This. Is. My. Favorite. Vegan. Recipe. Of. All. Time. Vegan mac and cheese.
Lemme say that one more time. This is my FAVORITE f*cking recipe IN the entire vegan universe.
K. Now that that’s been established, mac and cheese has been my favorite food FOREVER. Literally since the baby age of 4-5. Anyone who has ever asked me what my favorite food was, the answer has forever been the same, vegan or non-vegan- mac and cheese. (Always vegan now!)
I truly think it runs in my veins. Cut me open = mac and cheese, glitter, houseplants, and marijuana.
Just being truthful! hahaha!
When I was contemplating the idea of veganism- I had been a vegetarian for a long time prior. It was just getting away from dairy that was the hardest part of my struggle. I couldn’t imagine my life without mac and cheese! Most importantly, how could someone not EVER enjoy their favorite food ever again? What if you have a really crappy day at work and need that only bowl of cheesy carbs that understands you? Or its freezing cold and snowing and you just want a huge warm cozy bowl of mac and cheese? Or your pmsing and instead of slaughtering someone you take the highroad and make mac and cheese?
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WHAT IS LIFE WITHOUT MAC AND CHEESE!?
Certainly, I’ve tried just about every boxed vegan mac and cheese there is. Why? Because its good to have lazy vegan food when you’re transitioning so you don’t screw up and cave back into old habits. That’s why. In the meantime, Annie’s vegan mac got me by. Linking that for you guys (its a big pack of 12 boxes but let me tell you sista friend, HOW many times it’s saved our hangry asses—- keep extra boxes in the basement!)
But it didn’t replace the homemade kind- you know the one with the REALLY creamy cheeses, the breadcrumbs, OH the breadcrumbs. I needed to replace that. It was officially a void in my life.
After trying about 600 different recipes that just SEMI satisfied me, I tweaked a few and left out some ingredients, added a few more of my own, and this was the magical recipe I came up with in the end. And you know what guys? Do you know who ate it? MY FAMILY. My NON VEGAN family ate this meal and LOVED it.
**Saying this now and basically in every article we write. You’ll need a high-speed blender for this! I’m going to link our The Best Kitchen Appliances To Have In A Vegan Kitchen post right here to break down all the benefits of our beloved Vitamix.
Naturally, I’ve made this recipe close to every week since I’ve mastered it. Any and every excuse to make this meal, I do. Do you guys want the goods? Here we go.
The Vegan Fempire’s BEST EVER Vegan Mac and Cheese
You’ll Need:
- 1 box of your favorite pasta – we love swirly pasta or shells!
- 2 cups red or yellow potatoes- peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots- peeled and chopped
- 2/3 cup onion- peeled and chopped
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 2/3 c vegan butter – earth balance sticks are great for this
- 4 TSP sea salt
- 1/4-1/2 TSP dijon mustard (tweak based on your liking of mustard, we go somewhere in between with this)
- 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 TSP minced garlic
- 1/2 TSP black pepper
- vegan breadcrumbs for baking
- paprika to sprinkle over top before baking
Directions!
- You’ll want to preheat your oven to 350, and get your water ready and cook your pasta.
- Secondly, take your potatoes, carrots, onions, and the 2 cups of water to a saucepan. Let that come to a boil, cover it, and simmer it for about 15 minutes until the veggies are fully cooked through with a fork.
- While veggies are cooking, soak your cashews in boiling water for about 10-15 minutes. Strain them and add them to your blender.
- We’ll continue to add to the blender with the cashews – the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, sea salt, pepper.
- When the veggies are done cooking, DO NOT STRAIN THEM. Pour the entire pan (yes gross weird water too) into the blender. The water is our starchy binding liquid base for our cheese sauce!
- Blend that baby up! Let blend on high speed until creamy cheese sauce is done! Mix with your pasta in the pan.
- Pour the mac and cheese into your baking pan, we love our pyrex for this. Sprinkle with as many breadcrumbs as you like- trust me, we aren’t judging!
- Add a sprinkle of paprika to the top of our breadcrumbs and stick that guy in the oven for about a half hour using a glass 9 x 13 Pyrex casserole dish! If you don’t have one, do yourself a favor and snipe some HERE. Pyrex is the gift that keeps on giving. Everyone who ever cooks a meal (which hopefully that’s everyone) NEEDS a set of Pyrex.
You’ll Be The Favorite, Wherever You Bring This!
All in all, lets be in agreement here that this ABSOLUTELY will fill the void in your vegan lives for a solid mac and cheese replacement. The goal of veganism isn’t to replace your old favorites, ALL the time. Rather, discovering new food and new favorites. But, sometimes if that one food just happens to be your FAVORITE and you’d DIE without it, then yes, we need a replacement.
Thank us for your favorite carb coma later! Be sure to tag us on social media when you make this! We love seeing what you guys come up with!
