Creamy Vegan Mac & Cheese Without Cashews

This is a photo of a bowl of vegan mac and cheese (no cashews).

5 from 43 votes

Creamy Vegan Mac & Cheese Without Cashews

This creamy vegan mac and cheese without cashews is the ultimate comfort food. It's extra saucy, warm, and satisfying for a tasty dinner or side dish.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 399kcal

Author: Allie Petersen

Ingredients

1 cup yellow potatoes unpeeled, chopped in small cubes
1/2 cup carrots peeled, chopped in small pieces
1/4 cup onion diced
1 cup water
8 oz macaroni noodles or noodles of choice
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk such as soy or almond
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp turmeric
Pinch pepper

Instructions

Dice your onion, potatoes, and carrots into small cubes and pieces. The smaller the better because it will cook faster.
1 cup yellow potatoes, 1/2 cup carrots, 1/4 cup onion
In a medium saucepan on your stove top, add onion, potato, and carrots with 1 cup of water. Bring to boil, cover, and turn down to simmer for 8-10 minutes until potatoes and carrots are fork-tender.
1 cup water
While veggies are simmering, in small saucepan begin heating olive oil over low-medium heat. SLOWLY add in the flour and whisk together until combined.
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Turn up stove to medium heat. SLOWLY add milk and whisk. In 1-2 minutes the mixture will start to thicken QUICKLY. Continue whisking until it forms a dough ball. Once the dough has formed immediately remove from heat so it doesn't burn.
1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
Begin to cook pasta to package instructions until al dente or your preference.
8 oz macaroni noodles
Once veggies are fork-tender, drain them but SAVE THE LIQUID in a bowl.
In a food processor or high speed blender, add in veggies, flour mixture, spices, dijon mustard, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and 1/4 cup veggie liquid. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes until smooth. If your sauce is too thick add 1-2 tbsp of veggie liquid at a time until it's at the desired consistency.
1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp turmeric, Pinch pepper
Pour sauce over cooked noodles. Gently mix and enjoy!

Notes

Pro Tips:

- Cook your noodles al dente to ensure that the pasta maintains its texture and doesn't become too soft or mushy.

- For a crispy top bake your mac and cheese with some breadcrumbs on top. Bake at 350 F or 176 C for 15 minutes and turn to broil at the end for a few minutes.

- Add some other spice to your vegan mac and cheese: smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, oregano and more!

- FYI- This recipe is extra saucy to create the creamiest, dreamiest mac and cheese! If you want it less saucy, save some of the cheese sauce for nachos, dips, burritos, tacos, and more!

Substitutions:

For a gluten-free option: use GF pasta and GF flour
You can use red potatoes instead of yellow, just make sure to peel them or your sauce will be a different colors.
You can omit nutritional yeast if you don't have it or don't like the taste.

Storage:

Store leftover mac and cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. FYI- this vegan mac and cheese tastes the best the day of!

Reheating:

You can reheat in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. The sauce will thicken a bit as it sits in the fridge but it will still taste great!

Calorie count disclaimer: Naturallie Plant-Based offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although Naturallie Plant-Based attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

Nutrition