Easy Vegan Mac and Cheese for One
This super easy vegan mac and cheese for one is the perfect meal for your kid’s lunch or a comfy evening alone on the couch! There’s no need to buy expensive pre-made mixes or individual frozen meals when you can whip this up in minutes with a few simple ingredients!

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Sometimes my kids want some mac and cheese for a snack, but I don’t feel like making a full meal for the whole family. I just need a serving or two for them that I can make quickly.
I came up with this quick and easy vegan cream cheese-based mac and cheese recipe. It’s truly the easiest way possible to make some dairy-free mac and cheese!
❤️ Why I love this dairy-free mac & cheese
This mac n cheese is crazy easy to make! You can whip it up in less time than it takes to boil the macaroni. The cheese sauce is gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free! Plus, you can make as much or as little as you would like.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Macaroni – or any other shape pasta that you wish.
- Vegan Cream Cheese – you can use any store-bought brands like Tofutti Trader Joe’s or you can use my recipe for homemade tofu cream cheese. (It’s very easy and can be made in about 5 minutes).
- Water – to thin out the cream cheese mixture.
- Nutritional Yeast – for a cheesy flavor. Nutritional yeast is a yellow flaky powder that is sold in most health food stores or large grocery stores. It’s not the same as brewer’s yeast.
- Salt – for flavor.
- Tumeric – for color.

🔪 Helpful tools
You just need a bowl and a fork to make the cheese sauce, plus a pot to boil the macaroni.
🥄 How to make mac & cheese with vegan cream cheese
Step 1 – Boil your choice of macaroni according to package directions.
Step 2 – Mix vegan cream cheese with some water, nutritional yeast, and spices listed below, and you have your cheesy sauce ready to go.
Step 3 – Drain the macaroni.
Step 4 – Mix the hot macaroni with the sauce, and serve.

In about 10 minutes, you can have a bowl of dairy-free mac and cheese for one!
Make it a totally kid-friendly meal and add some veggies dipped in my homemade vegan ranch!
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- This is a fun recipe for kids to make themselves! They will just need some help with boiling and draining the pasta, but they will love making the cheese sauce on their own.
- You can just scoop out a tablespoon of the boiling cooking water to add to the cheese sauce.
❓ Frequently asked questions?
I like to whip up this easy mac and cheese if my kids just want a quick lunch or snack, but if the whole family wants mac and cheese, I take a few extra minutes and make vegan mac and cheese, coconut milk mac & cheese, or vegan pumpkin mac & cheese.
Pour my cashew cheese dip overcooked macaroni for a rich and creamy alternative made with cashews.
If you want a healthier alternative, use my veggie cheese sauce recipe to make a cheese sauce from carrots and butternut squash. Make a protein-packed version using my tofu mac and cheese recipe.
🌾Gluten-free casein-free mac and cheese for 1
If you need it to be gluten-free, simply use gluten-free macaroni. Be sure to buy a gluten-free vegan cream cheese too, and you will have a gluten-free and dairy-free meal your kids will love!

Check out all of my vegan cheese recipes and my vegan cheese cookbook too!
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan mac and cheese for 1 recipe

Easy Vegan Mac and Cheese for One
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup macaroni
- 2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
- 1 dash salt
- 1 dash turmeric
Instructions
- Boil macaroni or your choice of pasta according to package directions.
- Mix 2 TBSP vegan cream cheese, 1 TBSP water, 2 tsp nutritional yeast, a dash of turmeric, and a dash of salt in a serving bowl.
- Drain the macaroni, mix the hot macaroni with the sauce. Stir well and serve.
Notes
- This makes 1 individual serving.
- Adjust the blue number of servings in this recipe card to help calculate larger amounts.
- Scoop a tablespoon of boiling pasta water to add to the cheese sauce.
*This recipe was originally published on August 15, 2017. It was updated on February 17, 2020, to include new images and more detailed information.
I just wanted to say a huge thank you for posting this recipe. My son was diagnosed with an immune disorder a few months ago and he can no longer eat dairy. I have tried and tried to make mac and cheese that he likes (with zero success—and I like to think I’m a pretty good cook even though I’m not super experienced in vegan cooking)! He doesn’t like any of the vegan cheeses (I hear some of the good ones are made with nuts which he is allergic to) except the cream cheeses….so it’s been a tough adjustment for him. He gobbled up the mac and cheese I made following your recipe exactly! He said it was delicious. I cried happy tears. He is headed off to college in 2 years and asked me if this was hard to make! I laughed and said “you will enjoy cooking this as much as you do eating it”!! Much thanks again!
It made me so happy to read this! So glad that he found something that he likes! 🙂
Hi, just found your site today. Can you make a blog post on how you work your 7 days in a given week to make both staples (like butter and cream cheese) and your vegan meals? With just deciding to go vegan, I feel overwhelmed to make basic staples that take time and how not to be in the kitchen for hours in end each day. How do you manage it?
Hi, glad that you found my blog. You don’t have to make your own staples, it’s just an option. They only take about 10 minutes each. I usually make a batch of butter on a Sunday and it will last me the rest of the week. If you haven’t already, sign up for my free ebook that gives you 5 easy vegan meals with a shopping list. That may be a good place to start. https://view.flodesk.com/pages/64022c0dd72bad5482cad975
What is inn this recipe that makes the calories jump from 68 per 2 tablespoons of the vegan cream cheese to 444??!! I know that pasta is about 200 cal- help!
Sorry, my calorie calculator was counting it as 1/2 cup of mac and cheese, instead of just the pasta itself. It has been fixed now. Thanks for drawing that to my attention. (nutritional yeast has a bit of calories too)
Made this tonight. My husband and I shared one serving. More than enough with added steamed broccoli to pasta/sauce and side salad. Perfect serving size. I have not been a fan of nooch till now, but this recipe won me over. Definitely a “do-over.”
I’m so happy that this recipe worked well for you guys, and that you are liking nooch! 🙂
I loved it! I added a dash of ground mustard and a dash of cayenne. I also used your tofu cream cheese recipe. Definitely a win!
I’m so happy that you liked it, Laura! 🙂
Amazing! We zhuzhed it up with some spices and sauteed veggies. Honestly, pretty damn close to the real thing!!!
I’m so happy that you liked it, Rebecca! 🙂
I just made this for the first time- super simple and really good!
Even made it gluten free, and it was delicious!
I’m so happy that you like it as much as we do! 🙂