Vegan mac and cheese, made from scratch with easy-to-get ingredients. It’s so flavorful, cheesy, creamy, and ready in 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 really tastes like real cheese!
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). 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, regular cheese) and is really high in fat. This 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 that you can easily make with a blender and is so comforting, delicious, and satisfying, very simple, and ready in less than 30 minutes! Simply perfection.
Ingredient notes
- Dried pasta: any type of pasta will do, but I really love elbow macaroni.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I’m Spanish, so I use extra virgin olive oil to cook most of my dishes. However, any type of oil is okay. I always use extra virgin oils when possible because they’re healthier.
- Unsweetened plant milk: any type of unsweetened plant milk is okay, but soy milk is my favorite one for this recipe. It is important that you use it unsweetened.
- Nutritional yeast: it gives this recipe the cheesy flavor, so it’s an important ingredient. If you can’t find it, you could also use brewer’s yeast or even beer instead of water. However, nutritional yeast is the best choice.
Dietary variations
- Make it gluten-free: use gluten-free pasta.
- Make it soy-free: use soy-free plant milk.
- Make it oil-free: omit the oil, and use vegetable stock or water instead.
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, or fresh or dried herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, etc.).
- If you prefer it baked, cover your mac and cheese with vegan cheese, put them onto a baking dish, and bake until golden brown.
- Choose any kind of pasta, but elbow macaroni is the most popular kind for this dish. Feel free to use gluten-free pasta.
- Peel the potatoes and the carrots if you like your vegan cheese with a smoother texture.
How to make vegan mac and cheese
- Boil or steam the potatoes and carrots in a large pot for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Place all the vegan cheese ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Mix the cooked pasta and the vegan cheese in the pot.
- Serve your vegan mac and cheese and enjoy.
How to store
- Fridge: store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Freezer: keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Reheat: it can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through. Add a little water, vegetable stock, or unsweetened plant milk if needed.
Is vegan mac and cheese healthy?
This recipe sure is! It actually depends on the ingredients you use and if it is homemade or store-bought. However, as it is 100% plant-based, it is low in fat and completely cholesterol-free.
Serving suggestions
Feel free to serve it as a side dish or as a main dish with a side of roasted veggies. I do suggest you sprinkle some of this fantastic vegan Parmesan cheese on top. Truly delicious!
Looking for more vegan pasta recipes?
Did you make this vegan mac and cheese recipe?
Please leave a comment and rate it below. We’d love to hear from you!
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Print
Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 20 mins
- Total: 30 mins
- 6-8 1x
- Main Dish, Side Dish
- American
- Vegan
Servings 6-8 1x
Vegan mac and cheese, made from scratch with easy-to-get ingredients. It’s so flavorful, cheesy, creamy, and ready in 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 meantime, 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 your vegan mac and cheese immediately. If they’re not, reheat the mixture for 1 or 2 minutes and serve immediately.
- Feel free to serve them as a side dish or as a main dish with a side of some roasted veggies. I do suggest your sprinkle some of this fantastic vegan Parmesan cheese on top. Truly delicious!
- Keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months. To reheat it, add a little bit of plant 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 other ingredients like tempeh bacon, breadcrumbs, jalapeño peppers, fresh or dried herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, etc.).
- If you prefer it baked, cover your mac and cheese with vegan cheese, put them onto a baking dish, and bake until golden brown.
- Choose any kind of pasta, but elbow macaroni is the most popular kind for this dish. Feel free to use gluten-free pasta.
- Peel the potatoes and the carrots if you like your vegan cheese with a smoother texture.
- Remember to use unsweetened plant milk.
- Nutritional yeast gives this recipe the cheesy flavor, so it’s an important ingredient. If you can’t find it, you could also use brewer’s yeast or even beer instead of plant milk. However, nutritional yeast is the best choice.
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 July of 2022.
Can you suggest a healthy pasta to use in this recipe?
Hi Linda! I don’t use any specific brand, sorry!
Wow! I really do not enjoy cooking. But I very much enjoy eating Mac and Cheese 😀 So I thought I’d give this recipe a go. This recipe definitely needs to be renamed. I suggest Super Yummy Mac and Cheese for the Kitchen Challenged 😀 It was so easy to make and tasted delicious. Next up, meatloaf! Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Melissa! So glad you liked it 🙂 Thanks for your kind comment!
Good starter recipe , I added 1/2 onion with the potatoes , I did half sweet half white , reduced the oil and the nutritional yeast ….after all those alteration it was still blend I added sriracha and what truly made a huge difference is 1 to 2 tsp to your taste liquid smoke that was it ! It tasted like smoked Gouda ..yum I added brocoli and it was very satisfying.
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Hi Brigitte! Sounds so good 🙂
I also added sriracha and it does take it to the next level!
Love this recipe! Thank you, my family can finally enjoy a dairy free Mac and cheese
I added lobster to one and it was delicious…
★★★★★
Hi! I encourage you to make it vegan next time 🙂
This turned out great, I substituted in a bit of pumpkin cause I didn’t have enough potatoes. I also added half a teaspoon of ground mustard seeds. My five year old nephew said it’s half good and half bad – from him that’s a compliment. I’ll definitely make this again.
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Hi Nicole! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂 I’m glad you liked it!
SO good! Baby and adult approved.
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Hi! I’m so glad you all liked it 🙂
So far I have tried general tsos tofu and this. I am beyond shocked at how good these are. I just started eating cleaner and of course my biggest issue is learned new recipes. Thank you so very much!
★★★★★
Hi Rene! Thanks for writing to us 🙂 I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
I don’t normally leave recipe comments, but for this I just had to. We’ve made it 3 times so far…in about a 2 week time span. I’m obsessed with this recipe. The first time we followed the recipe to a T and it was delicious but my boyfriend and I weren’t sure if we like nutritional yeast or not. The next time we made it we omitted the yeast and used Worcestershire sauce instead (NOT vegan fyi, for anyone interested in trying our substitutions) but that didn’t hit the spot (tasted like Chef Boyardee). So on our third time we added a little less nutritional yeast and a splash of soy sauce instead and that hit the spot! We also roasted our veggies and left the skins on. I love how easy and cost effective this recipe is, we’re still on our first bags of potatoes and carrots, and how guilt free it is. I’m not vegan but just trying to make healthier choices and with this recipe I know I’ll be eating a lot less mac and cheese.
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Hi! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂 I’m so glad you both liked it!
Thank you for this! I like the nutritional yeast, but may have to cut back here. I am going to try the Worcester and soy sauce. Appreciate the idea!
Phenomenal! Much quicker, easier, and tastier than cashew-based cheese sauces! We added some diced jalapeños and tomatoes to our leftover sauce for a nacho cheese dip the next day — I recommend that as well!
★★★★★
Hello, I had some leftovers so I put it in the fridge, can you please give me directions for warming it up? I worry it will be dry if I put it in the microwave. Thank you.
Hi! You only need to heat them in the microwave 🙂 If you see them dry, feel free to add a dash of olive oil!
We love this recipe. We tweak it a bit each time. Sometimes our potato and carrot ratio is heavier on the carrot just because that is what we had. We have doubled and tripled the recipe with great results. Sometimes I cut back on the oil and yeast flakes, sometimes we add horseradish or jalapeños. It freezes well. I cut the oil in half if I plan to freeze it and then add some oil when I thaw and remix. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Sounds so good Mardi 🙂 Have a nice day!
Love this recipe!!! It’s quick, easy and tastes great. I substituted unsweetened apple sauce for the oil and omitted the salt and it’s still delicious! Even my skeptical hubby was amazed at how cheesy it is considering there is no cheese in it!
★★★★
Hi Tina 🙂 I’m so glad you liked our vegan mac and cheese recipe!
So so good. But definitely add mustard to the sauce. I used some of the cooking liquid too. 1/2 cooking water 1/2 soy milk.
Sounds good 🙂 I’m glad you liked it!
Hooray! Mac and cheese without cashews! So simple and delicious. Thank you. PS In case anyone is wondering, it’s still delicious without the oil.
★★★★★
Hi Anne! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
Made this yesterday and it’s a hit! Love it! Added more spices for my own liking but what a nice surprise!! Thank you!!
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So glad you enjoyed it Yolanda! Have a nice day 🙂
We want to make this
Hope you liked it!! Have a nice day Eddie 🙂
This is fantastic! But I didn’t realize how much this recipe makes. Does this Mac and cheese freeze well?
★★★★★
Hi Patty! So glad you liked it 🙂 You can freeze it all together once it’s cold or you can split it into portions. Also, you can also freeze the vegan cheese separately!
Thank you! I’m allergic to nuts so finding a cashew free mac and cheese recipe was very difficult. I only had one cup of potatoes so I used 1 cup of sweet potatoes to complete the recipe. It came out amazing!! Thank you again!
★★★★★
Hi Marshley! So glad you liked our vegan mac and cheese 🙂 Have a nice day!
Really want to try this recipe as it looks fantastic.
I cant find onion or garlic powder in the shops however I do have onion and garlic granules in my pantry – can I use those instead?
Thank you 🙂
Hi Layla! Yes, feel free to use onion and garlic granules 🙂 Hope you like our mac and cheese!
I just made this recipe and it is great! I have tried cashew-based recipes, but I like this one better. I used a high speed blender to make it really creamy, added turmeric and black pepper, and poured over half pasta/half steamed cauliflower. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Gigi! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
Loved it! First time making a mac and cheese without cashews, and I much prefer this one. Creamy and flavoursome, it’s going to be eaten at home again and again. Thank you so much for all your recipes, I have made a few of them and they are all fantastic. Greetings and thanks from Valencia, Spain!
★★★★★
Hi Mati! So glad you enjoyed our vegan mac and cheese 🙂 Thank you so much for writing us! Have a nice day!
tasted delicious! I added some vegan cheese to the top and baked it a bit so it would be crunchy. This is the best vegan mac n cheese recipe i’ve seen to date. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Katie! Thanks for your kind words 🙂 So glad you liked it!
I have been a vegan for over 10 years so I have tried out a few of mac and cheeses This is defiantly my fav.
I have never made one without nuts (which can be awkward as you have to remember to soak them the night before) and this was such a quick and easy dish.
Thank you so much, I cannot wait to try out other recipes on your blog!
★★★★★
I absolutely love this recipe! I made it for my brother and my mother and my mother is not vegan and told me she’d rather have real mac and cheese, but I like this one better. I have lots of potatoes and carrots leftover, so I will surely have some mac and cheese for lunch soon! I made the recipe x0,5 but didn’t have enough for 3 people and my brother doesn’t even eat that much.
Hi Christel! So glad you and your family liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
I tried it and it was delicious. My daughter is not a big fan of mac and cheese and she enjoyed it very much. We will definitely make it again
★★★★★
Hi Kimmy! So glad you and your daughter liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
can I use sweet potato instead of white?
Hi Cindy, I haven’t tried it with sweet potato. But, feel free to do it and tell me if it works 🙂 Have a nice day!