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
Please pin and share!
Lfred
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!
Izzy H
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.
Silke
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
Susan Voisin
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!
Tammy
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!
Jackie
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!
Shelley
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!
Brenda
I made this tonight; it’s so easy but really tasty! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Diandra
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.
Shari
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.
Amanda
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.
Diane
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
v lyandra
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.
theresa
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!
Susan Voisin
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 https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/03/creamy-scalloped-potatoes.html.
Susan
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!
Margaret
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.
Steve E.
Anyone tried this with zucchini or cucumber noodles instead of pasta?
Sue baker
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?
Susan Voisin
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.
Erica
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!
PatB
I have a soy allergy so need to replace the soy milk. Any suggestions as to which vegan milk would work best?
Susan Voisin
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.
Desert Jeni
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 🙁
Lisa Gray
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.
Rachel
I made this tonight and we enjoyed it! Thanks!
ElleKay
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!
Susan Voisin
Arrowroot or potato starch would both work. Hope they make it more “tummy friendly” for you!
Brittney
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.
Jennifer
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!
robin
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.
mustardseed
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!
jeri lynn
excellent mac & cheese, loved it! thanks!!
Barbara
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.
Carol
I loved it!!!!!! Thanks a million! Gonna make this again! Had for Christmas dinner with a plain sweet potato and some steamed veggies!!!! 🙂
Sharon Seymour
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.
Barb
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.
Bonnie Engel
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!
Leila
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
Candy
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. 🙂
Jenny O
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!
Sarah
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!
Jamie
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!