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    Home » Vegan and Soy-free

    Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

    Oct 25, 2016 · by Katie Koteen · Modified: Oct 2, 2024

    Jump to Recipe·Leave a Review

    Over the years I’ve collected a downright bounty of top-notch vegan recipes on this site, and until now never a vegan macaroni and cheese recipe to be found. Not a one because quite frankly I never tasted one I liked.

    Most are too glomey, too much nutritional yeast, just plain gross or bearing absolutely no resemblance to the real deal other that the shape of the pasta.

    But this one is different, it is a keeper. It's an amazing concoction that I still don’t really understand how it tastes like mac and cheese. How do they do it?!

    I started with a recipe from VegNews and made a few modifications of my own. So this is it, a vegan mac and cheese recipe worthy of your time and energy. You will not be disappointed!
     

    vegan mac and cheese this recipe
    vegan mac and cheese
    vegan mac and cheese

    A few suggestions: I highly recommend setting aside some of this sauce for a something else — baked potatoes, nachos, bavarian pretzels, or steamed broccoli.

    Also, this recipe suggests you do the whole breadcrumb and bake bit. It’s every bit as good skipping those two steps if you’re short on time or feeling a bit lazy, maybe even a little better as I’ve found the baking can kinda dry it out a bit.

    And if you have some extra cashew cream on hand (I keep small ¼ c. tupperwares in the freezer), just use that. Works perfectly.

    This recipes doubles well, just switch up your baking pan size to a 9x13. If you’re not keen on spice, skip the cayenne entirely. It’s packs a lot of heat.

    Want to get more veggies in there? Try our Spiralized Broccoli Mac & Cheese.

    Print
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    vegan mac and cheese

    Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
    • Author: Katie Koteen
    • Prep Time: 30 minutes
    • Cook Time: 30 minutes
    • Total Time: 1 hour
    • Yield: 8 servings 1x
    • Category: dinner
    • Method: stovetop
    • Cuisine: american
    • Diet: Vegan
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    This is it — a vegan mac and cheese recipe worthy of your time and energy. You will not be disappointed!


    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 8 oz. macaroni
    • ½ cup breadcrumbs
    • ⅓ cup earth balance
    • 2 tbsp. shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
    • 1 c. red or yellow potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
    • ¼ c. carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
    • ⅓ c. onion, peeled and roughly chopped
    • 1 c. water
    • ¼ c. raw cashews
    • 2 tsp. sea salt
    • 1 clove garlic, minced
    • ¼ tsp. Dijon mustard
    • 1 tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
    • ¼ tsp. black pepper
    • ¼ tsp. paprika
    • ⅛ tsp. cayenne, optional

    Instructions

    1. In a large pot, cook macaroni according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
    2. While pasta is cooking start to work on the sauce.
    3. Preheat oven to 350° F. In a medium saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion, and water, and bring to a boil. Cover the and simmer for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft.
    4. Add the cashews, salt, garlic, ⅓ cup Earth Balance, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, paprika and cayenne to the blender along with the cooked vegetables and cooking water. Blend until smooth and creamy.
    5. Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and mix until the pasta is evenly coated. Transfer mixture to a 9 x 9 baking dish, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling.

    Looking for more creamy vegan pasta recipes? Grab a fork and get ready to dive into some creamy, comforting pasta dishes that just happen to be 100% vegan.

    Our Favorite Creamy Vegan Pasta Recipes 🍝

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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    1. Laurie

      April 22, 2022 at 3:29 pm

      The cheese sauce blew me away (made it to use on loaded potatoes). Better than the “real thing”. I didn’t have Earth Balance so used vegan butter. Think it is essentially the same (?). We had leftover sauce so made the Mac and Cheese (didn’t bake) for lunch the next day. So good and so easy.

      Reply
      • Katie Koteen

        April 22, 2022 at 3:31 pm

        Hi Laurie! I'm so glad you liked it - we love it too! It's good on everything!

        Reply
    2. Carole

      January 27, 2020 at 9:30 am

      Hi! Thank you for the recipe! Trying to transition our family of 6 into vegan eating can be challenging. Online recipes like yours are helping so much! Wondering if anyone has tried freezing the cheese sauce? Thinking about making a big batch and wondering if it could be portioned, and frozen for later.

      Reply
    3. Anna

      October 23, 2019 at 4:28 pm

      I love this recipe so much!!! I keep trying other cheesy recipes but this one always comes out on top. I don’t think there is a better recipe.

      Reply
    4. Melissa

      January 21, 2019 at 7:20 pm

      Finally! This cheesy sauce was great! This wanna be vegan is so grateful to you for this recipe!

      Reply
    5. Anna

      December 06, 2018 at 4:30 pm

      This is my favorite "cheese" sauce. It is so good!! Thank you so much! I can eat it by the spoonful.

      Reply
      • Katie Koteen

        December 06, 2018 at 4:55 pm

        So can we 🙂 We've been working on a Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe using this as a base. Stay tuned!

        Reply
    6. Greer Powell

      August 20, 2018 at 3:33 pm

      I repeatedly reviewed the directions, but I did not see any information concerning the preparation of the cashews. Are they soaked over night???
      Please comment.

      Reply
      • Katie Koteen

        August 20, 2018 at 3:53 pm

        If you think of it ahead of time, soak! Otherwise they're fine as is.

        Reply
    7. Lisa

      October 09, 2017 at 6:31 am

      Hello! This is THE BEST SAUCE ever! Thank you so very much. I've tried other vegan cheese sauces and they were not to my taste at all. But this one--creamy and flavorful, as another commenter said. The color is beautiful. And a huge plus for me: no nooch (I can't stand nutritional yeast). I used much of the sauce on the macaroni, but there was enough that I could also put some on nachos--wow. Didn't think I could have nachos or mac and cheese like that since going vegan. Oh--and it was pretty simple to make, as well. Again, THANK YOU.

      BTW having read the comments, I didn't do the baking step, and the mac & cheese was great. I can see how baking might dry it out. Sometime I might crisp up panko in a little butter and put it on top, though. Just for kicks. 🙂

      Reply
    8. Jennifer

      April 19, 2017 at 9:51 am

      We are allergic to cashews in my family. What could I use in place of the cashews?

      Reply
      • Well Vegan

        April 19, 2017 at 12:09 pm

        Hi Jennifer! It's a pretty small amount of cashews, so I would say either simmer 1/4 cup (maybe a little extra) cauliflower with the rest of the vegetables or try using thick coconut cream. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

        Reply
    9. Ellen Cornia

      November 12, 2016 at 11:51 pm

      What is 1/3 cup Earth Balance? I could only find Earth Balance as a brand name.
      Thanks
      Ellen

      Reply
      • Well Vegan

        November 14, 2016 at 10:19 am

        Just 1/3 cup of any vegan butter works!

        Reply
    10. Johanna

      November 11, 2015 at 6:05 am

      The sauce does sound delicious and versatile but I really don't keep Earth Balance around these days. What if I left it out or replaced with another fat?

      Reply
    11. Tina Girton

      April 15, 2015 at 1:52 pm

      Great recipe! Entire family LOVED it! I think I will not bake it next time though and I used Panko breadcrumbs instead of making them.

      Reply
      • Well Vegan

        April 15, 2015 at 3:47 pm

        I agree! I think it's better w/o the baking. I've also had a lot of success making big batches of the sauce and freezing it. Then you just have to cook pasta and heat up the sauce.

        Reply
    12. Kristi

      October 15, 2014 at 6:51 am

      Wow! Amazingly good! Finally a make again Mac n cheese recipe to pleeze! Made a double batch of sauce, Anyone know how to best store it? Can you freeze it and keep it for future use?

      Reply
      • Well Vegan

        October 15, 2014 at 4:33 pm

        @Kristi - It's amazing, right?! I freeze it in little tupperwares and it works great. I just the used the sauce to make these Loaded Baked Potatoes last week and it was so good!

        Reply
    13. Jenny

      August 13, 2014 at 11:23 pm

      Just made this tonight for my newly Vegan family. My kids who are true conisuers, LOVED IT! My hubby thought it was a cheat night!:) Seriously thank you, Thank you! I also think I will be using your cheese sauce, as a base for so many other vegan, cheesy creations!! Geniuses!

      Reply
      • Well Vegan

        August 14, 2014 at 12:34 am

        @Jenny - AWESOME 🙂 Last night I used some of the leftover cheese sauce, mixed it with a little salsa and had some radical nachos. It was SO GOOD!

        Reply
    14. Bethany

      July 22, 2014 at 1:43 am

      Has anyone tried this with gluten free pasta and bread? Seems like it would still work...

      Reply
      • Well Vegan

        July 22, 2014 at 9:13 pm

        @Bethany - Yes! I have tried it and it was perfect. I used the Jovial brand quinoa/rice blend pasta. It was perfect.

        Reply
    15. Jen

      July 18, 2014 at 2:42 pm

      Wondering if I could sub a no nut butter for the cashews? My daughter has a nut allergy and I wanted to try this for her

      Reply
      • Well Vegan

        July 22, 2014 at 9:15 pm

        @Jen - I would skip the seed butter and add a little extra potato, but please report back and let us know how it goes!

        Reply
    16. susan

      July 18, 2014 at 11:31 am

      I don’t use Earth Balance, because of the palm oil. I wonder if I can use refined coconut oil, instead.

      Reply
      • Well Vegan

        July 22, 2014 at 9:26 pm

        @Susan - Yes! Palm oil is a huge issue. I love orangutans as much as the next guy! Thank you so much for bringing that up. I think refined coconut oil would be a good substitute. As an aside though, Earth Balance has committed to sustainable sourcing of palm oil and is working to raise awareness about deforestation and responsible farming. Here's a link to that: Earth Balance Sustainable Palm Oil

        Reply
    17. Cara

      July 15, 2014 at 5:18 pm

      I have made this recipe twice recently, and I absolutely agree- by far the best vegan mac' n cheese and no weirdness in the list of ingredients. The sauce is creamy and flavorful.

      I second the idea to make a double batch of the sauce and save some for nacho night. Also agree with no bake / no breadcrumb method. I thought it was better when the macaroni was just tossed in the sauce than after I baked it. I used some white pepper instead of the black and cayenne as I thought it added the right amount of undetectable heat for small mouths.

      Reply
    18. John

      July 15, 2014 at 5:14 pm

      Oh yeah. Mac and cheese. I've been waiting for this one. Vegan "cheese" dishes have generally not been my favorite, so I'm excited to hear about this. Will definitely give it a try.

      Reply
    19. Wendy

      July 15, 2014 at 12:40 am

      WOW! This is an amazing recipe and super easy! Thanks so much. Even my kiddos begged to have it added to the 'all the time list.'

      Reply

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