The Ultimate Vegan Mac & Cheese
I’ve your taste buds a treat with the ultimate vegan mac and cheese that will fool anyone that it’s real!
What you need
- cashews, soaked
- plant milk
- nutritional yeast
- vegan cheese (we used half Applewood Vegan Smoked Cheese and ASDA Free From Mature Cheddar)
- vegan butter (we used Flora)
- pasta (we used rigatoni)
- plain flour
- dijon mustard
How to make the ultimate vegan mac and cheese
Soak cashews overnight, or for an hour in boiling water. Set aside.
Add the cashews, plant milk and nutritional yeast to a blender and process until smooth.
Grate your cheese ready for later.
Add the butter to a large pan (I used a dutch oven) and melt on medium heat. Melt until it pops and bubbles.
Meanwhile, put your pasta on to cook. When al dente, drain and set aside (drizzle a little olive oil over the pasta if it is ready before your sauce is, to stop it sticking).
Add 3 tbsp flour to the pan of butter and whisk together to form a paste.
Next, gradually whisk in your cashew milk mixture that you whipped up before, adding it bit by bit and mixing continuously. Take your time with this so you don’t create lumps. We want to achieve a lovely smooth and creamy texture. When all the sauce is added, simmer for around 5 minutes, or until the sauce is the desired consistency.
Turn off the heat and add in 200g of grated cheese. Stir in, put the lid on and leave for 5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.
Remove the lid and finish stirring in the cheese in with your whisk until smooth.* When smooth and creamy, season with a generous amount of salt and pepper, along with a pinch of chilli powder and a tsp of mustard.
Pour in your pasta to the cheese sauce and mix together. You can serve it up now as it is, or add to an oven dish to bake. If baking, scatter over the remaining 100g of cheese and then bake in the oven at 200C for 30 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
If your mixture is taking longer than you’d like to melt in the vegan cheese, then return to a low heat to help it along, and stir continuously.
For an alternative to vegan cheese, then try out my 10 min mac and cheese recipe here.
More delicious pasta recipes
- 10min Vegan Mac & Cheese
- 3 Ingredient Vegan Mac & Cheese
- Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta
- Easy Roasted Tomato Pasta
- Broccoli Stalk Pesto Pasta
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The Ultimate Vegan Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 100 g cashews (soaked overnight)
- 500 ml plant milk
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 300 g vegan cheese (we used half Applewood Vegan Smoked Cheese and ASDA Free From Mature Cheddar)
- tbsp vegan butter (we used Flora)
- 350 g pasta
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
Instructions
-
Soak cashews overnight, or for an hour in boiling water. Set aside.
-
Add the cashews, plant milk and nutritional yeast to a blender and process until smooth.
-
Grate your cheese ready for later.
-
Add the butter to a large pan (I used a dutch oven) and melt on medium heat, until it pops and bubbles.
-
Meanwhile, put your pasta on to cook. When al dente, drain and set aside (drizzle a little olive oil over the pasta if it is ready before your sauce is, to stop it sticking).
-
Add the flour to the pan of butter and whisk together to form a paste.
-
Next, gradually whisk in your cashew milk mixture that you whipped up before, adding it bit by bit and mixing continuously. Take your time with this so there aren’t any lumps. We want to achieve a lovely smooth and creamy texture. When all the sauce is added, simmer for around 5 minutes, or until the sauce is the desired consistency.
-
Turn off the heat and add the remaining cheese, stir through, cover and leave for 5 mins to allow the cheese to melt
-
Remove the lid and finish stirring in the cheese in with your whisk until smooth.* When smooth and creamy, season with a generous amount of salt and pepper, along with a pinch of chilli powder and the Dijon mustard.
-
Pour in your pasta to the cheese sauce and mix together. You can serve it up now as it is, or add to an oven dish to bake. If baking, scatter over the remaining cheese and bake in the oven at 200C for 30 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
Video
Notes
- *If your mixture is taking longer than you’d like to melt in the vegan cheese, then return to a low heat to help it along, and stir continuously.
- If you don’t have access to vegan cheese, then try out my 10 min mac and cheese recipe here.
Nutrition
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Don’t forget to rate this recipe!
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13 comments
Diana
You didn’t add the dijon mustard
Diana
Woops i just saw it!! Currently making it 🙂 excited for the results
B
Hi! May I suggest adding a note in the ingredients to state that 100 g cheese is reserved for baking? I didn’t want to bake it and accidentally grated too much cheese.
shirley seddon
am i right in thinking that you drain the cashews before adding them to the blender ?!?
Siri
Best vegan mac & cheese recipes I’ve tried! Been using it over 3 years now and still tastes just as good as the first time.
I’ve moved to Denmark since, which has no vegan applewood cheese, so instead added a tsp or two smoked paprika to get the smoky flavour. I have also added breadcrumbs and cheese on top when baked, gives some more texture☺️
Wendy
This is a quick and tasty recipe.
Madeleine OliviaAuthor
Thank you for the review Wendy!
Georgia
Super yummy!
Madeleine OliviaAuthor
Glad you enjoyed it Georgia!
Crystal H.
So good. Thank you!
Madeleine OliviaAuthor
Thanks Crystal!
Louise Nott
Absolute banger of a recipe! I use this EVERY single time I want to make mac & cheese now and it’s a winner every time!
Chrysanthi
Love this recipe used to make it weekly I will again. Happy birthday 🥳