Vegan mac and cheese, made from scratch with super healthy and easy-to-get ingredients. It’s so flavorful, cheesy, creamy and ready in just 30 minutes!
Who doesn’t love mac and cheese? It’s a classic comfort food recipe, but this version is super healthy, so you can enjoy it on a daily basis. Although it’s not heavy at all, this vegan cheese tastes just like the original one!
Just in case you didn’t notice, I have a thing with mac and cheese (this is the third vegan mac and cheese recipe I share on the blog). It’s one of my favorite pasta dishes and I make it quite often.
The classic recipe is made with lots of dairy products (butter, milk, several types of cheese) and really high in fat. This vegan mac and cheese recipe is much lighter and you can also use plant milk or water instead of oil to make an oil-free and low-fat recipe.
This version is made from scratch with just dried pasta and vegan cheese and is so comforting, delicious and satisfying, very simple and ready in less than 30 minutes!
How to make vegan mac and cheese – Step by step
- Boil or steam the potatoes and carrots in a large pot for about 20 minutes (photo 1).
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions (photo 2). Drain and set aside.
- Place all the vegan cheese ingredients in a blender (photo 3) and blend until smooth (photo 4).
- Mix the cooked pasta and the vegan cheese in the pot (photo 5).
- Serve and enjoy (photo 6).
Pro tips
- Feel free to add other spices like ground black pepper, paprika or cayenne flakes.
- You can also add other ingredients like tempeh bacon, breadcrumbs, jalapeño peppers, fresh or dried herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, etc.), or our vegan Parmesan cheese.
- If you prefer it baked, cover your mac and cheese with vegan cheese, add them into a baking dish and bake until golden brown.
- Choose any kind of pasta, but elbow macaroni is the most popular kind for this dish.
- Peel the potatoes and the carrots if you like cheese with a smoother texture.
- Use unsweetened plant milk.
Can you freeze vegan mac and cheese?
Of course! You can freeze it all together once it’s cold or you can split it into portions. And yes, you can also freeze the vegan cheese separately!
How to serve vegan mac and cheese
You can have it as a main dish or as a side dish. If you serve it as a main dish, you can enjoy your vegan mac and cheese with this oil-free tomato avocado salad or a light rainbow kale salad.
As a side dish, mac and cheese goes very well with our portobello steaks or even with this vegan meatloaf.
Is this vegan mac and cheese creamy?
Yes! This mac and cheese recipe is so creamy it really feels like the original one. It also tastes so much like real cheese you can’t tell the difference!
Looking for more pasta recipes?
- Butternut Squash Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Fat-Free Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Penne Alla Vodka
- Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Beans)
- Vegan Mushroom Pasta
Did you make this vegan mac and cheese recipe?
Please leave a comment below, share it or rate it. You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST. I’d love to see what you cook!
PrintVegan Mac and Cheese
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 1x
- Category: Main Dish, Side Dish
- Cuisine: Vegan, American
Vegan mac and cheese, made from scratch with super healthy and easy-to-get ingredients. It’s so flavorful, cheesy, creamy and ready in just 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried pasta (450 g), gluten-free if needed, I used elbow macaroni
For the vegan cheese:
- 2 cups potatoes (360 g), peeled and chopped
- 1 cup carrots (135 g), peeled and chopped
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (85 ml)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened plant milk of your choice (125 ml), I used soy milk
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (8 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Boil or steam the potatoes and carrots in a large pot for about 20 minutes or until soft.
- In the meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Place all the vegan cheese ingredients in a blender (including the cooked potatoes and carrots) and blend until smooth.
- Mix the cooked pasta and the vegan cheese in the pot and if they’re both hot, serve immediately. If they’re not, reheat the mixture for 1 or 2 minutes and serve immediately.
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. To reheat it, add a little bit of milk if the sauce is too thick.
Notes
- Feel free to add other spices like ground black pepper, paprika or cayenne flakes.
- You can also add tempeh bacon, breadcrumbs, jalapeño peppers, fresh or dried herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, parsley) or this homemade vegan Parmesan cheese.
- If you prefer them baked, cover your mac and cheese with vegan cheese, add them into a baking dish and bake until golden brown.
- Choose any kind of pasta, but elbow macaroni is the most popular kind for this dish.
- Peel the potatoes and the carrots if you like cheese with a smoother texture.
- Use unsweetened plant milk.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of the recipe
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 3.4 g
- Sodium: 316 mg
- Fat: 10.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 53.9 g
- Fiber: 7.6 g
- Protein: 11.7 g
Update Notes: This post was originally published in December of 2018, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions and tips in March of 2020.
Best vegan mac n cheese recipe I’ve tried so far! Really good, just needed to add a bit more salt. I added mustard powder to mine. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Hi Mirna! So glad you liked it so much 🙂
This is amaaaazing! added a little more salt and some smoked paprika and black pepper…. mmmmmm!!!!
Hi Jade! Sounds great 🙂
The sauce is a tad tangy/bitter. Is there a way to make it a little sweeter?
Hi Aryanna! My sauce wasn’t tangy, but you could add less lemon juice if you want and a little bit of sugar, or even more carrots 🙂
This is also a very good over steamed asparagus and rice (which is how I used the leftovers). The only change I made was reducing the olive oil to 1/4 cup. Thank you!
Hi Margret! Sounds great 🙂
Oh my goodness!! This is the best, so creamy and delicious!
I boiled up a pound of whole wheat elbow pasta but didn’t use it all, not sure if I just like it cheesier or if it was because they were wheat but I could tell it would have been too many noodles, not sure if this happened to anyone else?
This recipe is replacing my old go to mac and cheese recipe. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Hi Jeni! Thank you so much 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Hi I came across your page and I am truly intrigued :), however, I am not able to consume nightshade vegetables and so would like to know what I can use instead of the white potato for this recipe?
Hi Camille! I don’t know if you can eat cauliflower or butternut squash. In case you can, try these recipes instead: https://simpleveganblog.com/fat-free-vegan-mac-and-cheese/ and https://simpleveganblog.com/butternut-squash-mac-cheese-vegan-gf/ Have a nice day!
Great recipe but just a quick question would it be possible to freeze tue sauce in batches for another time?
★★★★★
Hi Olivia! I’ve never tried it myself, but some readers have frozen it successfully 🙂
I have made a few of your recipes and they always turn out tasty and yours is my go to site for the past while.
I made the butternut a
Squash mac and cheese recently and it was so good. Can you make the vegan mac and cheese with sweet potatoes?
Hi Ruby! So glad you like our recipes 🙂 I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t help you, sorry!
Incredible!!! I tried so many different vegan cheese recipes and am so happy with yours! It actually tastes like cheese!! And it is so affordable! I am in heaven because of you!!!
Thank you so much!!!
★★★★★
Hi Riley! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glag you enjoyed it so much!
Sooooo GOOD ! Not just for mac and cheese. Made today and topped our lasagne with it. Healthy ingredients and easy to make. THANK YOU . Will use many more times as we go more and more plant based.
★★★★★
Hi Michelle! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Have a nice day!
This was really good! I used the orange sweet potato, added a bit on onion to the potato and carrots when steaming them. I used unsweetened almond milk, Half powder mustard and half dejon mustard, some paprika and a couple of table spoons of cashews. It turned out amazing!! Will make this again. I was wondering if it would be OK to freeze the extra sauce? Thanks for the receipt!
★★★★
Hi Shelly! Sounds so good 🙂 Yes, you can freeze it. You’re so welcome!
I had high hopes going in but the main issue is the potato is too much, and it’s a little bland. I think it needs some more acidity to balance out the starch.
★★★
Hi Amanda! I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work for you. Did you use the same ingredients and follow all the steps?
The holy grail. I’m lactose intolerant but mac and cheese was my fave. After loads of “meh” attempts with vegan cheese, I tried making this recipe. It’s SO GOOD. I know this sounds cliché but it genuinely tastes creamy and cheesy. If you’re vegan or not able to eat dairy, definitely give this one a shot.
★★★★★
Hi Amaranth! So glad you liked it so much 🙂 Thanks for your comment!
I just made this tonight for dinner! I’m blown away at how similar it looks like to Mac and cheese , and it’s just as delicious thank you angel!!🙏🏼☺️
★★★★★
Hi Andrea! You’re so welcome 🙂 I’m so glad you liked it so much!
SO CREAMY! New to the vegan cheese thing, but tried another blog’s recipe that did not hold up. It was edible but not very good. This one is so very smooth, creamy and just utterly delicious!
*do you think the sauce alone would freeze well? I made the sauce separately and haven’t mixed it all in pasta. Just checking. Thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★
Hi Jen! So glad you liked it 🙂 I’ve never frozen it myself, but some readers did and it worked for them…
I like it. I added some mustard powder to it and used white sweet potato. Next time I will add a bit of paprika.
Thanks for this recipe.
★★★★
Hi Elisha! Sounds great 🙂 You’re so welcome!
I used this recipe because I didn’t have cashews on hand for my favorite Mac and cheese recipe. My husband I both were able to finish but had trouble getting it down the potatoes made for a really heavy starchy consistency to the sauce. I would not make it again.
★★
Hi Rachel! I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t work for you. However, this recipe is so popular on the blog. If you could tell me more, I could help you… Have a nice day!
Unfortunately the cheese is not cheesy. It LOOKS convincing but tastes more like veggie broth than dairy. I like this recipe as its own thing, though. Add roasted carrots, some green bell pepper, some hot sauce. It easily transforms into a kickass meal, but I have to highlight the veggies and not think of it as mac and cheese at all. A Tbsp of tahini stirred in makes it truly creamy.
★★★
Hi Mckay! As you can read in the comments this recipe works and tastes like real cheese. Did you use the same ingredients and follow all the steps?
This is delicious. I’m gluten free and dairy free and this is heavenly. Now I’m going to plot other uses for this “cheese” sauce.
Hi Nancy! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it!
can u use regular milk too if u don’t mind it not vegan
Hi! Any type of milk will do, but you should give plant-milk a try. It’s healthier and better for the planet and the animals 🙂
We all loved this recipe. My girls had third helpings. I omitted oil and used the vegetable water instead.
★★★★★
Hi Karrie! I’m so glad you and your girls enjoyed it 🙂
Hi,
Long time i’m searching a vegan mac&cheese and today, finally I found today. I made for my lunch today and was amazing. The color of the cream is like non vegan cream m&c and the flavor as well. Congratulations for your recipe.
Hi Leda! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it!
This was my first vegan Mac n cheese I made from scratch and it was so simple and delicious. I was surprised how creamy it was. My whole family loved it. Thank you! 🙂😁
★★★★★
Hi Shalay! So glad you liked it 🙂 You’re so welcome!
I made this tonight and it’s one of the best simple vegan recipes I’ve found! So delicious, we finished the whole lot!
Hi Tan! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it so much!
Amazing! This is a delicious vegan cheese.
★★★★★
Hi Katie! Thanks a lot 🙂