Vegan Mac and Cheese

5 from 34 votes

The silkiest, smoothest vegan mac and cheese recipe you've ever tried. Packed with flavour, the sauce works on all pastas, not just your standard macaroni!

Cook Time40

Total Time40

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: vegan mac and cheese

Servings:

Calories: 454kcal

Equipment

High Speed Blender

Ingredients

For the Pasta

350 g macaroni (or your fave pasta!)
pinch sea salt

For the Sauce

65 g cashews (raw unsalted)
70 g carrot (about 1 medium carrot, diced)
3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoon potato starch (1 tablespoon corn starch also works well as a replacement)
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
300 ml water
300 ml plant milk
1 teaspoon white miso
1 teaspoon rice vinegar (white wine or cider vinegar works too)
½ teaspoon agave syrup
2 tablespoon rapeseed oil (cold pressed)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

To Make the Pasta

Fill a large saucepan with water. Add the salt and bring to a boil.
Add the pasta and cook until al-dente, stirring occasionally.
Once cooked, drain the pasta and drizzle with a little oil to stop it form sticking together. Set aside.

For the Sauce

Soak the cashews in just boiled water for a minimum of 2 hours. The longer you soak, the smoother the mac and cheese will be.
Fill a small saucepan with boiling water and place over medium heat. Add the carrots and boil for around 20 minutes or until soft and well cooked. Drain and discard the water. Place the carrots in the cup of a high speed blender.
To the cup, add the remaining sauce ingredients.
Drain the soaked cashews and give them a rinse under the tap. Add to the cup along with the other ingredients. Blend on high speed until very smooth.
Transfer the sauce to a medium saucepan and place over a medium/low heat. Stirring or whisking constantly, heat the sauce until it begins to bubble and becomes thick and glossy. If the sauce becomes lumpy, don't worry, just blitz it with a stick blender.
Stir the sauce through the cooked pasta and serve. I like to serve mine with a sprinkle of chipotle chilli powder or smoked paprika.

Nutrition