The ultimate Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese! Cheesy, saucy macaroni topped with an irresistible buttery, crispy crumb topping, all baked up in the oven until bubbly and gorgeous! This recipe contains no dairy, is easily made gluten-free, and unlike many vegan mac and cheese recipes it's made without nuts.
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FEATURED COMMENT
"Holy sweet smokes! I have just tasted the sauce, and am ready to declare your recipe the Holy Grail of Mac & Cheese. My search is over. The sharp cheesiness is there! Thank you, thank you."
- Laura ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
Let me introduce you to a really good Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese that's "cheesy", creamy, saucy, and rich on the inside, and garlicky, crispy, and golden on the top.
It features a surprising mixture of ingredients that work together to create a really delicious sharp cheesy flavor and great texture without the need for any vegan cheese or nuts.
Yes, we're talking vegan mac and cheese with no cashews. We all know they can make a great creamy cheese sauce, but I wanted this recipe to be accessible to as many people as possible. So as well as being dairy-free and nut-free the recipe can also easily be made gluten-free by using gluten-free macaroni and bread.
Don't be scared off by the veggies in the sauce because I promise you don't know they are there. It’s all perfectly buttery, cheesy, saucy, crispy, comforting, and satisfying in that way only mac and cheese can be!
Looking for more mac and cheese recipes? Give my Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese and Vegan Buffalo Mac and Cheese a try too!
Mel x
Let's Make Vegan Baked Mac & Cheese!
Can't wait to make it? Here's a quick visual walkthrough of how it's done. See the recipe card for the full and detailed version, or check out my recipe video to watch me make it:
1 - Blend up the sauce ingredients.
2 - Cook the macaroni, drain, then stir through the sauce.
3 - Pulse the garlicky breadcrumb topping in a food processor or blender.
4 - Spoon the saucy macaroni into a dish, top with the breadcrumb mixture then bake until bubbly and golden.
Prepping Ahead
To make ahead prep as per the directions, spoon the mac and cheese into the baking dish and cover tightly, but store the crumb topping in a separate container so it doesn't get soggy. Refrigerate both for up to 3 days, then top with the crumbs and bake when needed. You can also make the sauce up to 3 days ahead and store it in an airtight container in the fridge or for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Flavor Variations
Make this vegan mac and cheese your own by adding yummy extras like:
- Sliced vegan sausage or frankfurters.
- Vegan bacon, ham, chorizo, pepperoni, or tempeh.
- Caramelized onions.
- Veggies like broccoli, peas, or cherry tomatoes.
- Jalapenos.
- Hot sauce (or give my Vegan Buffalo Mac a try instead).
Serving Suggestions
This Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese is always popular during the holidays. It's great served up alongside your Easter vegan ham and Thanksgiving vegan roast.
For everyday dinner purposes, I really like to keep it simple and serve mine simply with a big squeeze of my guilty pleasure which is tomato ketchup. If you want to bulk it out it's really good with some vegan sausages or Beyond meatloaf, and veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, peas, and grilled tomatoes.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Cook the macaroni as directed, then drain it. Blend the sauce, transfer it to a pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes until hot. Then mix the sauce and macaroni together. Keep it over the heat for a few minutes so that it becomes piping hot, then serve.
You can either skip the crispy breadcrumb topping, or prepare the crumbs as instructed and fry them in a frying pan. You will need to do this in batches for ultimate crispy goldenness.
I don't recommend using almond milk in this or other savory recipes (except my broccoli almond soup). It has a distinctive flavor which tends to come through and detract from the intended flavor. I also don't recommend rice milk because it is too sweet. Unsweetened soy, oat, and cashew milk are my go-tos for this and other savory recipes because they are nice and creamy and their flavor is quite neutral.
Use it for drizzling over steamed veggies, or for making other recipes like lasagna, baked pasta dishes, cauliflower cheese, nachos, broccoli cheese, and cheesy casseroles.
Recipe
Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 1lb (453 grams) macaroni , gluten-free if necessary
For the sauce
- 1 large (about 10oz or 290 grams) potato or white/yellow sweet potato , You can use orange sweet potato if you don't mind the extra sweetness.
- ¼ of a small (about 6oz or 175 grams) cauliflower
- 4 slightly heaping tablespoons white miso paste , use chickpea miso for soy-free
- 1¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup (12 tablespoons) nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon prepared wholegrain or Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour , or cornstarch, arrowroot, or tapioca flour
- 2 cups (480 mls) unsweetened non-dairy milk , unsweetened & unflavored
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar , or white wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika , or chipotle powder
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter (optional but recommended for richness)
For the crumb topping
- 3 slices bread , gluten-free if necessary
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter , or olive oil (optional but recommended)
- 1 clove garlic
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200 °C).
- Cook the potato and cauliflower. Peel and dice the potato and place in a saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the cauliflower. Cook until both are just fork tender, about 7 to 10 minutes. Drain then return to the hot pan without a lid and allow to steam dry for a few minutes.
- Cook the macaroni. Fill a large pan with water and bring to a rolling boil then cook the macaroni as directed on the packaging. Drain when tender and return to the pan.
- Make the sauce. Add all of the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth. If you have a smaller blender you might need to do it in 2 batches.
- Combine. Pour the sauce into the cooked macaroni and stir together. Spoon into an ovenproof casserole dish.
- Make the garlic crumb topping. Wash out and dry your blender, (or use a food processor instead), then break the bread into pieces and place in the blender with the butter or olive oil and garlic. The oil/butter is recommended for a crisper, more golden and more flavorful topping but you can omit it if you prefer. Pulse until breadcrumbs are formed then spread evenly over the mac and cheese.
- Bake. Cook in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until piping hot and the crumb topping is golden brown and crispy. If you want the top even more golden you can broil it for a few minutes at the end of the cooking time.
NOTES
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Heather says
Hey!!! Excited to make this for thanksgiving! I have both white miso and chickpea miso, however there is a baby in my family that is allergic to soy. Does the white miso give a different or better taste than chickpea?? I only want the best version of this recipe. Thanks!!
A Virtual Vegan says
There isn't too much difference. When I tested it though, the white miso had the edge, cheesy flavour-wise. But I am super critical and I doubt most people would notice. If you do use the white miso, you could make the sauce in the blender without the miso, scoop enough out for the baby in the family, then add the miso and blend again. Then just bake theirs up separately, or just mix it with some cooked macaroni and skip the baking of theirs to make life easier. I hope you enjoy it!
Heather says
You are awesome! thank you!!!
Megan says
Hey! So I want to make this for thanksgiving Thursday and I’m hoping you see this before then. I can’t find miso paste anywhere in any store near me. Is there any possible replacement you know of?
Thanks!!
A Virtual Vegan says
There really is no substitute for the miso. It's so unique and is what gives this recipe it's cheesy flavour. You could leave it out but it won't taste as good. Are you sure nowhere sells it there? I can pick it up in all the big grocery stores here. It's usually in the fridge near the tofu etc.
Have you time to order it from Amazon maybe? They sell it. If you have Prime it would arrive in time. Or do you have an Asian grocery store near you? They will be sure to have it.
Failing that, I can highly recommend this mac and cheese recipe if you like a bit of spice and it has no miso in it https://avirtualvegan.com/dairy-free-mac-and-cheese-black-pepper/
Megan says
Thanks so much for the reply!
Someone in my family was going somewhere kind of far that had a Whole Foods near it so luckily I was able to pick some up.
So psyched to make it!
Kristen Hay says
Loved this recipe! My vegan daughter & her non vegan friends demolished it in seconds. The only change I made was substituting regular nutritional yeast for Pop Zest’s Artisan cheese flavored nutritional yeast seasoning.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome Kristen. I'm so pleased you all enjoyed it. Now I'm off to Google Pop Zest NY... never heard of that before!
Chloe Carter says
This is amazing! Except I forgot the cooked cauliflower and sweet pots and had to try to blend them up separately then mash it in half way through baking ???? turned out pretty well considering!
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh no! Ha ha! I always do things like that. I had to scrape cake batter out of the pan earlier because I forgot something crucial. I'm glad it turned out well regardless. It will be even better next time!
Trish says
Stupid question: can I just double ingredients to make more? Feeding a larger family :) Going to try this this coming week. Looks so yummy!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes you can. Bear in mind that my portion estimations are never small though. I say this serves 4 but it would probably feed 6 "normal" people easily ????
Holly says
Okay. Okay. I need a moment to gather myself.
...
If there is any way I can convince all of you out there, hesitating because ‘oh god, here comes another mac and cheese recipe that tastes like vegetables and nutritional yeast’, to please make this recipe, I’m going to make it my new life mission.
A little dramatic? Maybe. But boy, oh BOY, did this give me an existential crisis.
THIS RECIPE IS ALL YOU WILL EVER NEED. Nut free for my household, and vegan cheese free because we all know THAT tastes like feet too, this actually blew my mind. I tasted the sauce in the blender and I very nearly didn’t bake it because it took everything in me not to scoff it all there and then.
However, then I baked it: I didn’t even bother washing the blender out to make the breadcrumbs, and it STILL TURNED OUT CRISPY.
I can’t even.
I’mma add some jalepenos and red onion and tomato and make a nacho topping next time (probably tomorrow, hehe), because, well, jalepenos.
Virtual Vegan, you are GENIUS!!!! I hope you get the recognition you deserve for this mastery, because I bet it took so much trial and error to get the sauce measurements exacty as they are. I’m going to go and eat the cold leftovers now, even though they’re meant to be tomorrow’s dinner...
A Virtual Vegan says
Ha ha..Vegan cheese that tastes like feet...you made me spit out my coffee! You've made my day Holly. Thank you. I am thrilled that you enjoyed the mac and cheese so much. Jalapeños would make a great addition. I keep meaning to make a roasted jalapeno version. I love them so much and it would be amazing. I clearly need to get on that. Thank you so much for coming back to leave your brilliant and very funny feedback. I really appreciate it!
Stephanie says
I made this for dinner tonight and it's my new favorite mac and cheese recipe! The only changes I made were to 1) add broccoli, 2) I used red miso instead of white because that's what I have, and 3) reduce salt (kosher) to 3/4 teaspoon. Very tasty!
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you enjoyed it Stephanie and thank you for stopping by to leave feedback!
ZR says
The 4 TBS white miso paste adds too much sweetness for my family's tastes. I use half the amount, 2 TB (I use a Japanese brand from H Mart (a Korean chain store in the US) -- the label does not have an English language translation for me to provide the name). We also omit the bread crumb topping. This is an excellent recipe.
Elinor J Hardrick says
I like the recipe, but find it does not conform to my low sodium diet, how can you make this recipe with less sodium.
Moira says
Hello Mel, LOVE this recipe. It's the best mac and cheese I've ever made.
Lei says
This sounds great. I can't find white miso paste though. I was able to find a regular miso paste. Can I use it instead? Any other recommendations?
Thanks
Julie says
I was able to find organic white miso on Amazon. Hikari Miso is the brand. You can also find a large variety of organic nuts, flours, ect. Lookinf forward to trying this tasty looking recipe.
Bekah says
I have made this multiple times with multiple variations and it has become a family favorite. Tonight I needed a way to use up leftover butternut squash. There are lots of butternut macs out there but your ratio of other ingredients is our favorite. I simply subbed the potato and cauliflower with the squash and it was just lovely!!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so glad you are enjoying it! I bet it's lovely with butternut squash. Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know!
Christine says
Hi Mel,
wanted to make your vegan Mac & Cheese for ages now. Did it yesterday, using regular potatoes and omitting both onion and garlic due to allregy issues.
We totally LOVED it! The entire pot was gone within half an hour :)))
This so is a keeper, thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome Christine! I am so glad you were able to adapt it to suit and that you enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me know!
Wendy says
Mel, wow! That's a lot of calories per serving
Where do all the calories cone from besides the macaroni? It sounds good though and I'll definitely let you know how I like it after I make it.
Heather says
Color me impressed!
I made this recipe tonight, and I've made a ton of vegan macaroni and cheese recipes but none compare to this. It's everything I've been missing! It's somewhat sharp, it's smooth, it's a little salty (in the best way possible!), it's delicious, and best of all it's easy!!!
My only regret is seeing this recipe on Easter Day, when I didn't have all the ingredients I needed!!
Thank you so much for sharing this!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh wow! I'm so glad you loved it and thank you for the glowing review. I too have tried loads of recipes and none came close to a non-vegan mac and cheese. That's what spurred me into creating this. I am so pleased it's going down well and that we no longer have to live without a decent mac and cheese! Thank you for taking the time to stop by and leave your feedback Heather. I really appreciate it!
Heather says
You're so welcome! I'm also a huge fan that it's healthy and there is an optional butter. I used Panko on top which did the job. ????
Wendy Boissevain says
I made this last night, Mel, and it is delicious! Thank you for this! This will absolutely be my go to recipe for mac'n'cheese.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome! Thank you Wendy. So glad you enjoyed it. ???? I am always nervous waiting for feedback when I publish a new recipe and you are the first person I have heard from. I can relax now! ???? Have a lovely Easter weekend.
Wendy Boissevain says
I'm sure you'll be getting many good reviews on this! I'm loving having the leftovers today too! ♥ Have a wonderful Easter! Mel.