The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese

This is the best vegan mac and cheese: comfort food at it’s finest, made with a creamy, cashew cheese-less sauce, resulting in the most creamy texture and flavor. Spices, nutritional yeast, plant-based milk, and softened cashews are blended into a creamy cheese sauce, and tossed over pasta.

If you’re looking for more vegan recipes, check out our Rosemary White Bean Dip with Crispy Garlic and Sesame Noodles with Mushrooms.

Ingredients You Need for Vegan Mac n Cheese

Pasta: We are using cavatappi pasta for this recipe, but you can use any of your favorite short-cut pasta, like penne pasta or macaroni. If you want to make this recipe gluten-free, opt to use chickpea pasta, or any gluten-free pasta available to you.

For the “cheddar” cheese-less sauce: The base of this cheese sauce is nutritional yeast. If you’ve never tried it before, it has a really deep cheesy flavor, and when tossed with spices, it creates a luscious umami-flavored vegan sauce.

Spices: In addition to the nutritional yeast, additional spices are being added into this sauce, like onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, kosher salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika.

Raw cashews: To make this sauce extra creamy, and thick, we are using soaked unsalted raw cashews. This allows us to not add flavor to make a roux, and it creates this luscious cheesy sauce when it’s tossed with nutritional yeast.

Milk: You can use any plant-based milk you prefer, such as oat milk, almond milk, or soy milk.

Crispy panko breadcrumbs: If you’d like, you can top the mac with crispy panko breadcrumbs, or top with panko and bake in the oven overtop.

How to Make The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese

Boil your Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to boil, once boiling, season with kosher salt, and add in your pasta according to the package instructions until cooked just 1 to 2 minutes under al dente.

In the meantime, make your “cheese” sauce: Over medium-low heat, heat a large skillet or dutch oven with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Add in all your spices to bloom, the onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, smoked paprika, and nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Give everything a big toss until combined, about 1 minute.

Next, add your milk and stir until everything is smooth and dissolved, without any clumps, for about another minute.

Blend your Sauce: Drain your cashews from its water. Transfer your sauce to the blender with your soaked cashews. Or use an immersion blender.

Toss and Serve: Then add in the cooked pasta, bringing over as much pasta water as you may need, adjusting to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in bowls, topping with crispy panko breadcrumbs.

Sides to Serve with Vegan Mac and Cheese

What to serve with mac and cheese to make it into an easy dinner? There are so many options! Here are some of our favorites. 

• Salads: Serve with Radicchio Salad with Chives and Hazelnuts or Shaved Celery and Fennel Salad.
• Vegetables: Try Grilled Corn with Tajin Lime Butter! You can sub out the dairy butter with vegan butter, or Harissa Roasted Honeynut Squash with Tangy Pistachios.
• Starter: For an appetizer to serve with this mac and cheese, start with Rosemary White Bean Dip with Crispy Garlic, or Roasted Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Hummus.
• Potatoes: Paprika Roasted Baby Potatoes and Crispy Fried Potatoes are a great side dish to serve alongside this! 
• Soup: To make this a meal for any dinner party, start with Creamy Pumpkin Soup.

More Vegan Recipes

Soups & Stews

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Vegetarian

Coconut Butter Chickpeas

Sides

Paprika Roasted Baby Potatoes

Soups & Stews

Cream of Mushroom Soup

If you do make this Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe, leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, we would love to hear what you think! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram, we love to see what you’re making! If you’d like to stay in touch and get the latest in your inbox, sign up for our Newsletter. We can also be found on YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest!