This Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe is an easy and quick one to make. This vegan mac n cheese recipe doesn’t require cashews, tofu, or potatoes and carrots.
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Mac and Cheese is a classic comfort food everyone knows about. Whether you like a homemade baked mac n cheese or find comfort in a box of Kraft mac and cheese, everyone has a kind they like. I always loved mac and cheese with hot dogs in them, hence why the pictures have Lightlife Smart Dogs in them.
Here’s an easy and quick take on vegan mac n cheese that requires just a few ingredients and can be made in under 30 minutes. Learn how to make this vegan mac n cheese that has gluten-free options and is dairy-free, nut-free, and soy-free.
What ingredients do you need for Vegan Mac and Cheese?
The great thing about our Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe here at Vegan The Way is that it uses a minimal amount of ingredients that require no preparation beforehand. This makes the recipe an easy one to cook for an at-home lunch or a weeknight dinner.
- Vegan Butter
- All-purpose Flour
- Nutritional Yeast (Can be found in the bulk section of your supermarket or here on Amazon*)
- Paprika
- Garlic Powder
- Mustard Powder
- Salt
- Dried Elbow Pasta
- Reserved Pasta Water
- Unsweetened Non-dairy Milk (I used Almond Milk, but you can use Soy, Ripple, or Oat Milk.)
How to make vegan mac and cheese recipe without cashews:
While we’re all for a good cashew based cheese sauce, we recognize that cashews aren’t always the most economically feasible ingredient and often require more preparation and planning ahead to cook with. We wanted to make a vegan mac n cheese recipe that could be made at a moment’s notice, be allergen-friendly, and still have those key flavors a classic mac n cheese would have.
To make our vegan mac and cheese recipe without cashews we need to make a roux. A roux is a cooking method where you often would have browned butter, added a certain ratio of flour depending on the thickens you wanted, and then toasted that mixture on low to medium-low heat. Toasting the mixture is key to removing any gritty texture the flour might have and as well cooks it. If you didn’t already know, flour cannot be eaten raw. It’s another reason why you should never eat cookie dough that isn’t approved to eat raw. Flour isn’t treated for bacteria during the factory process, so if the flour happens to be a batch with E-coli in it you might get severe stomach cramps if the flour isn’t properly cooked or heated.
Substitutions:
Gluten-Free: To make this recipe gluten-free you need to replace the pasta for a gluten-free version and replace the all-purpose flour in the roux for a 1 to 1 gluten-free flour. This is our favorite one from King Arthur Flour*.
Vegan Butter: If you live in an area where vegan butter is expensive or hard to come by then you can replace the vegan butter in the recipe with an equal amount of neutral oil.
If you make this recipe we’d love to hear from you down below in the comment sections. You can also tag us on one of our social media or use our hashtag #vegantheway. You can also stay up to date with our new recipes and post by subscribing to our email notifications.
Thank you for checking out our Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe and make sure to check out our other vegan recipes like our Vegan Chickpea Protein Cookie Balls or our Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff
Vegan Mac n Cheese Recipe (No Cashew Recipe)
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Sauce Pan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegan butter or neutral oil
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups dried elbow pasta
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Start by getting water boiling and cooking the elbow pasta according to the directions on the packaging.
- While it’s boiling melt the vegan butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted add the flour to the vegan butter. This will create what’s called a roux which will make the sauce thicker. Toast the roux on low heat until it starts turning a golden brown color. This will make 2-3 minutes.
- Once the roux is toasted add the nutritional yeast and other spices: paprika, garlic powder, mustard powder, and salt.
- The mixture will be extremely thick at this point. Add your non-dairy milk and mix until you’re left with a thick sauce.
- When the pasta is done cooking add the reserved pasta water to the cheese mixture and drain the pasta.
- Stir the “cheese” sauce and pasta together. Add more non-dairy milk and seasoning if needed to reach your desired consistency and taste.
- Serve and enjoy. Store leftovers for up to 3 days.