This Vegan Mac and Cheese is SO easy and delicious. The plant-based sauce is super creamy, rich and packed with healthy fats. It is a quick recipe as the stovetop version comes together in only 15 minutes and the baked version in 30 minutes!
Vegan Mac and Cheese
Servings: 8 people
Equipment
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
Mac and Cheese Sauce
- 1.5 cups cashews (which have been soaked for 15min in hot water)
- 2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 tbs white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 bag of vegan cheese OR 2 tsp white miso paste (both optional, see note)
Crispy topping (Baked Version)
- 1.5 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbs melted vegan butter
- 16 oz elbow pasta (1 pack) 500g
Instructions
- Soak your cashews in hot water for at least 15 minutes, this allows them to blend into a creamy sauce without any lumps. Strain.
- Cook your pasta noodles in heavily salted water until al dente. Strain rinse with cold water and pour some olive oil on top to avoid sticking.
- Add all of the ingredients for the sauce into a high-speed blender and blend until completely creamy. Taste and add salt if necessary.
- If you are making the stovetop version, pour the sauce into the pot that you cooked your noodles in and heat through, just for a few minutes. Then add your pasta and mix well to combine and serve.
- If you are making the baked version, pour the sauce over the noodles in the same pot that you cooked your noodles in and mix well.
- Pour into a 9×13 casserole dish and cover with the panko topping. Then cover with aluminum foil or place a baking pan upside down on top of the casserole dish. You want to make sure that it is covered while baking to avoid drying out.
- Bake for 15 minutes
- If making baked version, preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, turning the oven to broil at 12 minutes.
- Remove the aluminum foil from the top of the casserole pan and position it on the upper rack in the oven so that the top can get browned and crispy. Leave it there for a max of 3 minutes making sure that the top does not burn. Remove from the oven and enjoy!
- When reheating, add a splash of water as the sauce will thicken upon standing. To freeze, just freeze the pasta sauce as the pasta will become to soft after freezing. Defront the sauce when ready to eat and cook your noodles fresh!
Notes
This recipe is delicious without the vegan cheese or miso paste, I make it all the time like that when I don´t have any vegan cheese on hand. However the vegan cheese does make the dish “cheesier”! Use your favorite brand of vegan shreads or slices (we will blend them anyway). Miso paste can mimic the taste of parmesan cheese. If you don´t have any vegan cheese on hand, feel free to add 2-4 tsp of white miso paste.