Vegan mac and cheese
Creamy, cheesy-style vegan mac made with soaked cashews, potato and nutritional yeast, finished with a crunchy paprika breadcrumb topping.
This vegan mac and cheese keeps all the comfort of the original without any dairy. It uses soaked cashews plus potato and carrot to build a silky, cheesy-tasting sauce — nutritional yeast does the umami heavy lifting.
Make it when you want something hearty for a family supper or to impress meat-eating friends. It bakes briefly to crisp the breadcrumb topping, which is the best bit for scooping.
Ingredients
- 300 g dried macaroni
- 150 g raw cashews — soak in cold water for 240 minutes; see tip for quick option
- 300 g potato — peeled and cut into even 2–3 cm chunks
- 150 g carrot — peeled and cut into even chunks
- 200 ml unsweetened oat milk
- 150 ml vegetable stock — if using a cube, dissolve in 150 ml hot water
- 60 g nutritional yeast
- 30 g vegan margarine
- 15 ml Dijon mustard
- 15 ml lemon juice — about 1 tbsp
- 5 ml garlic powder
- 5 ml onion powder
- 0 ml turmeric — for colour
- 10 ml smoked paprika — use 1 tsp in sauce and 0.5 tsp for topping
- 10 ml sea salt — plus extra for the pasta water
- 5 ml black pepper
- 50 g fresh breadcrumbs — for the topping; panko or stale bread blitzed
- 15 ml olive oil — for the topping
Equipment
- high-speed blender or food processor
- baking dish (about 20 x 30 cm)
- colander
- measuring jug
Instructions
Place the raw cashews in a bowl and cover with cold water. Leave to soak for 4 hours (240 minutes). Drain well before using.
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C conventional and grease a medium baking dish.
Put the potato and carrot into a saucepan, cover with cold water, add a pinch of sea salt and bring to the boil. Simmer until very tender when pierced with a knife, about 12–15 minutes. Drain and keep hot.
Meanwhile, cook the dried macaroni in a large pan of rapidly boiling salted water for 1–2 minutes less than the packet time so it stays al dente. Reserve about 100 ml of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.
In a blender or food processor, add the drained cooked potato and carrot, drained soaked cashews, unsweetened oat milk, vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, vegan margarine, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, smoked paprika, sea salt and black pepper. Blend on high until completely smooth and silky, 60–120 seconds. Work in two batches if needed and keep the lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape.
Pour the blended sauce into a saucepan and gently heat over a medium-low heat, stirring, until it thickens slightly, 3–4 minutes. If it becomes too thick, loosen with a splash of the reserved pasta water.
Stir the drained dried macaroni into the sauce until evenly coated. Transfer everything to the prepared baking dish and smooth the top.
Mix the fresh breadcrumbs with the olive oil and the remaining smoked paprika, then scatter evenly over the pasta.
Bake in the preheated oven until the topping is golden and the sauce is bubbling at the edges, 12 minutes (720 seconds).
Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Tips
- If you forget to soak cashews, quick-boil them for 15 minutes in plenty of water, then drain — texture will be very similar but still best to soak if possible.
- Blend the sauce until utterly smooth; any grittiness usually comes from under-soaked cashews or unevenly cooked potato.
- Reserve some pasta water to adjust sauce thickness — it helps the sauce cling to the pasta without watering down flavour.
- Make-ahead: cook through step 7, cover and chill for up to 24 hours. Add the breadcrumb topping and bake from cold for 20–25 minutes until piping hot.
- Leftovers keep in the fridge for 3 days; reheat with a splash of oat milk in the oven at 160°C fan/180°C conventional until piping hot to avoid drying out.
Substitutions
raw cashews → soaked blanched almonds, same weight (150 g)
Noticeably differentunsweetened oat milk → unsweetened soya milk, same quantity (200 ml)
Stays closedried macaroni → gluten-free pasta, same weight (300 g)
Stays closenutritional yeast → 2 tbsp white miso plus 1 tsp sea salt (adds more salt and different savoury note)
Noticeably different
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 742
- Calories
- 28 g
- Protein
- 90 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
- Sugar
- 700 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make this nut-free?
Not as written — the cashews are the main creamy base. For a nut-free version, use silken tofu plus extra potato and 1 tbsp miso, but expect a noticeably different texture and flavour.
Do I have to bake it?
No — you can skip the oven and serve straight from the pan with the breadcrumb mixture toasted in a small frying pan and sprinkled on top.
How long does the sauce keep?
The sauce (without pasta) will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 48 hours; reheat gently with a little oat milk, stirring to recombine.
My sauce is grainy — what went wrong?
Graininess usually comes from under-soaked cashews or insufficient blending. Soak longer or blitz in a high-speed blender, and ensure the potato is very soft before blending.
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