Vegan Macaroni and Cheese Recipe with Cashew Cheese Sauce

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This delicious vegan macaroni and cheese recipe is gluten free and dairy free. It is made with a tasty cashew cheese sauce and pumpkin puree. You can eat healthy and still enjoy the comfort foods you love.

best vegan macaroni and cheese recipe made with cashew cheese sauce

Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe with Cashew Cheese Sauce 

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups organic pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in cool water overnight or for 1 hour in boiling water
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeastย 
  • 1 teaspoonย mustardย 
  • 1 teaspoon onion powderย 
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprikaย 
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmegย 
  • 1 ยฝ teaspoons sea salt
  • Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup of coconut milk
  • 10 ounces of rigatoni pasta, medium-sized macaroni shells, or pasta of your choice.

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients Tips

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  • Before getting started make sure to presoak your cashews. Either overnight in cool water, or if you forget and have less time you can soak them for an hour in boiling water. This is to soften the cashew nuts which gives the cashew cheese sauce its creaminess. 
  • Next, let’s gather our gluten freeย veggie pastaย and other simple ingredients. This veggie pasta is from Cybele’s Free to Eat. Thats it, nothing else. You can get Cybele’s pasta online here: Free to Eat. Or if you are a member of Thrive market you can get the pasta there. I am a member of Thrive Market and love it. (I have no affiliation with Thrive or these brands, I am just sharing what I eat and love). Thrive has a huge variety of healthy food options that can be easily delivered to your home.
  • For the pumpkin puree I like to use organic pumpkin. Just make sure that there are no extra added ingredients. This is my ‘go-to’ pumpkin puree here: pumpkin puree.
  • Nutritional yeast is a great ingredient to add a cheesy taste to your dish without the dairy. You can find it online here: nutritional yeast.ย 
  • The rest are typical spices that you should hopefully have in your cupboard. vegan macaroni and cheese ingredients

How to Make Cashew Mac and Cheese 

  1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box until al dente (not quite finished, still slightly hard). Drain the pasta and set aside.  
  2. Next, drain the cashews that have been soaking and add them to a high-powered blender, (I recently got a Vitamix and love it). Also add the pumpkin, nutritional yeast, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, nutmeg, salt, black pepper to taste, lemon juice, and coconut milk. Blend for 1-2 minutes until the cashew cheese sauce is completely smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking, (ie, add more salt as needed). vegan Mac and cheese in blender
  3. To finish your vegan macaroni and cheese recipe, return the cooked and drained pasta back to the saucepan and add the cashew cheese sauce. vegan cashew cheese sauce poured over gluten free pasta
  4. Heat over medium heat until the sauce is well combined with the pasta and warmed through. Season the dairy free mac and cheese to taste, if needed. macaroni and cheese no milk recipe
  5. Serve immediately and enjoy. how to make vegan macaroni and cheese with dairy free cashew cheese sauce

Swaps and Alternatives: 

No recipe is not set in stone. The more comfortable you are in the kitchen the more comfortable you will be swapping out ingredients to your liking and playing around with recipes. I often look at a recipe as a guide and make tweaks and adjustments all the time. Here are a few swaps and alternatives you can use if you’d like:

  • If you can’t find pumpkin puree you can also used pureed butternut squash like this one here: squash puree.ย 
  • You may use cashew butter if you don’t have whole cashews, or forget to soak the cashews. This is the cashew butter that I use: cashew butter. There is only one ingredient with no added oils or sugar. You can also make your own cashew butter, it is so easy. Here is the homemade cashew butter recipe.ย 
  • Instead of coconut milk, you can also use a nut milk of choice. Sometimes I use cashew milk, which I also made myself. Again, this is very easy: homemade cashew milk recipe.ย 
  • For the pasta, ifย you don’t use thrive market, or can’t find the veggie pasta you can also use chickpea pasta like this one (chickpea pasta) or lentil pasta like this one (lentil pasta) for this gluten free macaroni and cheese recipe.
easy dairy free Mac and cheese with cashews and nutritional yeast in skillet

You can find more healthy gluten free pasta recipes here: Gluten Free Pasta Recipes.

Printable Recipe

How to Make Vegan Macaroni and Cheese with Cashew Cheese Sauce

How to Make Vegan Macaroni and Cheese with Cashew Cheese Sauce

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

This delicious vegan macaroni and cheese recipe is gluten free and dairy free. It is made with a tasty cashew cheese sauce and pumpkin puree.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups organic pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in cool water overnight or for 1 hour in boiling water
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeastย 
  • 1 teaspoon mustardย 
  • 1 teaspoon onion powderย 
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprikaย 
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmegย 
  • 1 ยฝ teaspoons sea salt
  • Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup of coconut milk
  • 10 ounces of gluten free pasta of your choice.

Instructions

  1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box until al dente (not quite finished, still slightly hard).
  2. Drain the pasta and set aside.  
  3. Next, drain the cashews that have been soaking and add them to a high-powered blender.
  4. Add the pumpkin, nutritional yeast, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, nutmeg, salt, black pepper to taste, lemon juice, and coconut milk.
  5. Blend for 1-2 minutes until the cashew cheese sauce is completely smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking, (ie, add more salt as needed).
  6. To finish your vegan macaroni and cheese recipe, return the cooked and drained pasta back to the saucepan and add the cashew cheese sauce.
  7. Heat over medium heat until the sauce is well combined with the pasta and warmed through. Season the dairy free mac and cheese to taste, if needed.

Notes

Swaps and alternatives:

  • If you can't find pumpkin puree you can also used pureed butternut squash
  • You may use cashew butter if you don't have whole cashews, or forget to soak the cashews.
  • Instead of coconut milk, you can also use a nut milk of choice. Sometimes I use cashew milk, which I also made myself. ย 
  • For the pasta, ifย you don't use thrive market, or can't find the veggie pasta you can also use chickpea pasta or lentil pasta for this gluten free macaroni and cheese recipe.ย 

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 367Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 834mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 10gSugar: 5gProtein: 11g

nutritional values are estimates and may vary depending on products/ingredients used.

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