Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese

Why You’ll Love this Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese

Hands down, this is the best vegan baked mac and cheese and a family favorite in my house. This is one of those go-to recipes that I end up making whenever I’m not sure what I want for dinner, and it always turns out to be a winner.

This vegan baked mac and cheese is creamy, crispy, and cheesy, thanks to a combination of a plant-based béchamel, vegan cheddar cheese, and a secret ingredient that you won’t even know is there: sweet potato! Here are few more reasons we love this recipe and you will too:

• Insanely Cheesy and Creamy Sauce: This recipe includes instructions for a homemade vegan cheese sauce that is so so creamy and coats the al dente macaroni perfectly.

• Picky Eater Approved: This recipe is great if you have picky eaters and you want to sneak some veggies in!

• Affordable: Unlike other vegan mac and cheese recipes, this one doesn’t use any pricey raw cashews or nuts. Instead we are using cost effective sweet potatoes!

• Crispy and Cheesy Cracker Topping: Crushed crackers mixed with nutritional yeast create a super flavorful crispy topping that gets golden brown when baked.

Ingredients

Like I mentioned above, this recipe is a little different because it has a super-secret ingredient which makes it lighter than traditional mac. We’re using baked sweet potatoes!

The baked sweet potato adds so much creaminess and the slightest touch of sweetness to the sauce. Plus a bunch of vitamins and fiber. Below are the other ingredients you’ll need to make this easy vegan mac and cheese: 

For the Vegan Cheese Sauce:

• Unsweetened Almond Milk: make sure to use unsweetened, unflavored almond milk!
• Vegan Butter: I’m using Country Crock Plant Butter but Earth Balance also works in this recipe. The vegan butter is to make a roux.
• Flour: to help thicken the cheese sauce.
• Vegan Cheddar Cheese: The best vegan cheese for this recipe are Daiya and Violife cheddar shreds. They both melt wonderfully. Violife is a bit saltier than Daiya.
• Baked Sweet Potato: to add creaminess and flavor to the sauce.
• Garlic Powder: to add flavor to our sauce.
• Dried Onion: to add even more flavor to our sauce!
• Salt & Pepper
• Pasta of Choice: I’m using macaroni, but you could also use small shells or elbow noodles.

For the Crispy Cracker Topping:

• Crushed Crackers: I’m using Ritz crackers that I pulsed in my food processor.
• Nutritional Yeast: for some additional salty, ‘cheesy’ flavor.
• Melted Vegan Butter: this is to help crisp up the cracker topping.

Substitutions

• Almond Milk: Any plant milk or dairy free milk will work. Some of my favorites are oat milk or soy milk.
• Vegan Cheddar Cheese: Another plant-based cheese flavor, like mozzarella or Swiss, can be used instead. If you’re not a fan of vegan cheese, it can be omitted from the roux. Just be sure to add about 1/4 tsp extra salt and 2-3 extra tablespoons of nutritional yeast to taste. 
• Crackers: Feel free to swap out the crushed crackers for breadcrumbs. Regular buttery breadcrumbs or Panko breadcrumbs will work. 
• Pasta: Use a gluten free alternative if you’d like. I’ve made this recipe many times with brown rice pasta and it always turns out delicious.

Helpful Equipment

• Large Pot and Small Pot: for cooking the pasta and making the cheese sauce
• High Speed Blender: To blend up the cheese sauce
• Casserole Dish or Baking Dish: for baking the pasta

Step By Step Instructions

​Prep the Sweet Potato

STEP 1: Bake the sweet potato by roasting in a preheated oven at 425F for 40-55 minutes. This can be done in advance. 

STEP 2: Blend up the baked sweet potato, salt & pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, nutritional yeast, and half the almond milk in a high-speed blender. Once it’s blended up and super smooth, set the mixture aside.

Make the Cheese Sauce

STEP 3: In a small saucepan, you’ll want to melt the vegan butter. Once it starts bubbling, whisk in the flour. It should form a paste-like consistency. Make sure to cook this mixture for about 2 minutes. This is to get the raw flour taste out and make the flour safe to eat.

STEP 4: Next, slowly pour in the remaining non-dairy milk, while continuing to whisk the mixture. Keep on whisking consistently for 3-5 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Be sure not to let the dairy-free milk boil! 

STEP 5: Once thickened, add in the vegan cheddar cheese (or vegan mozzarella shreds). Stir the mixture until the cheese is mostly melted. Then, add the melty cheese mixture to the sweet potato mixture in the blender, and blend it up on high until combined and super smooth. This should make about 4-5 cups of cheese sauce.

Make the Noodles & Bake

STEP 6: In a large pot of salted water, boil the noodles for 2-3 minutes less than the package directions state. 

STEP 7: Drain and pour 3/4 of the cheesy sauce on the cooked macaroni. Mix the sauce with the cooked pasta.

📌 TIP: Reserve 1/4 of the sauce for serving. Pasta tends to absorb sauce as it is baked.

STEP 8: Transfer to a baking pan greased with vegan butter or olive oil. Mix the crushed crackers, nutritional yeast and melted vegan butter together in a small bowl. Then sprinkle the crackers on top.

STEP 9: Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Serving

Once baked, the vegan mac and cheese is ready to be served in individual bowls or on plates. As mentioned earlier, it’s a good idea to drizzle some of the reserved cheese sauce over the top for added creaminess and flavor. Season with black pepper and salt to taste, and consider garnishing with fresh chopped parsley or basil for a pop of color and freshness.

This vegan mac and cheese recipe is comforting main dish but can also act as a perfect side dish for summer barbecues, picnics or special occasions like Thanksgiving. Below are some ideas for dishes to pair it with:

• Stuffing Casserole
• Vegan Roast Dinner
• Vegan Ribs
• Crispy Tofu Nuggets
• Vegan Sloppy Joes
• Three-Bean Salad
• Vegan Coleslaw
• Vegan Burgers
• Grilled Tofu Steaks

Storage

This mac and cheese recipe yields approximately 5-6 servings, making it perfect for meal prepping or enjoying leftovers. To store, cover the mac and cheese casserole pan and refrigerate for up to 2-3 days.

Alternatively, you can freeze the mac and cheese in an airtight container for longer storage.

📌 TIP: Repurpose leftover sauce as a delicious vegan queso! Simply add a pinch of cayenne powder to the sauce and serve with your favorite tortilla chips for a tasty snack.