The Best Vegan & Dairy Free Mac and Cheese

This is the best dairy-free mac and cheese recipe! It's so rich and creamy, and the sauce is ready in just 5 minutes. This healthy Mac and cheese is made with carrots, cashews, coconut milk and nutritional yeast to give it the best cheesy flavor, without any cheese!

Table of Contents

• Why you will love this recipe: 
• Ingredients and substitutions: 
• How to make (step-by-step):
• Top Tips:
• Recipe variations and add ins:
• How to serve:
• How to store:
• How to reheat:
• Frequently asked questions: 
• Other dairy free recipes you will love:
• Recipe

Why you will love this recipe: 

• The taste! This vegan Mac and cheese is so rich and creamy with the most amazing cheesy flavour. It's the ultimate comfort food.
• It's so quick and easy to make and the sauce is ready in less than 5 minutes!
• This Mac and cheese makes great leftovers and is perfect for meal prep.
• Not only is this homemade Mac and cheese dairy free but it's also vegan, gluten free, lactose free, paleo, plant based and Whole30 compliant.
• It's got hidden veggies in it, but don't worry, you can't taste them so it's a great way to get picky eaters to eat more vegetables.
• This vegan Mac and cheese is made with simple ingredients that you can find in any grocery store.

If you prefer a nut free cheese sauce to the vegan cashew cheese sauce in this recipe you can use my cauliflower cheese sauce instead.

Ingredients and substitutions: 

• Raw carrots - carrots help give this Mac and cheese a beautiful orange colour and add some sneaky veggies to this recipe. Instead of raw carrots you could also use cooked carrots to make this cheesy sauce.
• Coconut milk - coconut milk gives this lactose free Mac and cheese such a rich and creamy flavour, while keeping it dairy milk free. Be sure to use full fat and not low fat coconut milk for the best flavour. You could swap this for another dairy free milk or non-dairy milk such as unsweetened cashew milk or unsweetened almond milk. I do not recommend using oat milk or soy milk for this recipe as they are too sweet. 
• Cashews - raw cashews are such a great substitute for milk or cream in dairy free recipes. They blend beautifully to give this milk free cheese sauce the most delicious creamy texture. I have not tried swapping cashews with any other nuts or making this recipe nut free, and I do not recommend trying it. 
• Nutritional yeast - this is used to give this sauce a cheesy taste, without cheese and without dairy.
• Water - this is used to help thin out the sauce and give it that perfect creamy texture. 
• Lemon juice - fresh lemon juice helps balance out all the flavours in this Mac and cheese. Instead of lemon juice you can use apple cider vinegar. 
• Garlic - a fresh garlic clove adds even more flavour. Instead of fresh garlic you could use a teaspoon of garlic powder.
• Seasonings - sea salt and mustard powder combine perfectly to give this cheesy sauce the best taste!

How to make (step-by-step):

Step one:

First, cook the pasta as per the package directions.

Step two:

While the pasta is cooking make the cheese sauce by placing all the ingredients into your high-speed blender.

Step three:

Then blend the ingredients until you have a smooth sauce.

Step four:

Once the pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse the cooked pasta and put it back into the pot. Then pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and stir it all well to coat the noodles in the sauce. Then serve and enjoy!

Recipe variations and add ins:

• To make this a dairy-free and gluten-free Mac and cheese: use gluten-free pasta noodles. 
• If you can't have coconut milk I would try substituting with unsweetened cashew milk or almond milk instead.
• To make this Mac and cheese paleo: use noodles that are grain free. Some options include zucchini noodles, carrot noodles, sweet potato noodles or heart of palm noodles.
• To make this into Whole30 Mac and cheese: Use vegetable noodles. Options include carrot noodles, sweet potato noodles, parsnip noodles or zucchini noodles. Noodles made from heart of palm would also work!
• If you want to make the sauce even creamier you can add a couple tablespoons of olive oil or vegan butter. 

How to serve:

This vegan Mac and cheese is best served when the noodles are still hot. You can serve it as is, or top it with your favourite sauce such as ketchup, dairy free sour cream, or even hot sauce. To make it even more cheesy you could also top your dish with vegan parmesan cheese. 

How to store:

Store any leftover sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. 

This dairy free macaroni and cheese also freezes really well for up to 3 months. After freezing, let it thaw completely in the fridge before reheating.

How to reheat:

To reheat this Mac and cheese, warm the leftovers in a microwave for a few minutes or in a pot on the stove. Stir in a little warm water or non-dairy milk to thin out the sauce if needed.

Frequently asked questions: 

Other dairy free recipes you will love:

• Paleo Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli
• Mexican Cauliflower Rice with Shrimp
• Vegan Alfredo Sauce
• Whole30 Meatloaf with Blueberries
• Teriyaki Broccoli Stir Fry

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