was totally stoked for this and then… I didn’t love it. But I don’t think the problem was the recipe. I think I’m just realizing that maybe I don’t love the taste of nutritional yeast. I think next time I will half the yeast and add in some vegan cheese.
I just made this tonight and I think it turned out really well. I love how it doesn’t have any “fake” cheeses that you can buy at the store, as they really are not that healthy for you. I didn’t have the tahini, or the miso. And I did not add the cayenne pepper. I think it has plently of flavor and spice. I hope my kids will enjoy this. I have been dairy free for almost three months, so this is great.
Susan,
Loved the mac and cheese recipe. I recently decided to follow a vegan diet and, as a result, am trying to find tasty vegan recipes. This recipe was great. With a squirt of ketchup on top, it is reminiscent of a childhood favourite and the dairy is certainly not missed. Thank you!
Diane
I’m not sure why I never commented on this recipe, because I’ve been making it for years now. I never actually liked dairy mac and cheese (lactose intolerant) but I CRAVE this stuff. Even my dairy loving omni boyfriend thinks this stuff is delicious. He doesn’t like calling it mac and cheese, because, really, it’s not, so we’re trying to come up with a more appetizing name than “Mac and Yeast” which is what we call it right now. I will totally admit to using powdered soy milk and premixing the dry ingredients in bags so it’s an even faster dinner. (Being Japanese, miso is a staple in my fridge. I usually try to keep tahini mostly for this recipe.) Premixing the dry ingredients makes this about as fast as making it out of a box, which is awesome. I didn’t think it could happen, but Susan, you make me crave vegan mac and cheese.
this looks so good to me. I am going to try it and I am wondering if you have ever used this sauce recipe for anything else? I used to love cheesy scalloped potatoes, I wondered if you think it would work for that? Would I need to make the sauce on the stove top and then add it to the potato’s and then bake? Thank you!
Oh yes, you can use the sauce for anything you would use a cheese sauce. I heat it on the stove until it’s thick and use it on everything from baked potatoes to nachos. You can mix it with salsa for a great dip. For scalloped potatoes, you’ve got the right idea. I have a recipe for them that has a different sauce but you can use this one instead. It’s at http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/03/creamy-scalloped-potatoes.html.
I’m a new vegan (Day 36) and so far everything I’ve made from your website has been delicious!! Swiss chard & white beans, No Fu Love loaf & now this Macaroni &cheese. The best part of all is that my kids are loving it too! This was super fast and easy to prepare after work for dinner tonight. Threw in some peas & dinner was done! Thank you thank you!
O, my, word!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am recovering from surgery and have craved mac and cheese and unfortunately have ate it and not felt well. I have looked at this recipe and even pinned it, but I was scared of it. It was GREAT!!! It has to be lower cal than many of the other recipes I seen. Some of them called for a whole cup of oil. I work for WW and I think I will share this!! I only had reg paprika, I used almond butter for the tahini, I used reg mustard, and I had no cayenne. I was SO scared. I thought it was a waste of time AND food. I thought it smelt bad. I thought it tasted GREAT! We have a Heavenly Oil store here and I added just a tiny bit of butter flavored oil to my portion=perfect!!!! Thank you and God bless you!!! Signed, trying and leaning toward being a Vegan,lol.
Anyone tried this with zucchini or cucumber noodles instead of pasta?
I am confused. Add the sauce mixture to the drained cooked pasta and bring to a boil? Or, add the pasta water to the sauce mixture and bring that to a boil? Then add the sauce mixture to the pasta?
Add the sauce mixture to the drained pasta and bring to a boil. It will thicken as it cooks. If it gets too thick, you can add some of the 1/2 cup of pasta water to thin it out.
I am always willing to try a new Mac and Sleeze recipe. My youngest will still not touch a sauce with too much NY….maybe this one will work….thank you!
I have a soy allergy so need to replace the soy milk. Any suggestions as to which vegan milk would work best?
Any non-dairy milk will work, so pick the one you like best. Last night I made it with coconut milk, and nobody noticed the difference.
Hi! I just tried this recipe hoping and hoping to get a thumbs up from each of my four children who are digging their nails in deeply as I try to drag them kicking and screaming into the plant-based world. I got one thumb up… sigh. I modified it with a bit of honey to cut the bitter taste they said it had and added more salt, onion powder and paprika and was able to get another 1/2 thumb up. Perhaps they may like it changed to the chili mac… I’ve yet to try a recipe they enjoy
I have been so excited since I found this recipe. I’m not able to eat processed grains and I miss Mac and Cheese so much! I tried the roadside yesterday, it was good. I made this recipe today and it was great. I have a lot leftover sauce which is in the fridge. Imputed some in with quinoa and heated on the stove. Delicious!!!! Such a nice healthy treat!!! Thank you for all your recipe work. Your making my healing diet so much more bearable.
I made this tonight and we enjoyed it! Thanks!
I loved this recipe! However, I wondered if you might have a substitute for the corn starch that is a little more tummy friendly
Would arrowroot or agar flakes work just as well? I love your blog!
Arrowroot or potato starch would both work. Hope they make it more “tummy friendly” for you!
Made this last night and really enjoyed it with my husband. I always look for ways to add an entire bag of greens to recipes and I was able to incorporate a pound of spinach with the pasta right after adding in the liquid from the blender.
Just made this tonight, and one word: YUM!
I did not have the onion powder or garlic powder, so I used 1/2 an onion and 6 cloves of garlic (we really like onion & garlic!) and it was FABULOUS!!! Also boiled some brussels sprouts with the pasta, and then finally topped with vegan bacon bits. I will definitely make this again…it was a breeze in the Vitamix. Thank you!
This was awesome! I didn’t have any tahini, so I used a coffee grinder and ground sesame seeds (I do the same thing for my hummus). No miso, so a little extra kosher salt. It was really tasty! Even my boys are eating it up.
I am in the early stages of making healthy eating changes. My boys (12 & 18) have not exactly embraced this yet, so I am careful about how I word things. I would never hand this to a die-hard mac & cheese lover and say it was mac & cheese. I said it was pasta in a cream sauce – just a new recipe I was trying out. That way their taste buds don’t have a mac’n cheese expectation! They said it was “ok” but ate every bit of it.
You. are. awesome. This has single-handedly made me never need my FAVORITE food, mac and cheese, again. Thank you so much for taking the time to figure this recipe out and for being talented enough to sort through the flavors. I heart you!
excellent mac & cheese, loved it! thanks!!
I’m new at this plant-based thing and have tended to avoid unfamiliar foods like nutritional yeast. Tried the Chreese and threw it out. Then I tried this recipe with half the yeast called for. Not macaroni and cheese (or even close), but it IS macaroni in a creamy, sharp sauce. Good enough! I’ll be making it again.
I loved it!!!!!! Thanks a million! Gonna make this again! Had for Christmas dinner with a plain sweet potato and some steamed veggies!!!!
Yes! This is the mac and cheese of my dreams. Savory, tangy, with the mouth feel of the best ‘from scratch’ dairy-based recipe. Pasta and cheese is such a go-to comfort food for me, I am confident that this reassuring recipe will help me over the hump to plant-based eating. So glad to have found your blog! Please accept a heartfelt thank you.
This would be wonderful made with Dreamfields pasta. It only has 5 grams of digestible carbs per serving, compared to 41+ grams of normal pasta.
Always watching the carbs.
I am reading The China Study and was moved to try the plant based diet. I needed a good recipe for dinner that my meat eating husband would enjoy, but that was plant based for me. I was referred to your blog where I found the recipe Eat the Rainbow Black Bean Soup. When I was making the soup, I wasn’t sure how it would all come together, but when it was done it was fantastic. Both my husband and I enjoyed the soup very much. It is a recipe I am sure I will make often. Thanks so much for this recipe. I needed help in knowing how and what to eat, and your blog is so helpful! Can’t wait to try more recipes!
Tried this recipe. It is soo easy and soo good! My husband has eaten it twice.. and he doesn’t like much American food (he’s Pakistani, and he really goes for the hot and spicy stuff..). Thanks for another great recipe. Leila
Let me start out by saying I am a huge skeptic when it comes to vegan Mac & cheese. I have been a vegan for many years. I had yet to come across a macaroni and cheese recipe I would make more than once. When I made this I didn’t expect anything special. I sat down with a small bowl and about an hour later the whole pan was empty! I ate the whole pound of pasta by myself. This recipe is so delicious. The taste, creaminess, and texture is perfect! I will be making this many more times. The only thing different I did was add a spoonful of earth balance. Thank you so much! Going to explore the rest of your recipes now.
Sounds great. I’ve tried making mac and “cheese” with nutritional yeast but it always needed something more. Glad to see tahini in here – we found it on mega-sale somewhere and ended up with about a dozen jars!
I’ve been wanting to try a vegan mac and cheese recipe and was pleasantly surprised at the results of this recipe. My husband and I have been vegetarians for about 2 1/2 years and are trying to eat a more vegan diet now. This is definitely a dish I’ll be making again soon!
Wow! Very impressive! There’s always been something uncheesy about other recipes, this one was different. Been craving cheese even though I went vegan 4 months ago. Anyway, I blended it all up nicely, horrified at the fact I had just added tahini. The smell was… revolting. How could this possibly taste nice? Anyway, I added it to my macaroni and turned the heat up. Colour and consistency was spot-on. Taste-wise it worked for me. I would never have believed it wasn’t made from dairy! I think the smoked paprika really helps with the flavour. Didn’t have miso or cayenne so I substituted for soy sauce and chilli. Will be making this again – thank you!
I love this! Just made it today using extra onion flakes and a bit of extra garlic powder
We also added a couple tofu dogs cut up and my 4 year old just loves it, with a little ketchup on top. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
Thank you. That was amazing. I did add earth balance per your comment below and added a bit more corn starch while it cooked with the pasta. I cooked some broccoli, cauliflower and that other cool looking light green cauliflower cousin in some braggs with water salt and garlic powder and onion powder…..mixed it all together and it was heaven! My boyfriend is picky and it’s the first vegan mac n cheese he has actually liked! Thanks for sharing this!
I’ve been enthralled with your website ever since I was fortunate enough to come across it! Just wanted to let you know how grateful I am that it exists. Your recipes rock and will become a permanent part of my cooking/eating repertoire. Now that I have that out of the way, I was wondering if it was possible to get the nutritional information for this sauce without the pasta. Many thanks in advance.
I made this recipe today for the first time. I am trying to incorporate vegan meals into my menu plan for health reasons. I followed the recipe exactly (except for the miso – I had none). There was no real taste in the end, but it was bitter. Is this normal? Not sure if it was the Tahini that caused this. I am going to reheat some of it tonight and add extra onion powder as well as broccoli—hope this will help. What do you think? Thanks!
The one thing that springs to mind is: did you use nutritional yeast or brewer’s yeast? I find brewer’s yeast very bitter and would never use it in a sauce. Tahini does have a distinctive flavor, so if that’s the problem, using cashew butter would be better. And if you didn’t have miso, I recommend adding extra salt, unless you’re on a salt-free diet. Without enough salt, even the best-seasoned sauces can be bland to those who are used to salt.
This was really good. I have tried a few vegan mac and cheese recipes and haven’t liked any of them, but I keep trying since it is one of the few items I miss since going vegan in January.
It doesn’t have too strong of a nutritional yeast flavor, something I can’t get past in other recipes.
Thank you for your wonderful blog. I have made quite a few of your recipes so far, and everything has turned out great. Even my husband asks me to make them again, and he is fighting the whole vegan thing tooth and nail. Thank you again!
I think i’m going to try this! I’m very very new at this but when you have a 16 month old who is allergic to eggs, nuts, milk, beef and pork you don’t have much of a choice. My husband and I are very open minded about the changes we are making I just hope my almost 8 year old is up for it. I’ve been looking for easy to eat foods that my toddler can eat. Shes loves fruit but wont touch any veggies. Im hoping we all like this. Thank you!!
{ 26 trackbacks }