Vegan Mac and Cheese (No Cashews)
The best vegan mac and cheese recipe made without cashews or nutritional yeast yet has a cheesy, umami flavor. This allergy-friendly pasta recipe is gluten and soy-free and made with easy-to-find, simple ingredients.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces elbow pasta use gluten free if needed
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour or brown rice flour for gluten free
- 2 ¼ cups plant milk I used oat milk
- 3 cups shredded vegan cheddar cheese
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder or sub dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika optional
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook your pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente according to package instructions and drain.
- Melt the vegan butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk constantly, for 1 minute.
- Add half of the plant-based milk and whisk to dissolve the paste into the milk before adding in the remaining milk. Whisk in onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, and smoked paprika (if using).
- Cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes until thickened. Stir in the cheese until melted and remove from the heat.
- Stir in the cooked pasta and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper as needed.
Notes
Vegan cheese takes a bit longer to melt, so be patient. It'll happen.
See the blog post for storage instructions.