Vegan Mac and Cheese
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This vegan mac and cheese gets its creamy, cheesy sauce from blended potatoes, carrots and cashews. No store-bought vegan cheese, no roux, no weird aftertaste.
One of the biggest compliments I’ve ever received on a recipe was from readers who told me they aren’t vegan or dairy-free, they just love this vegan mac and cheese. That’s the sign of a really good plant-based recipe. The magic is in the blended veggie-based cheese sauce that’s genuinely creamy, cheesy and comforting without a drop of dairy (plus a sneaky boost of veggies in every bite).
Serve it with a side of my kale salad for a full plate, or add my butternut squash mac and cheese to your rotation for another sneaky veggie option.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe
- Ingredients Needed
- How to Make Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Tips for the Creamiest Vegan Mac and Cheese
- What to Serve with Vegan Mac and Cheese
- How to Store and Freeze Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Mac and Cheese FAQ
- More Vegan Dinner Recipes to Try
- Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe Recipe
“This was the third mac and cheese recipe I have tried in my attempt the find the perfect one to bring to a vegan thanksgiving in a few weeks. I want something creamy and classic. This is absolutely IT. My non-vegan kiddo even took a big bowl and gave it a thumbs up.”
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe
- It’s real comfort food, just dairy-free: Creamy, cheesy and warm in all the ways mac and cheese should be, with nothing heavy sitting in your stomach afterward.
- The sauce is worth making on its own: I always blend a little extra and keep it in the fridge to pour over roasted broccoli or a baked potato later in the week. It does not go to waste.
- It doubles well for a crowd: Readers have been bringing this to vegan Thanksgiving for years, and it holds its own next to my lentil loaf on a holiday table. Make a double batch in one blender jar.
Ingredients Needed
- elbow macaroni – any short pasta works. For a protein and fiber boost I reach for chickpea or lentil pasta, and I use gluten-free noodles when I need the whole dish to be GF.
- yukon gold potatoes – steamed potato starch turns glossy and thick when it hits a blender, which is what makes the sauce coat every noodle instead of sliding off. This is the ingredient doing the heavy lifting on texture.
- carrots – peel before chopping for the smoothest blend and the best color. Aged cheddar has a faint sweetness to it, and carrots quietly stand in for that.
- yellow onion and garlic – the savory base of the sauce.
- unsweetened non-dairy milk – I use almond, but any unsweetened dairy-free milk works. Skip the vanilla and sweetened kinds.
- raw cashews – raw, not roasted or salted. Cheese is fat and protein, and potatoes cannot give you richness on their own. Soaked cashews are what take this from a decent vegetable purée to something that actually reads as creamy in your mouth.
- nutritional yeast – this is what makes the sauce taste cheesy and savory rather than like blended vegetables. Nutritional yeast is naturally high in glutamates, the same compounds that give aged cheese and other savory foods that deep, full flavor, and it’s the one ingredient I won’t let you skip. Grocery stores usually stock it in the spice aisle or the natural foods section.
- lemon juice – fresh, not bottled. Real cheese is fermented, so it has a tang to it, and without acid this sauce tastes flat no matter how much nooch you add.
Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
How to Make Vegan Mac and Cheese
Step 1: Cover the raw cashews with water and let them sit while you prep everything else. This is the step that decides whether your sauce is silky or gritty, so don’t rush it.
Step 2: Steam the potatoes, carrots and onion until soft, then blend them with the soaked cashews and the rest of the sauce ingredients until smooth.
Step 3: Cook the pasta until al dente, saving a little pasta water before you drain.
Step 4: Pour the sauce over the noodles, loosen with pasta water as needed, season and serve.
Tips for the Creamiest Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Soak your cashews longer than you think you need to: Two to four hours is my standard, and overnight is even better. If you have a Vitamix you can shorten it to 30 minutes or so, but I cannot stress this enough, the soak is what gives you a smooth sauce.
- In a rush? Do a hot soak: Pour boiling water over the cashews and let them sit 15 minutes. It softens them fast when you forgot to plan ahead.
- Blend past the point where you think it’s done: Let it run a full minute or two. The sauce should look glossy with zero visible flecks. If it’s grainy, that’s undersoaked cashews or an underworked blender, not a mistake in the recipe.
- Taste before you serve: This sauce leans on salt and lemon to taste cheesy rather than vegetal. If it tastes flat, it almost always wants a pinch more of one or the other.
What to Serve with Vegan Mac and Cheese
This is a classic mac and cheese at heart, so it plays nicely with almost anything. A few of the ways it lands on our table:
- With a green side: A pile of balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts or a crisp kale and Brussels sprout salad cuts the richness and gets a vegetable on the plate next to the pasta.
- With a plant-based protein. Since the mac itself is light on protein, I’ll serve it alongside marinated tempeh, baked peanut tofu, or a bowl of my peanut butter chili when I want something heartier on the side.
- As part of a cozy spread: A wedge of warm vegan cornbread turns this into full comfort food territory, especially in the colder months.
- Baked, for a crowd: Spread the finished mac in a baking dish, top with panko and broil until the crumbs are golden. This is how I serve it for a holiday table.
How to Store and Freeze Vegan Mac and Cheese
Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The sauce firms up as it chills, so when you reheat, add a splash of milk or water and stir often over medium-low heat until it loosens and warms through. The microwave works too if you’re in a hurry.
Freezer: The sauce freezes better on its own than mixed into the pasta, which can turn a little soft after thawing. If you know you’ll have extra, blend a bigger batch and freeze the plain sauce in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, then reheat and toss with freshly cooked noodles for a near-instant dinner.
Vegan Mac and Cheese FAQ
Steamed potatoes and carrots blended with soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, non-dairy milk, lemon juice and a few seasonings. No dairy, no store-bought vegan cheese, and no flour roux.
Almost always undersoaked cashews or a blender that needs more time. Soak the cashews longer, blend a full minute or two past the point you’d think, and look for a glossy, fleck-free sauce. It’ll still taste good if it’s a touch grainy, but you’ll nail the texture next time.
The cashews are what make the sauce rich, so leaving them out gives you a thinner, more vegetable-forward sauce. If you have a nut allergy, raw sunflower seeds or a bit of white bean are the closest swaps, though the flavor and creaminess will shift slightly.
Swap the pasta for chickpea or lentil noodles. It’s the easiest change with the biggest payoff and it pushes each serving to roughly 15 grams of protein without touching the sauce. Stirring in a cup of peas or serving it next to marinated tempeh bumps it up further.
It’s creamy, savory and comforting in all the ways mac and cheese should be. Even the non-vegans in my house go back for seconds, and plenty of readers make it just because they love the sauce.
More Vegan Dinner Recipes to Try
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked (or any pasta of choice)
- 2 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces (about ½ cup)
- 1 small yellow onion, quartered
- 2 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice, I used almond milk
- ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked for 2-4 hours or overnight
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt , plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, optional
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
Instructions
- If you haven’t already soak your cashews for 2-4 hours. If you have a high powered blender like a Vitamix you can get away with soaking for only 30 minutes-1 hour.¾ cup raw cashews
- Fill a large pot with about 1 inch of water. Add potatoes, carrots and onion to a steamer basket or metal colander and steam for about 15 minutes or until soft.2 medium yellow potatoes, 2 medium carrots, 1 small yellow onion
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining. Drain and transfer the pasta back to the pot.1 lb elbow macaroni
- Place all the vegan cheese ingredients in a blender (including the cooked potatoes, carrots and onions) and blend until smooth.2 large cloves of garlic, 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice, ⅓ cup nutritional yeast, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt , 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- Pour the vegan cheese over cooked pasta, adding up to 1/2 cup pasta water to loosen the sauce, as necessary. Stir to fully combine.½ cup reserved pasta water
- Season to taste and serve.
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat it, add a little bit of milk or water to thin out the sauce. When reheating, stir often to avoid burning.
Video
Notes
- Cashews: Soak raw cashews 2 to 4 hours, or overnight for the smoothest sauce. Short on time? Pour boiling water over them and soak 15 minutes. A high-powered blender lets you get away with a shorter soak.
- Gritty sauce fix: If the sauce isn’t smooth, the cashews likely needed a longer soak or the sauce needed longer blending. Run the blender a full minute or two until glossy.
- Storage: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days. Reheat with a splash of milk or water to loosen the sauce, stirring often.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
This was the third mac and cheese recipe I have tried in my attempt the find the perfect one to bring to a vegan thanksgiving in a few weeks. I want something creamy and classic. This is absolutely IT. My non-vegan kiddo even took a big bowl and gave it a thumbs up, which was not the case with the others test runs. Absolutely wonderful. The only thing I did different was to add 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg to give it a bit more of a warm tone otherwise I followed this recipe exactly. Fabulous. We will be making this in the future many times.
Oh yay! That makes me so happy to hear. I’m so glad the recipe was a hit with your kiddos (that’s always such a compliment for me!). Can’t wait to hear how everyone likes it on Thanksgiving. Thanks for coming back to leave a review!
My kids went crazy for this!! Definitely going to be next go-to easy meal. Thank you so much!!
Ah this is great! I am so glad these are a hit for you and the kiddos, Vanessa. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, I appreciate it!
So good and so much more filling than the cheese version. We added broccoli for extra veggies. It was somewhat gritty even though I soaked the cashews for 6 hours but maybe my ninja didn’t blend it well enough. But def recommend 👌
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Cass! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I love this recipe so much. I always add broccoli to my pasta for even more veggies. I do have a question, I have leftover sauce, how long do you think it will last in the refrigerator or do you think I could freeze it?
I bet it would freeze okay for 1-2 months in a freezer-safe container. Let me know if you try it!
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I made this recipe with one substitution – Red potatoes in place of yellow (because that was what I had on hand). The results were fine, but I wanted more flavor. When I shook a Lemon Pepper blend from Niblack Foods on it, it went from good to give me more! Let’s just say I had a hard time with portion control.
I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe, Robert! Thanks for making it and for the review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
We’re not vegan, we just love Mac and cheese! Turned out great. Flavor is delicious and the texture was perfect. Will make again!
Oh yay! So happy to hear this recipe was a hit. Thanks so much for the review. I really appreciate it!
Can I sub the yellow potatoes for white sweet potatoes?
I bet that would work just fine! Let me know if you try it. 🙂
What does the yeast do? I can’t wai to try this!