Vegan Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Get ready to WOW your holiday table with this Creamy Plant-Based Baked Mac & Cheese! Lucious macaroni smothered in a rich, velvety plant-based cheese sauce that’s loaded with comforting flavors and just the right amount of holiday magic. Baked to golden perfection with a crunchy, savory topping, this dish is not only dairy-free but also packed with wholesome, plant-based ingredients that everyone will love. It’s indulgent, satisfying, and so good that no one will believe it’s healthy! Whether it’s a cozy family dinner or the star of your holiday spread, this mac and cheese is sure to become a tradition.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces macaroni noodles
Sauce
- 2 cups cauliflower cooked
- 1 carrot cooked
- 1 cup tofu firm or silk
- ½ cup cashews
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp tamari low sodium
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¾ tsp turmeric
- 2 cups soy milk unsweetened, or plant milk of choice
Topping
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp tamari low sodium
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook macaroni noodles as instructed on package.
Sauce
- Add sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add cooked macaroni and blended sauce to a mixing bowl and stir well.
- Pour mixture into a 9 x 9 or 9 x 13 baking dish and spread evenly.
Topping
- Add the sunflower seeds to a blender and blend until it is almost flour.
- Add to a bowl along with the remaining ingredients and stir well.
- Sprinkle mixture over macaroni.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
Notes
Alternative for the topping: Any plant based crackers crumbled and sprinkled on top before baking.
Nutrition
Calories: 271kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 13gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 389mgPotassium: 391mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1207IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 123mgIron: 2mg
This is going to be epic for the holidays!
Looks wonderful!! Do you think this would work with frozen cauliflower?
Yes
This looks like a perfect Sunday evening Fall dinner. Looks like tonights the night 🙂
The recipe sounds delicious!!! Could you use a legume based pasta (like chickpea or lentil ) pasta? Thanks!
Yes
Is there something else I can use instead of tofu? I have a soy allergy. Thanks!
You can use cashews or almonds instead but I would use half as much as the tofu amount.
What brand and where do you find the soy milk you use? Is it found in the refrigerated section or in non-refrigerated area of grocery? Love your show.??
WestSoy unsweetened soy milk. I get it at Whole Foods in the non-refrigerated aisle.
I used oat milk and broccoli instead of cauliflower and it was delicious.
How do you sprinkle something that is wet? I combined the topping ingredients and tamari and Dijon are wet so the moisture turned into a paste. What did I do wrong?
It is a bit of a sticky mixture. I just kind of crumble it with my fingers while “sprinkling”
This recipe was so incredibly good the first time I made it that I decided to make a double batch of the cheese sauce and set the extra aside for next week. It looked so creamy I tried it as a cheese dip to go with Jill’s baked tortilla chips. OMG!!!! Just add a little ground chili and you’ve got the best WFPB nacho cheese dip ever!
Hi Jill, do you think I could make it ahead and freeze it? If so, would you bake it ahead before freezing? Want to travel with it. So delish!!! Thanks !!!
Hmmmm, I think it would be ok to freeze. The texture, once thawed might be a bit different but it will still be tasty =)
What do you recommend instead of cashews if someone has a nut allergy?
A mix of hemp hearts and sunflower seeds