Get ready for the ultimate vegan comfort food! Made with zesty two-bean chili, tender macaroni, and a creamy, dairy-free cheese sauce, this vegan chili mac is super satisfying and seriously flavor-packed. Ready in about 30 minutes!
Chili mac and cheese is one of those must-make, all-American comfort food meals that lots of us grew up eating. And yes, I did say "must-make," and I mean everyone. For a long time, I skipped it because it didn’t fit my diet... so I fixed it. I made it vegan.
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Vegan chili mac might seem like one of those dishes that’s tricky to pull off. Taking the meat out of chili is easy enough, but recreating that creamy, cheesy sauce without dairy can feel a bit more daunting until you realize it’s already been done. I’ve made vegan mac and cheese with a cashew-based sauce. Then I made vegan coconut milk mac and cheese, which was even simpler. So, coconut milk it was for this chili mac!
I also took inspiration from dishes like my vegan goulash and vegan hamburger helper, both of which feature macaroni in simple, pantry-friendly sauces (no blender required). This chili mac brings together the best of all of them: tender pasta, a rich, cheesy sauce, and zesty chili, and it's all totally doable on a busy weeknight.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Elbow macaroni. Other small pasta shapes like shells will also work.
- Oil. You can use any neutral high-heat oil you like, such as canola, peanut, or coconut oil.
- Onion.
- Red bell pepper. I love the sweetness a red bell pepper gives this dish, but any color will work!
- Garlic.
- Flour. I've only made this dish with all-purpose wheat flour, but I see no reason whole wheat flour or an all-purpose gluten-free blend couldn't be used.
- Coconut milk. Make sure you're using full-fat coconut milk from a can for the richest, creamiest sauce. Light coconut milk will work, but the sauce will be more runny. Coconut milk in cartons isn't recommended, as it's heavily watered down.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes. These add lots of smoky flavor, but regular canned diced tomatoes will do in a pinch.
- Beans. I use a can of black beans and a can of kidney beans, but feel free to substitute what you have on hand. Chickpeas, lentils, pinto beans, and cannellini beans are all fine options!
- Nutritional yeast flakes. Not to be confused with baker's yeast, this product can be found in health food stores and adds a savory, cheesy flavor to the dish.
- Spices. You'll just need chili powder and ground cumin, both of which you can find in the spice aisle of just about any grocery store.
- Hot sauce. This adds not only heat, but tangy flavor, so I don't recommend skipping it.
- Salt.
- Fresh chives. These are just for topping, and you can skip them or substitute your favorite toppings, like scallions, cilantro, vegan sour cream, cashew cream, guacamole, or sliced avocado.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Cook the pasta. Cook it according to the package directions, but only until it reaches the al dente stage, which means just a smidge undercooked. Drain it into a colander when it's done. It might start to stick together, but it will break up later when you add it to the sauce.
Start the sauce. Start by sweating the onion and pepper in some oil until they soften. Add minced garlic, sprinkle in some flour, and cook the mixture for 2 minutes, stirring the entire time. The coconut milk, tomatoes, beans, nutritional yeast, spices, and hot sauce go in next.
Simmer. Get that sauce to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. You want it to thicken up just a bit.
Add pasta. Stir your cooked pasta into the sauce, then let it simmer just a bit longer. Don't let the pasta overcook — you just want it to warm up and soak up some sauce.
Finish. Take the pot off the heat and season your vegan chili mac with some salt. You can make any other adjustments you like at this point, whether it be adding hot sauce or spices.
Serve. Divide your chili mac into bowls, sprinkle on the chives (or toppings of choice) and dig in!
Variations
- Meaty vegan chili mac. Add some of your favorite vegan store-bought beef-style crumbles.
- Extra cheesy chili mac. Stir in some shredded vegan cheese, or sprinkle it on top.
- Baked chili mac. Don't actually bake it — you're going to use a cheat method. While the dish is still hot, place it in a casserole dish and sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs. Pop it under a hot broiler until the breadcrumbs brown.
- Five alarm chili mac. Add some cayenne pepper or fresh chile peppers. I like jalapeños in this dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
I think so! You can certainly substitute gluten-free pasta. I haven't tried using gluten-free flour in the sauce, but I have heard from readers who had success with all-purpose gluten-free blends in similar recipes.
I can be. The hot sauce adds some kick. If you prefer a milder dish, use a mild hot sauce, like Valentina. The heat will be subtle.
Leftover vegan chili mac will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. The sauce may thicken during storage — thin it with some water or non-dairy milk.
More Vegan Comfort Food Dinners
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chili Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried elbow macaroni
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk (from a can)
- 1 (14.5 ounce/411 gram) can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 ½ tablespoons mild chili powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons vinegar-based hot sauce (such as Cholula)
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Chopped fresh chives, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the pasta and cook it according to the package directions, until al dente. Drain the pasta into a colander when done.
- While the pasta cooks, coat the bottom of a large pot with 2 tablespoons of oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and pepper. Cook them, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and translucent and the pepper is tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and sprinkle in the flour. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk, tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans, nutritional yeast, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a low boil. Lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick and creamy.
- Stir in the pasta, and continue cooking the mixture for a minute or two, just to heat the pasta back up and meld it with the sauce.
- Remove the pot from heat. Season the mixture with salt to taste, and adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
- Divide into bowls and top with fresh chives, if desired, and serve.
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This was absolutely delicious. The perfect hearty meal when you really need some comfort food. So good.
Om Nom Nom!
Hi Alissa! This looks great! You used to have a slow cooker vegan chili mac recipe that I absolutely loved but can't find it anymore. Is it still available? Thanks!
Hi McKenna! It's not on my site anymore, but you can get it in the cookbook Easy Whole Vegan by Melissa King.
Made this tonight and it was very yummy! Thanks for the great ideas!
This is unbelievably good! I took a serving over to my parents (who aren't vegan) and they couldn't believe something so decadent has no dairy. Awesome recipe!
This was seriously amazing! Our whole family loved it. And my kids of skeptical of vegan "cheesy" recipes. You really brightened up our social distancing tonight! I swapped lentils for the black beans and carrots for the red bell pepper, because that's what we have on hand - and we're not heading to the grocery store anytime soon if we can help it. And still it came out great! Can't wait to try more of your recipes.
Hi Alissa, did you double this recipe for your pictures? It seems to make a lot. I'm currently torn if 8oz pasta will be enough for what I need, or if I should double the recipe...
Hi Brenda! I didn't double the recipe. That's a 3 quart pot that it's shown in, if that helps at all. I felt like the servings ended up being relatively generous for this one, since it's a regular 2 ounce serving of pasta, plus all the beans and tomatoes that go into the chili portion of the dish. I hope that helps!
Looks delicious and easy. I love your blogs!!! Easy to navigate and I don’t get stuck with a plethora advertisements kicking me out of your articles. Thank you for your recipes and modifications where needed.
Very welcome!! I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes. :)
Omg. This looks and sounds so yummy! I am going home straight from work and will make this for supper tonight. I hope I can find my can of coconut milk but if not, I do have a carton of unsweetened almond milk in my fridge. Do you think I can replace it with that? If so, do you think I should use same amount? Thanks! Deb
Thank you! Almond milk should work as long as it doesn't have any flavors or added sugar, but the sauce won't be as rich and creamy. If you do give it a try just use the same amount. Enjoy!
Awesome!!! Thanks so much!!
OMG this was so good! It will be on regular rotation in my house.
I'm so glad you like it!
A perfect feed-a-crowd comfort food dish. Another gem from you! Thanks for another great recipe.
Yay! I'm so glad you like it!
This was SO good! One of those recipes where i felt like i could sit down and eat the whole thing... I used Banza chickpea pasta, subbed in a pack of Tofurky "ground beef" for the black beans, and halved the amount of hot sauce. My omnivore husband loved it too!
Awesome! I'm so glad you both enjoyed it! Thanks Anne!
This is super yummy and will be a keeper for us. We added corn and topped with Parma! Chipotle Cayenne
Just looking at the pictures of this recipe got me excited haha I definitely need to give this a try, thanks!
😋
I hope you enjoy it!
I love your blog and look forward to your recipes in my inbox and also on Facebook. This looks like a great classic recipe my whole family will like, but I'm unable to eat coconut. Would Tofu be a good substitute to make the sauce creamy? Any other suggestions? Thanks!
I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes! I think your best bet would be to substitute another type of non-dairy milk. Cashew would probably be a good alternative, just make sure it's unflavored and unsweetened. You could also try adding a bit of cashew cream to make the sauce extra rich: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/cashew-cream/