The BEST vegan mac and cheese recipe! With a creamy, cheesy sauce made from sweet potatoes and nutritional yeast, it's just as good as the real thing.
When I’m craving comfort food, this vegan mac and cheese recipe is the first thing I make. It calls for a handful of ingredients that I almost always have on hand, it’s quick and easy, and it’s absolutely delicious. The creamy sauce is rich, luscious, and filled with nutty, tangy cheddar cheese flavor. Even Jack, who LOVES classic mac and cheese, will happily devour a bowl (or two) of this plant-based pasta any day.
In the past, I’ve made dairy-free mac and cheese with coconut milk, cauliflower, or a big scoop of cashews, but this recipe is my favorite by far. The super creamy sauce still contains a small amount of cashews, but its base is blended yellow potato and sweet potato. The yellow potato gives it a delightful gooey texture, and the sweet potato makes it vibrant orange. Apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion powder, and nutritional yeast perfect its cheesy taste. It’s fun, yummy, and even healthy too! I think you’re going to love it.
How to Make Vegan Mac and Cheese
- First, make the vegan cheese sauce. Simmer sweet potatoes and potatoes until tender. Then, drain them, and add them to a blender with raw cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, onion powder, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, water, and olive oil. Puree until smooth.
- Next, cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook it according to the package directions, until al dente. Before you drain the pasta, set aside 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water.
- Finally, toss it all together! Return the cooked macaroni to the pot and add the cashew cheese. Stir to combine, adding the reserved pasta water, as needed, to loosen the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve the vegan mac and cheese with a simple veggie side dish like roasted broccoli, roasted Brussels sprouts, lemony green beans, or roasted cauliflower. Enjoy!
Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe Variations
- Swap the sweet potato. If you don’t have sweet potato on hand but you still want to try this recipe, don’t worry. An equal amount of diced carrot or butternut squash would work just as well.
- Make it smoky. Blend 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, to taste, into the vegan cheese sauce for a smoky twist. Or, for texture, stir in a handful of crumbled tempeh bacon bits!
- Spice it up. Make spicy vegan mac and cheese by pureeing the sauce with 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeños or a chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo.
- Go gluten-free. Use your favorite gluten-free pasta! I like to use brown rice elbow macaroni.
- Add extra veggies. Of course, this vegan mac and cheese tastes good on its own, but adding extra veggies certainly doesn’t hurt. Stir in thawed frozen peas, spinach, or steamed broccoli for a bright pop of green.
How do you like to make your vegan mac and cheese? Let me know in the comments!
More Favorite Pasta Recipes
If you love this recipe, try one of these yummy pasta recipes next:
- Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo
- Easy Pesto Pasta
- Creamy Vegan White Bean Pasta
- Easy Baked Ziti
- Creamy Pasta Pomodoro
- Best Vegetarian Lasagna
- Or any of these 25 Easy Pasta Recipes!
Vegan Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
For the vegan cheese sauce
- ¾ cup peeled and diced Yukon Gold potato
- ¾ cup peeled and diced sweet potato
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup water
For the mac and cheese
- 12 ounces elbow macaroni
- sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Make the vegan cheese: Place the Yukon Gold potatoes and sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Add a few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until fork-tender, 8 to 12 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and transfer to a high-speed blender with the garlic, cashews, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, olive oil, and water. Blend until smooth.
- Make the mac and cheese: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions, cooking until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.
- Drain and transfer the pasta back to the pot. Stir in the vegan cheese sauce, adding up to ½ cup pasta water to loosen the sauce, as necessary. Season to taste and serve.
Question, could this be made oil free or would it not turn out? In my 12 days since changing to vegan I’ve opted to do the oil-free version of vegan. There are lots of options to sub something for the oil in lots of recipes, any idea what would be the best in this recipe?
I will rate this after I make it. Thanks.
Hi Cathy, we haven’t tested this recipe without oil, so I can’t guarantee the results, but I think unsweetened almond milk or additional water would be a fine sub for an oil-free version.
I had to go vegan for my son while I’ve been breastfeeding. I made this once and loved it – and now I make the sauce every other week and I put it on everything! Sandwiches, baked potatoes, other pastas. It’s been an amazing addition to my cooking, and helped me feel less deprived of my favorite food (cheese). It is SO DELICIOUS and so easy to make. Thank you!
Hi Lucy, I’m so glad you love the sauce and that you’ve found so many delicious ways to use it!
As with C. Dazey, there is a cashew allergy problem for me. Any substitutes for the cashews??
Hi Sandy, I skip the cashews, reduce the water to 2T, and add a bit more olive oil for richness.
I tested out subbing with cannellini beans to help thicken and added more olive oil. Not bad!
We have a cashew allergy in the family. Is there anything that can be substituted? We’d love to try this recipe as we’ve tried several of your other recipes and loved them.
Should the cashews go in as-is, or after soaking in hot water? Thank you!
Hi Erin, I don’t soak my cashews – it’s not necessary if you have a powerful blender.
Can this be made the day before and what’s the best way to store and reheat?
Hi Dot, yes, I store it in a glass container and reheat it in the microwave. Stir in a little bit of water if the sauce thickens too much. Or better yet, store the sauce separately and cook a portion of pasta as you’re ready to eat.
Can this be made the day before, and what’s the best way to store and reheat?
Um, 3 days a week this get’s made! Smashing! By far the best Mac and Cheese (vegan) out there! In fact, making some tonight. Thank you so much and please continue to treat us with your recipes!
I’m so glad it was a hit!
Can I make this a few days ahead and then reheat in a crockpot for a work event?
Comments indicate this is great recipe. Because granddaughters are allergic to nuts, what could I substitute for cashews?
My mind is blown: that was amazing! Wouldn’t change a thing.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I swear this website used to have a max and cheese recipe using silken tofu as the base then additional spices and sauces, and I can’t find it anywhere in the site or internet in general. Please please SOMEONE share this recipe with me..
Hi Chantelle, hmmm, I think that one might have been a really old recipe that we’ve improved on a few times over the years and I don’t think I saved it. I promise this current version is our best vegan mac & cheese.
This really blew me away! I paired it with your air fryer buffalo cauliflower. Amazing combination. A little time consuming but worth it. This is coming from someone who loves mac and cheese. I was finding it hard to find good cheese alternatives after going vegan recently. And realized none could really compare. So this is a great alternative! And worth the extra steps.
Also your buffalo cauliflower is SO good. I made it with the buffalo sauce. I’m also super impressed. And i live in Buffalo. I definitely approve. Two thumbs up!!
Thanks so much! I really love your creativity in your recipes. 🙂
Haha great to know a Buffalo resident loves the cauliflower! I’m so glad you enjoyed both recipes.
wonderful recipe. We enjoyed it. I used some baked sweet potatoes I had with the white and turned out very delicious. Thanks!
This was AMAZING! We made it with gluten free elbows and couldn’t even tell the difference. My only feedback would be for anyone who wants to brown it in the oven, which we did after topping it with toasted gf panko (highly recommend!). The sauce to pasta ratio looked like it would be a little dry, so we reserved about 1.5 cups of cooked pasta and it came out perfect. Next time we make this, we’ll probably just double the sauce so we can use up the full box of elbows in one go and have leftover queso. Thanks for a great recipe!!
So glad you loved it!
WOW! This nails it! This is absolutely the best vegan cheese sauce ever! I should know, I’ve tried countless recipes, taste them, and usually throw them in the trash! This is a keeper! I made this for a potluck today, and everyone loved it. I plan on making the cheese sauce this New Year’s weekend, and adding smoked paprika and serving it as a vegan queso.
I am not vegan, but my son and his girlfriend are vegetarian…and I am a curious cook and eater! This cheese sauce is really good. I was honestly surprised.
I’m so glad everyone loved it!
Being Australian, I’m certainly no expert on Mac & Cheese, however this was delicious. This was such an easy recipe, I really enjoyed making it and the vegan cheese. I added a little dijon mustard and tumeric to the vegan cheese sauce, for my own specific taste, but it certainly didn’t need it as it’s very flavoursome. Thanks so much not only for this recipe but the recipes you’ve provided the community for so many years.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I love this recipe!! I am in transition to being vegan!! I know if I can find more recipes like this one then I have a fighting chance! I made up my meals for the week and really wasn’t sure how it would hold up and it did wonderfully!!
Aw, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Wow !! Made your vegan cheese sauce served it with roasted vegetables. Broccoli and califlower. It was beyond amazing !!! Can’t wait to try it with pasta !!!!
I’m so glad you loved it!