10 Min Vegan Mac and Cheese
A super quick and very cheesy vegan version of this classic comfort dish. It’s my favourite quick vegan Mac and cheese recipe, you have to try it! We pretty much have it every single week as it’s made using pantry staples and is made in 10 minutes.
What you need
What you need- Macaroni
- Cashews
- Nutritional yeast
- Plant milk
- Water
- Cornstarch
- Lemon
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Mustard powder
- Paprika
- Turmeric
- Chilli powder
-
How to make quick vegan mac & cheese
How to make quick vegan mac & cheeseBring a pan of salted water to the boil, and put the macaroni on to cook. I also love to use rigatoni or spirali! You can also substitue for gluten free pasta to make this recipe gluten free.
Then you can make your sauce by measuring all of the ingredients out into a high speed blender. Have patience with this, as in order to make the sauce smooth and break up the cashews, you need to start blending on a lower speed, and build up to a higher speed until completely smooth. If the sauce is still gritty and the cashews haven’t fully blended in, keep processing.
If you don’t have a high speed blender, soak the cashews first in boiling water fo 1 hour, or overnight, to help the sauce become smooth.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and return to the pan. Next, stir in the cheese sauce with the pasta over a low heat, continuously stirring until the sauce thickens.
Serve by itself, or grate over some vegan cheese or enjoy with a side of green vegetables.
This recipe is best when fresh and warm, as the sauce will thicken over time (because of the cornstarch). If you have leftovers, stir in a splash of water or plant milk before reheating.
Try baking it! Only cook the cheese sauce for a minute or two in the pan, before it totally thickens up. Add to a baking dish, top with breadcrumbs and vegan cheese, and cook in oven for 10-15 mins until golden and crispy.
If you are allergic to nuts, simply swap the cashews for 2 tbsp of tahini.
More quick recipes
More quick recipesDid you make this 10 min mac and cheese recipe? Take a photo, tag me @MadeleineOlivia and hashtag it #MadeleineOlivia. I love seeing your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok.
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10min Vegan Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 500 g macaroni (or gluten free alternative)
- 60 g cashews (sub for tahini for nut free)
- 45 g nutritional yeast
- 250 ml non-dairy milk
- 250 ml water
- 3 tbsp corn starch
- 1 lemon (juice of)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 pinch chilli powder
Instructions
- Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta in to cook.
- Meanwhile, measure out and blend all of the cheese sauce ingredients together in a high speed blender. Start by blending on low speed, increasing the speed until the sauce is completely smooth. This will take a couple minutes so be patient until it's no longer gritty. If you don't have a high speed or powerful blender, soak your cashews in boiling water for an hour or overnight.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain and return to the pan.
- Stir in the cheese sauce with the pasta over a low heat, continuously stirring until the sauce thickens.
- Serve by itself, or grate over some vegan cheese or enjoy with a side of green vegetables.
Video
Notes
- Make sure to properly blend this sauce using a high speed blender. It takes time to blend nuts, so wait until the cashews are no longer gritty, but completely smooth. I start on a low speed, and build to a high speed until totally smooth. If you don't have a higher speed or powerful blender, soak the cashews for an hour in boiling water, or overnight in water, first.
- This recipe is best when fresh and warm, as the sauce will thicken over time (because of the cornstarch). If you have leftovers, stir in a splash of water or plant milk before reheating.
- I often enjoy this recipe with a side of crunchy green vegetables like broccoli or asparagus.
- Try baking it! Only cook the cheese sauce for a minute or two in the pan, and before it totally thickens up. Add to a baking dish, top with breadcrumbs and vegan cheese, then cook in oven for 10-15 mins until golden and crispy.
- If you are allergic to nuts, simply swap the cashews for 2 tbsp of tahini.
Nutrition
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Don't forget to rate this recipe!
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40 comments
Ayme
I’m eating this as I type. I’ve made vegan mac and cheese before but it was never quite right. The ground mustard in this makes it so perfect. Thank you! I’ve watched many of your recipe videos but this is the first I’ve tried. Can’t wait to taste another dish.
Madeleine Olivia
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Mustard is one of my favourite things ever and I agree that it really makes a difference to the dish. Excited for you try more recipes in the future!
Lilly
In your video you added onion powder, but I don’t see it in the written recipe.. should it be added?
M.
What brand of noodles are those? We are trying to find that shape.
Jane
Hi, wondering which brand of Nutritional Yeast you like/recommend? I’ve only ever tried one but it tasted kind of bitter and….well, just like yeast. Also wasn’t fortified.
Btw I’m vegan for almost a year now and your videos helped a lot, sending much love to you and Alex <3
Melissa
Is it okay to sub cashews/tahini for seeds or other nuts? My pantry is sparse and unfortunately don’t have the cash to buy those two ingredients.
Parttimevegan
Hi, just tried your recipe (smne posted the link on reddit) and I really enjoyed it! I am not completely vegan and so was very apprehensive about what this could taste like, but I must say I was very pleasantly surprised at the end result. Very tasty, and I thought the lemon juice added a lot. It was super easy, too, and I was able to make it on a weeknight without feeling overwhelmed. Thanks so much.
Eric
Hi,
I saved some of the vegan cheese mix Inc the fridge and it’s been in there for about 5 days now. I’d like to finish it off today but don’t know if it’s safe to eat. My main concern is the nutritional yeast part. How long until the sauce spoils?
Viv
OMG I have tried so many recipes for Vegan Mac & Cheese none of which i have liked but this one is so good and easy to make thanks for sharing the recipe
Nasha
Thank you SO much for putting the grams version with this 🙂
Shannon
Wow. Yum! Thank you!
Sam
Hello,
Non-vegan trying to branch out. I’m a minority on the opinion of this recipe. I made this recipe but I guess it was not suited for my taste. Thank you for posting though. 🙂
Amanda
So good! Easiest and best Mac and cheese I’ve had thus far 🙂
Sr
Could you please put the nutrition information for recipes? Thanks
Kelly Fujitaki
Hi Madeline,
I made this last night and it was a keeper. A bit messy to clean up but worth it. I think I might use less lemon next time. Just an FYI for you the measurements on this posting and your most recent video about your top 5 recipes is a bit different. You may want to change that. The video says 1 cup and this says 1/2 cup. I did the 1 cup and that was perfect. I used about 1 1/2 cups of pasta cuz u don’t know what the grams transfers to in cups. Also after you blend the sauce you say add chili flakes in the video but on here you say use chili powder. I didn’t use either but was wondering which is correct. Thanks.
Maaike
This was delicious! I totally forgot the lemon juice and it still was great. My three kids asked for seconds. I put frozen peas in it for extra nutrition (and colour ☺️). Thanks!
Ria
Do you put the cashews in raw?
Alyssa
I put in roasted unsalted.
Christy C
Raw cashews work best in sauces I believe, That’s what I used.
Alydsa
Despite my skepticism, I made this and I am quite impressed. My new go-to if I am craving mac & cheese!
finn
very tasty! i would recommend only putting sauce on what you’re going to eat, and then store the sauce and pasta separately. otherwise, the sauce dries out on the pasta and it doesn’t taste very good.
Emily
Next time I will use less water/more corn starch because the sauce was quite runny and use generally small quantities as it made more like 6 servings. My mum likes to put a tick next to her favourite recipes so this one gets a tick from us, thank you!
Abbi
Very tasty! A bit gritty. I’m not sure if it was my food processor or not. Was I supposed to soak the cashews?
Francesca
Thank you for the recipe. I actually followed the same quantity of the video you posted on YT (The cashews were 1 cup and there was no water for the cheese). I also baked it at the end and it was exquisite and dead easy. It will become one of my weekly meals for sure. Delicious and easy!
Jewellers london
Great Post! You are sharing a wonderful post. Thanks and keep sharing.
Gildan 18000B
Nice Post! Thanks for sharing a great post.
Hancockssignetrings
Nice article! I really like this article. Thanks for sharing.
Sarah
Just discovered your website. So well thought out videos adjusting quantities for amount of people eating , cooking mode screen etc. can’t wait to try this recipe amongst others. Thank you
Virginia
A great alternative to Mac and cheese, will definitely be making again!
Madeleine OliviaAuthor
Thanks Virginia!
Jana
I loved it!
Madeleine OliviaAuthor
Thanks Jana!
Brittany Viklund
This was so delicious and comforting, my favorite vegan Mac yet (and I’ve tried a lot!) and soooooo easy!! Thank you, will be making this again and again.
Madeleine OliviaAuthor
Thank you Brittany! It’s a fave in our household too!
Kelly
We just finished having this for dinner and it is life changing. We are not vegan but eat vegan meals regularly. This was insane. So cheesy and saucy. So simple! Thank you for always sharing quality recipes with us.
sofia
have been making this for years, absolutely love it!!
Jess W
I’ve been making some variation of this sauce for years, v quick, easy and delicious 🙂
Nina
Loving this vegan alternative! ❤️
Shawna
Used half the nutritional yeast and turned out perfectly.
Madeleine
So good to hear that it turned out well 🙂