Vegan Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Let’s be honest. No one thinks: I’m craving vegan baked macaroni and cheese (unless you are seasoned vegan or strictly dairy free). When I was making this recipe, I was wondering if I could make a macaroni and cheese that we could enjoy for Thanksgiving. I figured it out guys! Check it out below. Jump to Recipe

So You Wanna Make a Vegan Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Anything cheesy is always a hit on a holiday table. It’s addicting. There’s whole studies and podcasts talking about it. That’s why it was important for me to figure out a replacement this Thanksgiving. I enjoy a good hunk of baked macaroni and cheese.

Ok. So What Kind of Cheese are You Using?

When I was mentioning this recipe to my crew, they were skeptical because nothing hits like real cheese. For this vegan macaroni and cheese, I made it a point to try several brands of cheese to find the ones that would be as close to what I know and love. I can’t say that it’s exactly what you’re used to, but it’s pretty close.

So the Brands I Recommend for this Vegan Macaroni and Cheese are…

In my opinion, the best cheeses for this recipe are made by Follow Your Heart and Daiya. Whole Foods brand did pretty well and is more cost effective. I did opt to use some vegan smoked gouda to add a depth to the cheese sauce and I approve of this for future batches.

I did try one version with nutritional yeast, but I wasn’t a fan. Stay tuned because maybe I’ll be able to incorporate it in another version. I do love it on roasted vegetables, but here, I needed that traditional taste. Again, check me in a year to see how I feel about this.

Other Things You’ll Need

I decided to keep this as close to my grandmother’s recipe as possible. I chose to use a plant based milk as the base of the sauce. In this recipe, the unsweetened, boxed almond milk worked the best.

Of course you can’t have mac and cheese with out the traditional elbow pasta. Lastly, you’ll need salt and pepper to taste. (If you use any other seasonings, go for it!)

An Easy Prep is Always Welcome

I’m sure everyone loves mac and cheese for the flavor, but even more for the ease of preparation.

Let’s Make Some Vegan Baked Macaroni and Cheese!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Lightly oil a baking dish or cast iron pan and set aside.

Prepare macaroni in heavily salted water according to package instructions. Cook pasta 1-2 min less since it will continue to cook in oven.

While pasta is cooking, dice the block of cheddar cheese into small cubes and chop cheese slices.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add in flour and whisk to combine.  This mixture will look quite lumpy as the flour absorbs the melted butter. Continue to whisk for about 1 – 2 minutes.

Slowly pour in about half of the almond milk and continue to whisk until some of the lumps start to disappear. As the mixture thins, add the remaining milk to the sauce. As the sauce heats, it will start to thicken. Continue stirring until a semi-thick sauce forms (similar to a watered down cream of chicken).

Remove from heat and stir in seasoning and half of the cheeses (including the pre-shredded cheddar. Reserve second half for top).

Allow cheese to melt completely before adding the remaining block and sliced cheese. Leave some lumps in the second batch of cheese.

To the pan, mix the drained pasta with the cheese sauce. Stir thoroughly so that pasta is distributed throughout the cheese.

Pour the pasta mixture into the baking dish and top with the remaining shredded cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and shredded cheese has started to melt.

Please Try this Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe is very simple and pairs great with the collard greens, black eyed peas and cornbread dressing that I’ve shared before.

You can always add more cheese or seasoning to meet your personal preference. I like to keep macaroni and cheese simple, but as I experiment more, I’ll be sure to share. If you give this recipe a try, be sure to keep me posted. If you find any other cheese that work well, share that too.

I hope this vegan macaroni and cheese adds a little something special to your table as you prepare for the holidays (or tickles your mac and cheese craving)! Enjoy!