A vegan mac & cheese recipe that's totally nut free! Coconut milk is the magic ingredient. Bonus: this creamy mac is super easy to whip up and requires no blending!
I've mentioned a few times recently that I'm trying to make this site a bit more allergy friendly. I mean, for most of the five years I've been posting, my attitude has basically been, "hey, my recipes are vegan and that's it." I wish I could test out every variation on every dish!
But I do post a lot of cashew recipes. And I get a lot of requests for alternatives from people with nut allergies.
A few weeks ago I got a request for a kiddo in my family who has lots of allergies, including dairy, nuts and soy, and I wasn't able to be of much help at the time. I don't have many nut-free, soy-free recipes on this site that also happen to be kid-friendly. So I decided to just go out and make one!
This mac and cheese is not only vegan (and therefore suitable for people with dairy allergies too!) but it's also nut free, and, if you like, soy free. Super allergy friendly. And bonus: it's easy. You don't even have to bust out the food processor.
I adapted the sauce from my creamy pesto pasta, which uses coconut milk, but for this recipe I seasoned up the coconut sauce to taste cheesy.
You'll start by cooking some flour in a bit of oil. This is your thickener. Next, in goes a mix of coconut milk and another (not quite as rich) non dairy milk. You can use whatever non-dairy milk works with your diet here, as long as it's unsweetened and unflavored. Soy milk, nut milk, rice milk, and hemp milk are all good choices.
Let the sauce simmer for a while to thicken up. Seasonings go in at the end, to make it look and taste nice and cheesy.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta. One thing I don't recommend here is using a gluten-free pasta. Stick with wheat, because the pasta is actually going to help the sauce thicken up even more, but I'll get to that in a minute!
When the pasta is almost done cooking, add in some broccoli. Or add in your favorite veggie, but broccoli goes really well with mac and cheese, so that's what I picked. And of course you can skip the veggies if that's how you roll.
Cooked pasta and broccoli go into the cheesy coconut sauce. Let them simmer for a minute. The starch from the pasta will thicken up the sauce even more.
Serve and enjoy!
Tips for Making Amazing Coconut Mac
- Maybe you noticed that I called this recipe "kid-friendly," but also that it contains hot sauce. That's not a mistake! Stick with a mild, vinegar-based hot sauce (like Cholula), and just use 2 tablespoons. Your mac will not be hot! The hot sauce will make it taste cheesier though. Trust me!
- To keep this recipe soy free, use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
- I mentioned above that I used wheat pasta and flour, and therefore I don't have a gluten-free option, or at least one that I've tested. But I can tell you what I think will work: try thickening the sauce at the end (skip the flour + oil) with some arrowroot powder, use a gluten-free pasta, and skip the step where you let the pasta simmer in the sauce at the end — just stir it in and serve. I'd love to hear how this works out if anyone gives it a try!
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Creamy Coconut Mac & Cheese with Broccoli
A vegan mac & cheese recipe that's totally nut free! Coconut milk is the magic ingredient. Bonus: this creamy mac is super easy to whip up and requires no blending!
Ingredients
- 10 ounces dried macaroni or pasta shells (or your favorite pasta shape)
- 3 cups chopped fresh broccoli
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, or another neutral flavored cooking oil, plus a dash
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk (from a can)
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk of choice (almond, soy, hemp, or non-canned coconut milk all work)
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons vinegar-based hot sauce, such as Cholula
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Set the timer according to the package directions for cooking the pasta until al dente.
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When the timer gets down to 2 minutes, add the broccoli to the pot and give it a stir.
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When the timer goes off, drain the pasta and broccoli into a colander and return them to the pot. Toss with a dash of oil to prevent sticking.
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Coat the bottom of a large pot with 1 tablespoon of oil and place it over medium heat.
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When the oil is hot, whisk in the flour to form a thick paste. Cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture darkens a bit and begins to smell nutty, about 3 minutes.
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Whisk in the coconut milk and non-dairy milk of choice.
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Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer, whisking frequently, for about 7 minutes, until it thickens up a bit.
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Whisk in the nutritional yeast, soy sauce or coconut aminos, hot sauce, vinegar, onion and garlic powders, and salt. Taste-test and season with salt to taste. Adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
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Add the pasta and broccoli to the pot with the coconut mixture and give it a good stir. Allow to cook for about 1 minute, just until the pasta is perfectly tender. The sauce should thicken up a bit more during this time.
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Remove from heat and serve.
Any suggestions on how to cut down on the sodium/potassium in this recipe?
Try cutting back on the amount of soy sauce/liquid aminos.
Hi Alissa, made the Creamy Coconut Mac & Cheese with Broccoli for dinner tonight. I was a bit skeptical if I'd like the sauce made with the coconut milk, but it was delicious. And it came together pretty easily too. I served it to my 87 year old mother who is a big "real" mac & cheese fan. She loved it too!
Thanks!
That's awesome!! I'm so glad you both enjoyed it! Thanks so much Kelly!
Do you think the sauce would hold up to being made ahead of time and reheated later?
I do! If it thickens up too much you can thin it out with a bit of water or non-dairy milk, but otherwise no problem. :)
This was spectacular! Thank you for the vegan and nut free recipe! This was so good. Your directions were on point, so precise and clear, cooking made easy. My only change was I added 1 tbs siracha (all I had) and slightly more red wine vinegar to make up for the lack of vinegar in my hot sauce, and 1 tsp. Mustard because it somehow adds more cheese flavor in my humble opinion. My husband has a new favorite dish, and luckily, so do I.
Oh interesting! I never add mustard to my cheesy recipes but now I'm definitely trying it! I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Thanks Caitlinn!
Looks just like my (formerly) beloved Velveeta! Can't wait to make this.
The sauce is a lot like Velveeta! I hope you enjoy it!
OH MY GOSH!!! Hands down my favorite vegan mac n cheese recipe ever and I have tried a million recipes. I love the use of hot sauce. And all 4 of my kids are gobbling it up.
Woo-hoo!! I'm so glad it's a hit!
Definitely the best vegan homemade mac n cheese!! Thank you so much for the recipe. So delicious!! 😋
Awesome!! I'm glad you like it!
Just made this and it was fantastic! I needed a dairy and nut free recipe using coconut milk. This recipe is exactly what I was looking for! I had to sub a few things, white wine vinegar for the red, and veggie broth for the 2nd cup of milk, as I only had canned coconut milk. The funny part is all I had for hot sauce was a bottle from the farmers market called Calypso... ahem... I should not have used the full amount specified. I definitely do not have a kid friendly recipe! lol My vegan daughter just came home from work and had 2 bowls! I had a bowl full with ketchup, cause you have to have ketchup with mac and cheese, right!! Anyway, I was blown away with how much it reminded me of the real thing, aside from the fact that my eyes were watering and my nose was running...lol Can't wait to make this again with the ingredients you used including a milder hot sauce! Thanks so much!!
Oh wow! I haven't tried this with a really hot sauce, but I bet I'd love it! If you use Cholula or Franks it's not hot at all. I'm so glad you and your daughter enjoyed it. Thanks Tonnae!
This is just such a flippin’ gem of a recipe, loved it! Saved a bit of pasta water for extra thickness but honestly it probably didn’t need it. So so delish!
I'm so glad you like it! Thanks Autumn!
My sauce never thickened. It is still the consistency of water at the end. What did I do wrong?
Oh no! Did you use canned coconut milk? With that it should actually be thicker than water from the start. The only other things I can think of are not using enough flour, or not whisking it in completely. I hope that helps!
Haha, I was scrolling through looking for some dinner inspiration and thought yeah, mac and cheese! But I'm allergic to coconut (well, I'm not allowed to eat it for immune-related reasons).... There definitely is not one recipe to rule them all!
Agreed! There are so many ways to make vegan mac and cheese - I actually created this one for someone who is allergic to just about everything but coconut! Here's a coconut-free one for you to check out: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-mac-and-cheese/ :)
How would you adjust the measurements (if at all) if you omitted the broccoli?
I wouldn't make any adjustments. Your dish might be a little extra saucy, but I think that's a nice thing!
Our family just made the switch to dairy and peanut free because our 16 month old son is allergic. So cooking dairy free was a little different for me but this was so delicious, I used veggie broth for the 1 cup of milk (because I only had fresh almond milk that I Sweetened with dates and vanilla paste) but thank goodness had exactly 1 cup canned coconut milk left from another recipe. I used franks original red hot sauce and some different shape noodles because that’s what I had. I do think it has “heat” to it lol I got warm eating it but it was scrumptious and my son liked it too. Thanks for a great recipe, this will be a regular now.
I'm so glad you both enjoyed it! You can try cutting back on the hot sauce or even using a different brand if you find the heat is too much. Thanks Brandi!
Hi Love the look of this. Can it be frozen once made
I'm afraid I'm not sure! I'll try freezing some of my next batch. :)
It was one of my most amazing vegan taste experiences ever, my wife was impressed haha, the only thing I changed was that I used Gemelli instead of Macaroni, the sauce was deliciously devine, I'm on a vegan voyage inspired by my son who became vegan 4 years ago, I've been following you for a while but shortly I've started digging deeper into your recipe's, you inspire me, I hope that one day I can meet you live, warm greetings from Westerlo Belgium, if you are ever in Belgium you are more then welcome:)))
That's wonderful! I'm so happy you enjoyed this and are enjoying the recipes! I've never been to Belgium but I hope to visit one day. Thanks so much Frank!
Delicious! I will be making this again and again.