Get ready for a creamy vegan macaroni and cheese that is low in fat and quick and easy to make!
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 (if you want that, check out this recipe). 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 Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta regular or gluten-free, cooked according to package directions
- 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 or raw cashews optional, but lends creaminess and flavor
- 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 water and 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.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
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.
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
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Anonymous
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…!!
Megan
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.
Anonymous
Made this recipe the other week, and my boyfriend, who's not a vegan, LOVED IT! YAY!
Thanks so much!
Anonymous
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!
Catherine
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!
Kara
I love this!!! This is the first time I made this and being both vegan also allergic to dairy. This is my new favorite.
My meat eating boyfriend called it Mac and Loveliness :). And then Mac and Goodness!!!
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!!
jennifer
this recipe is delicious! we also added sauteed mushrooms, tomato, and chard.
https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/10/easy-macaroni-and-cheeze.html
thanks so much!
Allison
Just tried the recipe for Mac n' Cheeze….I loved it! And guess what? My 4yr. old is eating it! Thank you!
Anonymous
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!
Anonymous
I made this recipe for dinner last night. Delicious! Will make again.
jennifer
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.
reqbat
i made this tonight sans paprika/cayenne and it was freaking AMAZING! thanks for the recipe 😀
dinnerware
Thanks for this great recipe. I'm such a rookie that I can't make it w/out the box & mix…..until now!
Allison
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.
E Soleil
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!
Clarita Osita
This is my favorite Mac 'n Cheese recipe! It's totally perfect if you like the box-type stuff.
Paula
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!
Kellyzkool
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?
SusanV
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.
Anonymous
it was amazing!i was also wondering if it froze well?
Paul
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. 🙂
Anonymous
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.
SusanV
Anonymous, the nutritional info is right there at the end of the recipe.
Anonymous
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!
Anonymous
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!
Gabrielle
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
foxy vegan
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.
SusanV
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
Jessica
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
SusanV
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.
Veg Girl
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!
Ginny Herman
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!
LindsayH
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.
Hannah
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!!
Kyra
I’m just eating your mac ‘n’ cheeze now, and it’s awesome! Very filling. Thank you for sharing it 🙂
Crissie
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