This is hands down the best vegan mac and cheese recipe you’ll find. I’m overly confident, because it really is that good. Plus, there’s hidden veggies in the sauce which is great if you have a picky eater in your house. It’s taken me years to get it right, and sharing it is my gift to you all!
The ingredients are simple, plant based, and avoid ultra-processed ingredients but the result is a creamy cheese sauce with so much flavor. Read on for the recipe! If you make this, send me a picture of yours to my Instagram and I’ll add it to this blog post!
When I set out to make this recipe years ago I wanted to have all that delicious cheesy flavor but not have to use processed ingredients like vegan cheese. There’s plenty of vegan mac and cheese recipes, and I’ve tried a lot of them, but they just don’t get the flavor or texture quite right or they simply mimic a dairy recipe but swap the cheese for a vegan version.
The key to this recipe isn’t in technique, you pretty much just boil things and then blend it. It’s the ingredients that make the difference. You can swap things out as you need, but any swap will change some part of the end result. So, just stick to the recipe.
The Ingredients
The two ingredients that you might be unfamiliar with are nutritional yeast and yellow miso paste. These two ingredients are plant-based cooking staples and can be purchased at most chain and natural grocery stores. Read on to learn more!
Nutritional Yeast
Found with dry ingredients and typically in the natural food section. Bob’s Red Mill is a common brand. Many natural food stores sell this product in their bulk bins. Anthony’s is another brand that I order.
This yeast is the same as what’s used to make bread and beer; however, it is grown to be used as a food product. The yeast cells are grown for several days on a molasses mixture and are killed during processing and not alive in the final product. It is used in many plant based recipes for its cheesy, nutty, and umami adding flavor.
It is a great source of B vitamins and it is a complete protein. Just one tablespoon is 2 grams of protein. You can also purchase fortified nutritional yeast which has even more B vitamins and other trace minerals.
Yellow Miso Paste
This ingredient is one not enough people know about or use, and it’s the missing ingredient for vegan cheese sauces. Sampled on its own it is similar in taste and texture to spreadable cheese but a little more salty.
Found in the refrigerated section in grocery stores. It is typically sold with the natural food items near the dairy-free milks and refrigerated tofu. Miso Master is a common brand that most chain grocery stores carry.
Miso paste is made by fermenting soy beans with koji (a food safe mold) and adding salt. Some miso paste is fermented for a few weeks whereas others are over a year old. This is a staple cooking ingredient in Japanese cooking, but it is becoming more popular in other countries due to its nutty, salty, umami, cheesy flavor.
Red Miso and Yellow/Mellow Miso have different uses based on their distinct tastes. Red miso has had a longer fermentation time and more salt added. It is a good addition to tomato based recipes for added umami. Yellow/White/Mellow Miso has had a shorter fermentation time and less salt than red miso. You need to start using this ingredient!
Tips for Success!
Use unsweetened, unflavored oat milk for savory dishes like this one. Most nut-based milks add sweetener, even if it’s unsweetened, and a variety of other flavoring ingredients that can make savory dishes off-putting. Prior to using a nut-based milk for a savory dish make sure to carefully sample it and determine if there is a flavor or sweetness.
Browning your onion and garlic cuts the acidic and sharp flavors while adding more umami and complexity to your mac and cheese sauce. Simply cooking to translucent doesn’t add the same richness of flavor as browning.
Use raw cashews for plant based cream sauces. Roasted cashews have a natural sweetness and don’t soak up water like raw cashews. Raw cashews have a neutral flavor and will puree into a thick cream that doesn’t taste nutty. The roasting process brings out the nut flavor which is what we want to avoid for a dish like this. Many cashew based recipes call for soaking the raw cashews overnight; however, that takes too long and is dumb so just boil the evil out of it.
If you have a nut allergy you can substitute the cashews for raw sunflower seeds or even raw pumpkin seeds. Follow the recipe the same. Sunflower seeds will make a slightly darker sauce that has a mild sunflower seed taste. It is delicious and a pleasant variation. Raw pumpkin seeds are challenging to find and they will tint your sauce with a little green color.
Make your own lotion at home!
Easy Homemade Lotion: A Step-by-Step Guide
Making your own lotion might be something you’ve never thought to do before, but it is a great way to save money and have a product that doesn’t have the long list of ingredients. A 16 oz bottle of homemade lotion costs around $1.50 to make, and it is comparable to boutique, high end products.…
Looking for more meal inspiration? Check out my veganized Rasta Pasta!
Vegan Rasta Pasta
Creamy, cheesy, and a lot of wonderful Jamaican flavors. This Rasta Pasta recipe is my vegan homage to chef Lorraine Washington and her original recipe. This dish comes together in under 30 minutes and it’s even better the next day!
The Recipe!
Vegan Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews (Needs to be raw)
- 1 cup russet potato (large chunks (1 medium potato))
- 1/2 cup carrot (large chunks (1 medium carrot))
- 1/4 cup yellow onion (Chopped (a smaller sized onion))
- 4-6 cloves garlic (Rough chopped)
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk (Unsweetened oat milk is my preference)
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons white miso paste (Not red, might be called "mellow")
- 1 teaspoon paprika (Smoked is my preference)
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (Can be omitted)
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 16 ounces elbow noodles (Or a different shape)
Instructions
- In a medium sized pot, combine the cashews, potato, carrot, onion, garlic, and enough water to cover by 2". Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain but don't rinse.
- Transfer the cooked ingredients to a blender and add the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Add more liquid as needed. It should be thick but pourable.
- While the sauce ingredients are cooking, boil your noodles in salted water until they are al dente. Check the noodle box for cooking times. Drain the noodles, don't rinse, and combine the noodles and sauce in either of your used cooking pots. While stirring, heat until bubbling. Remove from heat and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
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