Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese
This baked vegan mac and cheese recipe is rich, creamy, and cheesy plus it’s made without cashews. Baked to perfection with garlicky golden breadcrumbs on top. This classic-tasting mac & cheese is made dairy-free, but it’s packed with flavor.
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This vegan baked mac & cheese is true comfort food. If you want a vegan mac and cheese that will bring to back to a time when you still ate dairy, this recipe is it.
❤️ Why make this recipe
I have a lot of mac and cheese recipes on my site like stovetop mac and cheese, vegan mac and cheese for one, southwest mac & cheese, and tofu mac & cheese, but there is something about baking it with crispy garlic breadcrumbs on top that just can’t be topped.
🥛 What type of milk is best for vegan mac and cheese?
I have found that canned full-fat coconut milk makes the richest and creamiest cheese sauce and my coconut mac and cheese and coconut alfredo sauce recipes always get rave reviews, but you can also swap this out for cashew cream (blended cashews) or any plant-based milk that you want.
Coconut milk also makes this dish tree nut free and there is no need to soak or blend expensive cashews in a high-speed blender.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Pasta – Macaroni, shell pasta, or any small pasta shape works great. Use gluten-free pasta if need too.
- Coconut Milk or Plant-Based Milk – Canned full-fat coconut milk with give you the creamiest mac and cheese but any plain flavored plant milk like soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk, will work great in this recipe.
- Nutritional Yeast – Aka nooch. This is a yellow powder found in most health food stores. It has a cheesy umami flavor and without it, your vegan mac and cheese just won’t be cheesy tasting. You can learn more about nutritional yeast in this post.
- Tapioca Starch – Aka tapioca flour. This is essential for a creamy, stretchy texture that won’t get gloppy once it cools off. You can sub it with corn starch or potato starch, but nothing else gives your cheese sauce the same great stretch and texture as tapioca starch.
- Corn Starch – This helps to thicken up your sauce and make it the right consistency. (You can swap potato starch for this equally if you prefer).
- Garlic Powder – for flavor (optional). You can also swap this out for onion powder or use half garlic and half onion powder.
- Salt – for flavor.
- Turmeric and Paprika – Just a dash for color.
- Oil – To give it a richer flavor (optional). Refined coconut oil, light olive oil, vegan margarine, or my vegan butter recipe all work great in this mac and cheese.
- Miso or Tahini – (optional) For a cheesy bite. If you want your mac and cheese to have more or a cheddar taste, add 1 tsp of white miso paste or tahini to your cheese sauce. You can also use a teaspoon of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or dijon mustard for a little tang.
- Black Pepper – or red pepper flakes for extra flavor or a little heat.
For the breadcrumb topping
- Breadcrumbs – panko bread crumbs, or crushed crackers work best. You can also omit this if you want.
- Vegan Butter – you can use any vegan margarine or my homemade vegan butter. You can also omit this completely for a lower-fat dish.
- Garlic Salt or Garlic Powder – to flavor the breadcrumbs. (optional)
🔪 Helpful tools
- Saucepan – To cook the “cheese sauce.”
- Pot – To boil the macaroni or pasta.
- Whisk – To stir your vegan cheese sauce before adding it to the macaroni.
- Baking Dish – A medium-sized casserole dish that will hold about 10 cups.
🥄 How to make vegan baked mac & cheese
Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 350° F (176° C).
Step 2 – Boil the pasta of choice for about 2 minutes less than the package directions suggest then drain out the excess water. (You want it al dente since it will continue to cook in the oven.)
Step 3 – Put all the cheese sauce ingredients in a medium-sized pot. (Cold plant-based milk, cold water, nutritional yeast, tapioca starch, corn starch, salt, paprika, and turmeric). Then stir it with a whisk.
Step 4 -Turn on the heat to medium-low stirring frequently until it boils, then stir constantly for about 30 seconds.
Step 5 -Add the drained and rinsed pasta and lemon juice to the vegan cheese sauce and stir well. Add more salt and some black pepper to taste or a dash of red pepper flakes if you wish. (You can also add a cup of shredded vegan cheddar cheese to make the dish even cheesier if you wish
Step 6 – Pour the mac and cheese into a lightly greased casserole dish.
Step 7 – In a small bowl, melt vegan butter then add 1/4 tsp garlic salt and 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs. Stir well and sprinkle over the top of the mac & cheese.
Step 8 – Bake at 350° F (176° C) for 20 minutes until it starts to bubble and the breadcrumbs have turned golden brown.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Make sure to use plain plant-based milk. Vanilla-flavored milk will ruin your dish.
- Don’t turn on the heat until you have mixed the dry ingredients with the milk. (It will get lumpy if you add starch to warm liquid).
- Stir your cheese sauce frequently. It will firm up quickly once it reaches a certain temperature and goes from a runny liquid to a thick sauce in just a few seconds.
❓ How to make mac and cheese healthier?
If you want to make healthier mac and cheese you can mix in some frozen peas, chopped kale, or chopped broccoli florets before baking. You can also swap out the cheese sauce for my veggie cheese sauce made with butternut squash or my vegan pumpkin mac and cheese.
🌾 Gluten-free baked vegan mac?
The cheese sauce used in this recipe is naturally gluten-free, so you will just need to swap out the macaroni for gluten-free pasta and swap out the panko breadcrumbs for gluten-free breadcrumbs.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: This baked dairy-free mac will keep well in the fridge for 3 – 5 days in an airtight container.
Freeze: Baked mac freezes well and can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat 1 serving of the mac and cheese in the microwave for about 3 minutes or sprinkle with a few tablespoons of water, cover with foil, and reheat it in the oven at 350° F (176° C) for about 10-15 minutes until warm.
🌟 More vegan casseroles
- Vegan Potato Bake
- Vegan Summer Squash Casserole
- Cauliflower Cheese Bake
- Vegan Breakfast Casserole
- Vegan Corn Casserole
- Tuna Free Noodle Casserole
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Baked vegan mac & cheese recipe
Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 oz macaroni pasta (uncooked), or any other small-sized pasta (Use gluten-free if desired).
Cheese sauce
- 1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk, (or swap coconut milk and water for 2 1/2 cups of plain plant-based milk)
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, aka tapioca flour (or use corn or potato starch instead)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch, or potato starch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
For baked vegan mac and cheese
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter, or vegan margarine (melted)
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, (Gluten-Free or regular or swap crushed crackers)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, or garlic powder
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (176° C).
Boil the pasta
- Boil the pasta of choice for about 2 minutes less than the package directions suggest then drain out the excess water. (You want it al dente since it will continue to cook in the oven.)
Make the cheese sauce
- Put all the cheese sauce ingredients in a medium-sized pot. (Cold plant-based milk, cold water, nutritional yeast, tapioca starch, corn starch, salt, paprika, and turmeric). Then stir it with a whisk.
- Turn on the heat to medium-low stirring frequently until it boils, then stir constantly for about 30 seconds.
- Add the drained pasta and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice to the vegan cheese sauce and stir well. Add more salt and some black pepper to taste or a dash of red pepper flakes if you wish. (You can also add a cup of shredded vegan cheddar cheese to make the dish even cheesier if you wish
Bake the mac & cheese
- Pour the mac and cheese into a lightly greased casserole dish.
- In a small bowl, melt vegan butter then add 1/4 tsp garlic salt and 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs. Stir well and sprinkle over the top of the mac & cheese.
- Bake at 350° F (176° C) for 20 minutes until it starts to bubble and the breadcrumbs have turned golden brown.
Notes
- Make sure to use plain plant-based milk. Vanilla-flavored milk will ruin your dish.
- Don’t turn on the heat until you have mixed the dry ingredients with the milk. (It will get lumpy if you add starch to warm liquid).
- Stir your cheese sauce frequently. It will firm up quickly once it reaches a certain temperature and goes from a runny liquid to a thick sauce in just a few seconds.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!
Dear Monica
Your recipes are always tasting great! My concern for a recipe like this is for family’s who feed this to kids. As a main dish it does not have much protein for growing children. What do you recommend that could either go in it or be added to a meal so the kids get what they need. I have done peas and onions. MIght you come up with ideas and put it in with your recipes?
I was thinking of finely ground pumpkin or other seeds could go into the sauce? With growing grandchildren it is a dilemma.
You could add a block of silken tofu in with the cheese sauce and blend it with an immersion blender or regular blender like I do with my tofu mac and cheese recipe. It’s also really good with a package of vegan sausage cut up and sauteed then tossed in.