Description
Our vegan mac and cheese is the creamy comfort food you have been craving. Vegan or not you will enjoy this pasta dish any day of the week. It is so easy to make it will be ready in 35 minutes or less.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 3/4 pound penne, rigatoni or elbow pasta (See note #1)
- 4 tbsp refined coconut oil or vegan butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups unsweetened plain almond milk or other plant-based milk
- 8 ounces shredded vegan mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups). (We used Violife, see note #2)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- Cooking spray
- Topping:
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/3 cup grated vegan parmesan cheese ( we used Violife)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 tsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Coat an 8X8 square baking dish with high sides with cooking spray
- Cook the pasta following the package instructions (make sure you use plenty of salt water). Drain well and set aside
- Melt the coconut oil or vegan butter in the same pot you used to cook the pasta
- Add the flour, stir well and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes
- Slowly whisk in the almond milk and nutritional yeast, whisking constantly and making sure there are no lumps
- Add the salt and pepper and bring to a simmer until it thickens
- Add 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, stir well and cook until all the cheese has melted
- Add the cooked pasta and stir well making, sure it’s all well coated with the sauce. Transfer the pasta to the baking dish and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the panko bread crumb, oregano, vegan parmesan, salt, and olive oil and mix well.
- Top the pasta with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and sprinkle evenly with the topping. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown
Notes
- We found that by only using 3/4 pound of pasta the ratio of pasta to sauce is perfect. Feel free to cook the whole box of pasta, take a quarter of it out, and save it for later use. Increase the nutritional value and protein in this dish by using bean-based pasta or whole wheat pasta.
- If you prefer not to use packaged cheese you can make your own mac and cheese cheese sauce. Start with a base of our Vegan Cashew Cream, then add nutritional yeast for that nutty, cheesy flavor, garlic and onion powder for some dimension, and a hint of turmeric for the yellow color.
- This post was originally published on June 4, 2012. We have updated it with more useful information, so you make the best mac and cheese every time.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Main
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
- Calories: 519
- Sugar: 1.9
- Sodium: 657.3
- Fat: 24
- Saturated Fat: 14.5
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.3
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 63.9
- Fiber: 2.3
- Protein: 9.9
- Cholesterol: 0