Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese with a twist! The veggie-packed silky, "cheesy" sauce is loaded with broccoli and a spicy hit of black pepper. It can be ready and on the table in a little over 30 minutes!
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FEATURED COMMENT
"This is by far the absolute best Mac and Cheese. I made it yesterday for our evening meal . My hubby loved it. He had some for lunch today and said it was even better the day after! "
- Kerstin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese with Black Pepper and Broccoli 😍
As a big black pepper and broccoli lover, I LOVE this mac and cheese recipe! I mean I love regular vegan mac and cheese, but add those two things in copious amounts too and it makes me very happy.
First of all, there's that tender macaroni coated in a deliciously silky, "cheesy" sauce, and then there's a whole lot of broccoli, tonnes of black pepper, and there's even some spicy green chili and sriracha in the mix.
OOF! All the things I love...🤤
This recipe is from Vegan Richa's Everyday Kitchen: Epic Anytime Recipes with a World of Flavour by Richa Hingle and I'm grateful to her and her publishing team for allowing me to share it with you. The photography is my own.
Love mac and cheese? Make sure you try my Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese, Vegan Dill Pickle Mac and Cheese, Vegan Buffalo Mac and Cheese, and Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese too!
Recipe
Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese with Black Pepper & Broccoli
Author:Ingredients
- 2½ cups (600 mls) water
- 1 medium potato , peeled and cubed
- ⅓ cup (50 grams) carrots , chopped
- 4 cloves garlic , chopped, (or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 3 tablespoons onion , chopped, (or use ½ teaspoon onion powder)
- ½ small green chile (optional)
- 1 small tomato , chopped
- ¼ cup (30 grams) raw cashews , or macadamias (or ¼ cup pumpkin/sunflower seeds to make nut-free)
- 2 ½ cups (225 grams) broccoli , chopped into bite sized pieces
- ¾ teaspoon prepared mustard
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce , or tamari (or coconut aminos to make soy-free)
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , omit to make oil-free
- ¾ teaspoon salt , or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon sriracha sauce (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper , or to taste, divided
- 12 oz (340 grams) macaroni , gluten-free if necessary
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, combine the water, potato, carrots, garlic, onion, chile (if using), tomato, and cashews. Cover the skillet and cook 18 to 20 minutes, or until the potato is very tender. Let the mixture cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Drain the broccoli and set aside. Then cook the macaroni as per the instructions on the packaging. Usually it's for around 8 - 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can add the broccoli to the cooking pasta pot in the last two minutes.
- Combine the potato mixture (along with its liquid), mustard, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, oil, paprika, and sriracha (if using) in a blender. Blend for 1 minute, let the mixture rest for 1 minute, and blend again until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to the saucepan over medium heat. Add the salt, white pepper, and ½ teaspoon of the black pepper, stirring to combine. Add some additional water to adjust the consistency if the sauce is too thick.
- Bring the sauce almost to a boil. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add the macaroni and broccoli. Stir to combine, cover the saucepan, and cook for 3 minutes. Let the mixture sit for 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon black pepper. Sprinkle some more pepper on each serving, if desired.
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Kelli says
This is my go to Mac n cheese for our family! Everyone loves it!
Theresa says
I have VERY picky eaters and they loved this! 🙌 I left out the spicy ingredients but it was still yummy.
Randy Chase says
This was great, everyone loved it!
Maria says
Literally hadn’t planned to make this recipe tonight but under pressure to produce a dinner in a short space of time I plucked this one out. I have to say it’s one of the nicest mac and cheese recipes I’ve made. A lot of other ones have either been too claggy or too sweet but this one was really lovely. I didn’t have broccoli so just added some frozen peas and sweet corn at the end and I added fake bacon sprinkled on the top. It was a real hit with everyone so I will definitely make this again
Angela says
Just wondering if I could make this a day ahead. Thank you
A Virtual Vegan says
You could for sure. It reheats quite well. You would likely need to add a little milk or water to it when reheating to loosen it up again though as sauces like this tend to thicken up once they've cooled. If it were me, I would make sure the macaroni was very slightly undercooked. The same with the broccoli. Then when you reheat it, they won't get soggy. Hope that helps!
Kerstin Decker says
This is by far the absolute best Mac and Cheese. I made it yesterday for our evening meal . My hubby loved it. He had some for lunch today and said it was even better the day after!
Rita says
This was a winner for both my 2-year old and friend who is an omnivore.
I didn't have a tomato so I subbed about a tablespoon of tomato paste, which worked well- and used black pepper since I didn't have white. Thanks for a great recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you all enjoyed it Rita!
Celery says
Wow. I love this recipe. A great help as a I started with my vegan journey.
Christine says
I have been trying to ease myself into a vegan lifestyle and have been searching for recipes that I actually enjoy. I have to say, this is delicious. Even my husband liked it, and he is quite picky. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
You're welcome. I'm so glad you both enjoyed it Christine!
Paula says
This was really good. The sauce would be excellent on tacos, potatoes, in enchiladas and over rice.
Kathy Maultsby says
I didn't add the last 1 tsp. of pepper and it was still too peppery. Maybe that was the white pepper? Anyway, otherwise it was very good. If I make this again, I think I will use a little less water when cooking the potato, etc. Also It might be good baked with a crunchy topping - maybe bread crumbs or some flax seed meal. Also, I may add more veggies with the broccoli. Sorry to sound so negative. My husband like thing spicier than I do and he really liked. And I'm always looking for different "cheese" sauces. So this is a keeper.
richa says
Thank you for sharing Mel! The mac looks fabulous!!