The World’s Best Vegan Mac n Cheese for Real!
Vegan mac n cheese, vegan mac and cheese, vegan macaroni and cheese – whatever you want to call it, is one of the most popular dishes on the vegan dinner table. Why? Because! I mean who doesn’t like mac n cheese from childhood? We would have big pans of it at every family holiday dinner, and my Mom made macaroni and cheese often for us at home – the kind that you bake in the oven and top with crumbly bread or cracker crumbs.
Even if your family ate the scary stuff with the powdered cheese that came in blue boxes, I bet you still loved it as a kid! Right?
Vegan Mac N Cheese
It’s nice to be able to reminisce about good times you’ve had with people you love, enjoying a favorite food together. The problem with most of the vegan mac n cheese recipes that I’ve tried (even in popular vegan restaurants and frozen food sections of the grocer), is that they range from “all right I guess, but I won’t be having THAT again!” to downright “you gotta be kidding me!?” nasty. The flavor was flat, the taste off, there’s no creaminess, no “sharp cheddar” taste. Something was always missing which had me picking at it or throwing the stuff in the garbage can in disgust.
All is not lost, however. Here on this blog is a recipe for a great nut free cheese sauce that can easily be used for stove-top style mac n cheese (though I use it for nachos the most). And in my cookbook Why Vegan is the New Black: More than 100 Delicious Meat and Dairy Free Meal Ideas Your Whole Family Will Love
Testing Vegan Mac N Cheese
As you may recall, it’s my habit to utilize the taste buds of non-vegans to test recipes which are under development. I consider the food preferences of non-vegans my greatest weapon! To me, if a picky non-vegan thinks a recipe is at least “pretty good!” then I know I’ve got a real winner. When I made this vegan mac and cheese, the non-vegans went back for seconds!
Well that was all I needed to see.
Honey, let me tell you! The sauce for this vegan mac n cheese is so delicious, so flavorful, so creamy and smooth – we were standing around in the kitchen with spoons eating the excess right out of the blender as fast as we could. This stuff was on hit even before it went into the oven – cooked pasta dipped in the freshly made sauce and shoved in the face was like a taste of soul food heaven.
In case you have trouble finding the ingredients you need to make this vegan mac and cheese recipe locally, I’ve included links to our shop on Amazon so you can order right from this page!
If you try The World’s Best Vegan Mac n Cheese for Real! recipe, please be sure to take a picture and post a review below. We’d love to hear what you think about the recipe, and to see the various modifications you all make. 🙂
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- 2 cups plain unsweetened plant milk (flax, hemp, or organic soy are my favorites)
- 1 cup quality nutritional yeast flakes
- 4-5 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled and cut in half
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons organic prepared yellow mustard
- 1 Tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2 Tablespoons vegan butter
- 4-5 oz. popcorn oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)
- 1 Tablespoon Himalayan pink salt or sea salt (or to taste)
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
- 8 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt (for cooking pasta)
- 8 oz. sturdy pasta (small elbows, bows or small penne work best)
- 1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes (optional)
- ⅔ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs (optional)
- Place 8 cups of water in large pot. Add 2 vegetable bouillon cubes and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to boil and cook pasta al dente according to package directions.
- Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees.
- Just before pasta is done, remove 1 cup of cooking water from the pot and set aside.
- Drain pasta (do not rinse!), and let sit in colander.
- While pasta is cooking, prepare the cheese sauce.
- Put 2 cups plant milk, yeast flakes, fresh garlic, mustard, lemon juice, Himalayan pink salt, black pepper, and paprika in blender.
- Blend for about 60 seconds on high speed.
- Reduce speed to "blend" (medium), and while still running, add the vegan butter.
- Continue blending while you slowly pour in the popcorn oil until cheese sauce has thickened slightly.
- If sauce gets TOO thick, add in some of the pasta water a Tablespoon at a time to thin it out. The sauce thickens as it cooks with the pasta, so keep that in mind.
- Pour the pasta into your loaf pan.
- Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir to coat well. Don't skimp on the sauce!
- Top with seasoned bread crumbs and/or parsley if desired.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Shopping List for Vegan Mac N Cheese
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Category: Entrees
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Recipe looks great!! The pic shows a 9×13 pan, but the ingredient description says loaf pan. Do I use a bread loaf pan
You can use either one. Some people prefer it thick and more moist.
Oh MY GOODNESS!I am making this right now. I just put it in the oven and the sauce is so GOOD! I can’t wait to taste it when it comes out of the oven.
Congratulations. This recipe ROCKS!
I know! I swear I just want to pour the sauce into a cup and drink it.
This recipe was soooo yummy!! The sauce has a very similar taste to the macaroni and cheese I get at one of my favorite vegan restaurants, so it was a total hit in my household! The only thing I will say is that it was a little salty for me (and I love salt!), but I believe it was my fault as I used a different type of seasoning when boiling my pasta (mckay’s vegan chicken seasoning instead of the suggested vegetable bouillon), but other than that, AMAZING! Will definitely be making again and again!
Just put this in the oven. I tasted a little of the sauce before I put it in. OMG!!!!! Totally worth running around town looking for popcorn oil. And it’s cashew free!!!
I’ve made this on its own and it is superb! This time though I made it again, cut the pink salt down to about 3/4 tablespoon maybe a bit less, and mixed sautéed mushrooms and crispy Lightlife bacon. Also threw a cup of my fave shreds in the blender and blended it with the liquid because I’m in an uber cheesy mood. Sprayed a cast iron skillet and mixed it all in and sprinkled those breadcrumbs. I’m in heaven. I need a nap.
LOLOLOL!!!