Vegan Mac and Cheese

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!

Vegan Mac and Cheese

• Author: Iosune
• Prep: 10 mins
• Cook: 20 mins
• Total: 30 mins
• 6–8 1x
• Main Dish, Side Dish
• Vegan, American

★★★★★ 4.5 from 23 reviews

Servings 6–8 1x

Scale 1x2x3x Tap or hover over number to scale servings

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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

1. Boil or steam the potatoes and carrots in a large pot for about 20 minutes or until soft.
2. In the meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. Place all the vegan cheese ingredients in a blender (including the cooked potatoes and carrots) and blend until smooth.
4. 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.
5. 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.