A bowl of dairy-free comfort: vegan macaroni and cheese.
This vegan macaroni and cheese has been a long time coming: I LOVE MAC AND CHEESE. I adore it. I love the creaminess, the noodles, the different ways you can spruce it up. I love the comforting feeling of eating it with a spoon and scraping up all the sauce (despite me putting forks in the photo, I’m a spoon + bowl of mac & cheese kinda gal). It’s usually my most popular dish when I have people over because I love mixing up the add-ins. Sometimes I add some honey mustard and avocado, or a little cinnamon and curry, or even some green peas. You do whatever you want with it, but I recommend keeping the smoky chipotle pepper powder that gives a little kick to the creamy flavour nutritional yeast adds to thickened almond milk.
JSA has been a little quiet lately: a combination of being busy at work, being too hot to want to cook anything, and being occupied with family has kept me from keeping up with the blog. I’ll keep the posts coming at least once a week, but in the meantime, please bear with me while I get my life in order. Some of you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and you get different snippets of my life that I don’t necessarily share on my blog.
My Twitter is more for candid thoughts that I feel like sharing (e.g. like how I find Paul Rudd and Mark Ruffalo quite attractive), my Instagram is more about what I eat on a daily basis accompanied by occasional photos of Toronto, or a photo of myself here and there. Facebook is often where I share different tips, I ask questions, or hold discussions that often spark a lot of dialogue.
Speaking of which, I thought it’d be important to highlight my approach to any sort of discussion that happens here on JSA. Because of my academic background and I guess the way I approach life in general, I am very open to critique. My philosophy is that if I’m doing something wrong, the only way I can fix it is if someone tells me. I don’t take it personally (well I try not to). I don’t get offended unless they’re personal attacks like my hair is stupid or I make dumb faces or something. Then I just wonder what bug crawled up that person’s butt to make them want someone else to feel miserable.
But if there is dialogue about feminism, veganism, food sustainability and ethics, or other themes that happen to come up on JSA I love to hear about all sides, no matter what stance I hold. A friend of mine who recently was a part of a somewhat heated discussion on my Facebook page recently said this to me (quoting someone else):
“There is no harm in hearing an idea that is contrary to what you believe, if it is true, then you have shed a falsehood from your beliefs, if it is false, you have gained evidence to support yourself.”
So please, I implore you to participate in the discussion, even if you disagree with what I say. I love to hear all sides, and who knows, maybe I’ll learn something.
Vegan Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 medium sweet onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp flour + 1 tsp
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper
- 1/2 tsp sea salt to taste, you may need to up it to 1 tsp
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or other milk alternative
- 2.5 cups macaroni elbows
Instructions
- Melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent. Add in flour, garlic powder, and chipotle pepper and stir until butter is absorbed into the flour. Add 1/3 cup of milk and stir until incorporated. Add the remaining milk and stirring occasionally until completely incorporated and thickened (about 5 minutes).
- Meanwhile, cook macaroni elbows in a pot of water at a rolling boil until cooked to preference (al dente or otherwise). Strain and rinse under lukewarm water to get rid of the starch. Transfer back to pot and set aside.
- Stir in the nutritional yeast and salt to the sauce, tasting and adjusting as necessary. For more thick and cheesy flavour, add an extra tbsp or two of nutritional yeast. Pour over cooked macaroni elbows, stir and serve immediately!
Notes
Katie @ Produce on Parade says
Oh my goodness, I need some of this in my life right now, Lisa! :)
Linda Wark says
This recipe appealed to me because I don’t have to fool around with cashews (plus they’re expensive). Just made this now and voila! dinner was delicious comfort <3 Thank you Lisa!
Lisa Le says
Yay! Cashews are definitely expensive, and until now I didn’t have a blender that was strong enough to get it to a creamy consistency. But this way only two pots get dirty instead of my complicated stupid blender contraption. I’m so glad you took the time to tell me how it turned out. Thank you =)
Stephanie says
Hello, do you think sweetened almond milk will go well with this recipe ?
Lisa Le says
Any kind of unsweetened milk alternative would work here :) Sweetened not so much.
Nina V says
Hello,
I love the sound of this version.
How many would you say this serves?
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Nina :)
Nina V says
My apologies. Clearly I should put my glasses on. :/
Lisa Le says
No worries! It’s in a pretty odd place I guess. Easy to miss =P
Tanya P says
Will have to try this, all the others have cashews and I am way to lazy to try it that way. Thanks! :)
Lisa Le says
Hahha I feel ya. Buying cashews… soaking cashews… blending… then cleaning the blender. Man I just want to eat haha. Hope you let me know how it turns out!
Shonalika says
Cashew sauces are great but they don’t exactly work well for meals that you suddenly decide to throw together on the spot! This looks like a fantastic alternative, thanks for sharing:D
Lisa Le says
Yeah, I think I would like cashew sauces more if I didn’t have to shell out $6 for the cashews and then soak them =P Or blend them and clean the blender. Hahaha. Hope you let me know how it turns out for you =)
Strae says
Great!
May I ask what “tsp” and “tbsp” acronims means? English is not my native language and I cant find the meanings of those.. tbsp maybe tea spoon?
Lisa Le says
tsp = teaspoon (5 mL)
tbsp = tablespoon (15 mL)
Hope that helps!
Davina says
OMG!!!! This was awesome! When I say ‘was’, I almost ate every drop all by myself :)
Davina says
Love it!
Kinzie says
Wow, awesome recipe! First vegan mac n cheese that I’ve honestly enjoyed. Thank you so much for sharing. :)
Mackenzie @ Never Skip Dessert says
First, your photos are amazing here! I can’t believe this is vegan! I can’t wait to try it – thanks for sharing!
Lisa Le says
Thanks Mackenzie! I hope you let me know how it turns out =)
Crystal says
This looks great, can’t wait to try it! Just one small point – the honey (in the suggested honey mustard add-in) isn’t vegan.
Victoria says
I loved your recipe! So simple and yummy!
It’s been a while since I proper-cooked (read it’s the first meal in a while that wasn’t toast) and it felt good.
I added a lot more milk, perhaps because mine was soy or because my NOOCH was different. I added about half a cup more. Swiched chipotle for cayenne. Added dijon mustard and half a squeezed lemon.
Thank you xo
Lisa Le says
Dijon mustard is so so good! I love adding it to my mac and cheese too, great idea. Thanks for sharing your experience with the recipe! I buy my nooch in bulk, so I’m not sure if mine is different from yours. The flakes in my nooch are really big though, maybe that makes a difference? In any case, love your variation of the recipe! I’m glad you are eating more home-cooked meals ^_^
Emily says
Hi Lisa!
I just started reading your blog and I absolutely love it! I’ve only been a vegetarian for about 8 months, but I’m loving it! I made your vegan mac & cheese tonight for dinner and it was AMAZING! I will definitely be making it again!
Thanks for the great recipes! :)
Lisa Le says
Aw thanks Emily! Happy to have you join the party that is my blog. (JK it is not a party. It’s more of a one-woman show hoping that people are listening haha)
Jaki says
I noticed this recipe involves “Vegan Butter” would I be able to substitute with olive oil? Thanks!!
Lisa Le says
I think it’d be okay =)
Jen says
Thank you for this awesome recipe! It’s the first “cheese” recipe I’ve tried and actually like. I very greatly appreciate it!! :)
Joyo says
For years I have been looking for a vegan mac and cheese recipe that I really like, and finally I’ve found one! This is delicious, and I make it all the time. I always bring it with me to work. I carmelize the onions in the vegan butter, and add some mustard and a little bit of chili powder at the end.
Thank you for this delicious recipe! :)
Lisa Le says
Thanks for taking the time to comment Joyo! I’m glad you found a mac and cheese recipe you like =) The world needs more vegan mac and cheese deliciousness. More peace and happiness for everyone. Mustard and caramelized onions sound delicious! Love your spin on it.
Kait says
Made this at 2am during a bought of sleeplessness. I used cayenne, hot sauce, dehydrated onions, a smudge of Dijon mustard, and garlic powder to season. I’m not vegan, and this was the first recipe I have ever made with nutritional yeast. It was very tasty & easy to make! Thank you for the recipe.
Lisa Le says
Glad you liked it! Thanks for coming back and letting me know =)
Cai says
Two questions – i’m lactose free not vegan so do you think using lactose free milk or coconut cream/milk would work?
Also does this reheat well? I’d like to use it for lunches!
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Lisa Le says
Hey Cai,
I’ve never tried this recipe with either types of milk, so I’m not sure. As for reheating, it reheats okay. You may need to add a bit of liquid to it after you reheat it since pasta likes to absorb the moisture so it’s not as saucy anymore.
Katie says
Hi there, this recipe looks incredible! Planning to make it for dinner tonight but wanted to double check the pasta measurement. Do you measure 2.5 cups of the uncooked macaroni or do you measure once it’s already cooked? Thanks! Can’t wait to try this
Lisa Le says
Hi Katie! Uncooked macaroni =)
Janice says
Decided to try this tonight and it was AMAZIIIIING! My boyfriend and I recently turned vegetarian after watching videos on Netflix such as GMO OMG, Food Inc., and other related documentaries. I didn’t think he would like it because he is SUPER picky and he used to be your top carnivore haha. Well, he loved this dish! He thought it was delicious and would definitely eat it again. I added steamed broccoli and chopped green beans to it for the extra nutrition. Yum yum yum! Thank you :D I pinned this page under my “boyfriend approved” board xD
Kristin says
Making for a pot-luck that includes Gluten Free friends. What could I use besides the flour? Cornstarch?
Lisa Le says
Yes cornstarch would work =)
Liz says
This looks delicious! I have a question before I make it though. Did you blend the cheese so it was creamy without chunks of onion or just chop the onion super fine?
Thanks!
Lisa Le says
You could blend the onion prior to putting it in, but I just kind of dice it quite finely and it just adds a bit of texture to the cheese sauce.
Anissa says
Do you think this would be good baked & topped w/breascrumbs? ;D
Lisa Le says
This is better a stovetop version, it’s more to mimic Kraft Dinner style mac and cheese. I have baked with a breadcrumb versions here and here.
Kathleen says
Hi, this recipe looks great. I’m going to try it for my daughter to take to school as she can’t have dairy but loves Mac and Cheese. Do you know if this recipe freezers well?
Lisa Le says
Hi Kathleen!
I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner. I actually am not sure if it freezes well or not. I’d maybe freeze the sauce, but cook the noodles fresh? Noodles tend to soak up moisture and you need the liquid in the sauce so it stays gooey and melty =)
Shannan says
Made this last week when home sick and wanting warm, feel-good comfort food. I had everything but the chipotle pepper. However, I had Tabasco Chipotle and thought “why not?” — ha! This went together so easy and it was my first attempt at vegan mac ‘n’ cheese, although I’ve been wanting to try it for a long time. I put a dash or two of the Tabasco Chipotle and could not taste it. So before adding to the pasta, I kept adding until I could finally taste it. Thought it needed a little something more and added a few drops of Liquid Smoke. Not exactly the taste you were going for, but good enough and saved me from going to the grocery store. I ate all of it over 2 days! Then over the weekend, I was craving something cheesy, and made it the same way, leaving out the spices but sauteed some minced fresh garlic with the onions (i LOVE garlic) — Oh, cheesy and garlicky heaven, how I love thee!
Lisa Le says
mmmmm cheese and garlic are my faaaave <3 Smokey chipotle mac and cheese sounds like a delicious twist, I love it! Thanks again for taking time to leave a comment!
Ashley says
It was pretty good. I used cayenne pepper instead of Chipotle pepper and added a little Louisiana hot sauce. I don’t think it taste like cheese. Rather a really good creamy sauce. Maybe I’ll try adding some mustard too.
Tiffany says
Omg thank you so much for this recipe. I was starving and randomly made it as a midnight snack and it was soooooo clutch. ☺☺☺
Lisa Le says
:D So glad you enjoyed it!
Nicole says
Yum! Just made this and it was excellent! I have tried a variety of vegan mac and cheese recipes using everything from squash to cashews. This was the best (IMO) and the easiest! Thanks!
Tess says
I just had daiya Mac n cheese last night, but that was apparently supposed to be used for vegan BBQ chicken broccoli Mac n cheese (oops) but I used you’re recipe just now and it was even better than daiya! I’ll have to set some aside to eat separate from the BBQ kind(:
Lisa Le says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Lori Wellman says
my daughter has a severe dairy allergy- She also attends Daycare where they use butter all the time, in EVERY meal. :(
Mac and Cheese is today- I’ll be trying this out for her little hiney. Hope she likes it- I’m trying to find recipes that she can eat that are very similar to the Daycares so she doesn’t feel left out. (2 years old).
Will this recipe work without the nutritional yeast?
Lisa Le says
Hey Lori! That’s so wonderful that you’re creating dishes that your daughter can enjoy with everyone else :) This recipe sort of relies on nutritional yeast to give it its cheesy flavour, but I have a couple others that use Daiya instead. If you’d rather stick to more accessible ingredients, you might like this potato + carrot based one. Omit the cumin, paprika and chili powder and you can leave out the nutritional yeast in that one. Hope she likes it!
Jennifer Nelson says
This looks great! I’m choosing this one to try with my vegan daughter (age 14) as it’s so simple! She is a vegan for ethical reasons, but isn’t yet into foods with freaky flavors from veggies she’s not used to yet, so this is perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Teresa S says
Just made the mac and cheese and it is fabulous. I added 1 tsp of Dijon mustard plus some frozen peas. Really yummy. I am a new vegan and trying to make something new each week. This is a good one to save.
T