This vegan mac & cheese is amazingly rich, creamy, and loaded with cheesy flavor. Easy to make and a guaranteed hit with kids and adults alike!
To say that I've made a lot of vegan mac and cheese over the years is an understatement. I've tried so many recipes! I've also tried to develop so many recipes! And while many were good, it took a while before I really felt like I nailed it.
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Why This Recipe Works
Coming up with a dairy-free mac & cheese recipe presents two big challenges: texture and flavor! Mac & cheese needs to be creamy and have that characteristic tangy, cheesy flavor that we all love so much. A lot of recipes fall flat for me in one or both of these departments. Not this one!
Texture. Raw cashews blend up super creamy and have a surprisingly neutral flavor, which makes them a great stand-in for dairy, and an awesome cheese base.
Cashews on their own can be overly heavy though, and I find a lot of cashew-based sauces to lack body. So we're also using a potato. The potato will smooth out the sauce and actually give it a bit of stretch, just like cheese.
Flavor. This recipe uses a mix of ingredients to recreate the cheesy flavor we all love so much. Some of them you might have guessed: nutritional yeast, salt, and vinegar, which you'll find in most vegan mac and cheese recipes. But we've got a few secret weapons here as well, including miso paste, which is fermented (like cheese is!) to give the sauce touch of umami, roasted red peppers for a touch of smokiness, and hot sauce which adds some zip.
Ingredient Notes
- Dried elbow macaroni. You can absolutely substitute another type of dried pasta if you'd like. I recommend going for something on the small side. Shells or rotini would be great choices!
- Raw cashews. It's important that the cashews are raw. Roasting them brings out their nutty flavor, so if you use roasted cashews your mac will end up tasting like cashew butter, rather than cheesy deliciousness.
- Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety that's unflavored and unsweetened will work. Try soy milk, almond milk, or cashew milk.
- A potato. A regular old russet potato works best for this recipe, but you can substitute a couple of red or gold potatoes if that's what you have on hand.
- Miso paste. Look for miso paste in the international foods section of your supermarket. It can be omitted if you absolutely don't want to use it or can't find it, but you'll need to increase the amount of salt in the dish by quite a bit. White miso paste is preferable, but other varieties will work just fine.
- Nutritional yeast. Not to be confused with baking yeast! Nutritional yeast is a completely different ingredient, and it adds savory, cheesy flavor to our vegan mac & cheese sauce. Look for it in the natural foods section of your supermarket.
- Roasted red peppers.
- Red wine vinegar. You can use another type of vinegar if needed, such as white vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Hot sauce. This ingredient is also optional, but highly recommended. Believe it or hot, hot sauce will make your cheese sauce taste more cheesy. You only need a small amount, and if if you choose a mild brand you won't notice much in the way of heat. I'm a big fan of Cholula in this dish.
- Garlic powder.
- Onion powder.
- Salt.
- Vegan butter. Butter is optional in this recipe, but I recommend using it. Look for vegan butter near where the regular butter is sold at your supermarket. Miyoko's and Earth Balance are a couple of popular brands.
How It's Made
The following 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!
- Prep by peeling, dicing and boiling your potato until it's soft.
- Make your sauce. Place the cashews into a food processor bowl with some non-dairy milk. Blend them to a smooth paste. Be patient! This can take a few minutes depending on how powerful your blending device is.
- Add the potato, along with some more milk, nutritional yeast, miso, roasted red peppers, vinegar, hot sauce, onion and garlic powders, and salt.
- Blend everything again until the sauce is smooth. Give it a taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking.
Tip for high-powered blending devices: Take this shortcut if you have a high-powered blender such as a Vitamix or Blendtec. Instead of soaking your cashews for hours, just boil them with your potato, then blend everything for the sauce at once.
- Boil your pasta, and when it's done, drain and return it to the pot, then toss it with a bit of vegan butter.
- Pour in the sauce and stir up your mac until it's smooth and creamy. You can thin the sauce with some extra milk if you'd like.
Tip: If you find the macaroni has cooled down too much, just place the pot on the stove and heat it back up, stirring all the while and adding more non-dairy milk as needed.
Variation: Baked Vegan Mac & Cheese
Okay, this isn't technically baked. I generally don't recommend baking recipes with cashew-based sauces, because they tend to dry out too much.
Instead, broil it. Preheat your broiler. Make sure your mac & cheese is hot before getting started. If not, heat it up on the stove, adding non-dairy milk as the sauce dries. You want it to be very hot and very creamy before broiling.
Once it's hot, place your macaroni into a baking dish or oven-safe skillet. Sprinkle the top with some breadcrumbs — most panko breadcrumbs are vegan. You can season them with some spices and salt if you like. Pop it into the oven and broil until the top is browned and crispy. Keep a close eye on it, as things burn quickly under the broiler!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan mac & cheese will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. The sauce will thicken up during storage, so you may want to add some non-dairy milk or water when you reheat it.
I don't recommend freezing this dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yup! Just use your favorite gluten-free pasta!
I haven't tested any cashew-free variations of this one, but I do have a coconut milk vegan mac & cheese recipe you can try!
I've found that the only way to get it perfectly smooth is by using a high-powered blender. I use a Vitamix these days, and the sauce gets super smooth! Otherwise, just be patient and give the sauce plenty of time to blend (5 minutes or so). I've made this recipe using Cuisinart food processor, and while the sauce could have looked smoother, I didn't notice a difference in mouthfeel.
More Vegan Comfort Food Recipes
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Rich & Creamy Vegan Mac & Cheese
This vegan mac & cheese is amazingly rich, creamy, and loaded with cheesy flavor. Easy to make and a guaranteed hit with kids and adults alike!
Ingredients
- 1 medium (12 ounce/340 gram) russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 16 ounces dried macaroni pasta
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk, plus more as needed, divided
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- ¼ cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vinegar-based hot sauce (such as Cholula), optional, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
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Place the potato into a medium pot and cover it with water. Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a boil.
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Lower the heat and allow the water to boil until the potato is very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and drain the potato into a colander. Return it to the pot.
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While the potato cooks, boil the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions.
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Drain the pasta into a colander, return it to the pot, and add the butter. Stir to melt the butter.
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Place the cashews into a food processor bowl with ¼ cup of milk and blend to a smooth paste. You can add more milk if needed to help this along.
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Add another ¾ cup of milk, along with the potato, miso paste, nutritional yeast, peppers, vinegar, hot sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and salt. Blend the mixture until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. This can take a few minutes.Â
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Thin the sauce with additional milk if needed, then taste test and season with additional salt if you like. Adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
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Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir until evenly coated. If the macaroni needs reheated, place the pot on the stove over medium heat. Heat the pasta, stirring frequently and adding more milk as needed, until hot.
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Divide onto plates and serve.
I assume the roasted red peppers are blended with the other ingredients. Also, do you prefer the food processor over a high-speed blender, or does it not matter? Merry Christmas!
Oops! Yes, they do go in with the rest! I've updated the recipe. :) I'd go with a food processor for this one because I sometimes have trouble getting really thick sauces like this to circulate fully in the blender. I hope you enjoy it and Merry Christmas to you too!!
I just tried this for dinner tonight. Thanks for the new flavours in a cashew sauce. I think the red peppers and miso really change it for the better. A bit too much vinegar for me. I will try 1 tbsp next time. I ended up adding more nooch and a bit more salt.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I forgot the roasted red peopers, what can be used as a replacement?
Oops *peppers* 😀
I think you could boil and blend a carrot with the potatoes and cashews and then add a bit of hot sauce at the end. It doesn't need to be enough to make it hot - just add a little zip. :)
Easy and delicious recipe!
Yay!! I'm so glad you think so!
I'm concerned about the high salt. If I cut the White Miso in half, I think it would still taste wonderful. Thoughts?
I think it would still be pretty tasty!
I have a question - this is obviously a stove-top recipe - how could i turn this into something I can put into the oven? (have I told you that I love your blog? :D )
Thanks so much Andrea! :) I don't recommend baking it, because cashew-based sauces tend to dry out over time in the oven. There are instructions for broiling it with a breadcrumb topping within the post - I'd follow those if you're looking for a baked-style mac and cheese.
Can you reccomend a good plant based milk. All the ones I try have a horrible aftertaste?
I like unsweetened oat milk
I really like Milkadamia or Westsoy!
I've really been liking unsweetened oat milk and unsweetened original Ripple milk - it's thicker (fluffier pancakes) and helps with creamier dishes without any weird after taste like almond milk.
Can you use Brown miso instead of white
Sure! The flavor will be a bit different, but I'm sure it will still be delicious.
Hello. Instructions need rewriting. I assume cooking means cooling etc. I can do it anyway. Thanks.
This was amazing!! Will definitely be making again :) Are you ever planning on making a cookbook? Every recipe of yours I've tried is so good, I would definitely buy it! :o
I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes!! I hope to write a cookbook in the future. :) I've talked to a few publishers in the past and just haven't found the right fit. Thank you for your encouragement!
Sounds great! Is there anything I can sub for the miso paste?
You can leave it out and just increase the salt to taste. The sauce won't be quite as flavorful, but it should still be good! Enjoy!
Made this last night. By far the best vegan Mac and cheese recipe and I’ve tried many! Made it exactly as written - just needed a splash more milk. So cheesy tasting!!
Holy cow! I've enjoyed your recipes for years, but this is the first time I had to drop everything to leave a review. This is seriously good stuff. I subbed blanched almonds for cashews, and used diluted almond yogurt instead of non-dairy milk, but I followed the rest of the recipe as written, and it came out great. Thank you!
Can this be cooked in a crockpot?
I wouldn't recommend it since the only real cooking in this one boiling the pasta water. That would take a while in a crockpot! :)
I loved this recipe! Thank you for your hard work in creating awesome Vegan recipes so that people like me (who don't know how to cook very well) can benefit! I really appreciate it!!