A twist on an old favourite! Vegan Mac & Cheese Bites are quick and easy to make in a muffin pan and make a great portable snack. Perfect for light lunches, packed lunches, or after-school snacking!
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Like the sound of portable Mac & Cheese? Well, I've got you covered with these super delish Vegan Mac & Cheese Bites!
The vegan cheesy mac mixture is baked in muffin pans to create adorable little handheld treats. Just perfect for snacking and packed lunches. Bonus points for being dairy-free, nut-free, and easily gluten-free too!
Ingredients
Here is what you will be needing to make Vegan Mac & Cheese Bites:
And a few ingredient notes:
- Macaroni - Use gluten-free macaroni to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Plant milk - Any unsweetened and unflavoured variety such as oat milk, soy milk, cashew milk or almond milk.
- Nutritional yeast - The secret ingredient for great cheesy flavour without any cheese! It's packed with vitamins too.
- Smoked paprika - The bites themselves aren't spicy in any way so don't worry. The smoked paprika brings out the cheesy flavour making them even more delicious. Don't switch this for regular paprika or the kids might not approve.
- Apple cider vinegar - You could also use white wine vinegar. This accentuates the cheesy flavour and adds some tang.
How To Make Vegan Mac & Cheese Bites
These delicious little morsels are really easy to make. Here's how:
- Boil the macaroni.
- Saute the onions and garlic.
- Blend the onion & garlic with the other sauce ingredients. It's an easy blend mixture so you don't need a super-duper high-powered blender. You could probably even get away with using a food processor or an immersion blender.
- Pour the sauce into the drained macaroni and mix to combine.
- Fill the lined wells of a muffin pan then bake.
Success Tip - I use reusable silicone muffin liners when making these. Nothing sticks to them and once you invest in some they will last you years and years.
Serving Suggestions
These perfectly transportable vegan snacks are great just as they are or with a dip. Kids (and me!) love them with tomato ketchup. Marinara sauce, salsa, and hot sauce make great dips too. They are also really great as a light lunch with a nice crisp green salad.
I enjoy them cold but you could microwave them for a 20 seconds or so to warm them up if you prefer.
Storage & Freezing
Store Vegan Mac & Cheese Bites in the fridge for up to 1 week. I like to keep the liners on as they stay a little moister. They also freeze well for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
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Recipe
Vegan Mac & Cheese Bites
Author:Ingredients
- 1½ cups (200 grams) dried macaroni , (gluten-free if necessary)
- 1 medium onion , diced
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ½ cup (35 grams) nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch , or arrowroot powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar , or white wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 cup (240 mls) plant milk , unsweetened & unflavoued
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Line a 12 well muffin pan and preheat oven to 350°F (175°F). I like to use silicone muffins liners for this recipe.
- Boil a large pan of water then add the macaroni and cook as per the package instructions. Usually 8 to 10 minutes. Drain once cooked.
- While the macaroni is cooking sauté the onion until just starting to turn golden brown then add the garlic and cook for one more minute. You can saute in a dry pan, or with a little water or oil.
- Add the cooked onion and garlic to a blender along with the nutritional yeast, cornstarch, salt, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, and milk. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the sauce into the macaroni and stir really well to combine, breaking up any clumps.
- Spoon the mixture into the lined muffin pan and press them down with the back of a spoon or spatula to level the tops a little.
- Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan.
Patricia G says
Hi, made these last evening. They were good, although didn’t come together completely because I may have added a bit too much milk. I used pasta baby shells instead of macaroni. I’ve done that for years with my pasta salads, as they stick together on the fork better - and look prettier:-). Just wondering if anyone has tried them with whole-grain pastas or the new legume pastas?