"This Can't Be Vegan" Non-Dairy Mac n Cheese

THERE ARE PROBABLY HUNDREDS OF NON-DAIRY MAC N CHEESE RECIPES ON THE INTERNET, THIS ONE JUST SO HAPPENED TO HIT AS TRADITIONAL MAC N CHEESE. 

A few years ago I shared a soy-free and oil-free non-diary mac n cheese recipe. It’s a great recipe and definitely a more affordable alternative to the recipe I share in this post. What makes this recipe pass as traditional mac n cheese is its decadence. The texture and richness of this mac n cheese are what make it stand out from the rest.

There are a ton of non-dairy cheese on the market, and I’ve done the trial and error of figuring out what cheese melts the best! I find most of my non-dairy cheese at Whole Foods but I’m certain the brand I use if offered at other retailers. I prefer to use cheddar, white cheddar, and colby jack cheese in my mac n cheese; provolone is a close alternative.

This mac n cheese is great any time of the year, but its certainly my most requested around the holidays! This dish is a great way to introduce the range of vegan and non-dairy meal options to curious family members and friends.

BRANDS

For cheese I use the Violife vegan cheese brand, it melts great. If you can’t find Violife the Whole Foods brand non-dairy cheese is an ok alternative.

When you try this recipe don’t forget to snap a picture and share it with me using the hashtag #plantbasedpath and tagging @PlantBasedBre across socials!

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Dairy-Free Mac n Cheese

Yield

4-5 servings

Author

Plant Based Bre

Ingredients

Sauce

• 2 russet potatoes
• 6 whole carrots, peeled
• 1 1/2 C nutritional yeast
• 3 tsp garlic powder
• 4 tsp onion powder
• 4 tsp no-salt seasoning blend
• 3 tsp no chicken seasoning salt
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 C Plant milk*
• 1 TBSP vinegar
• 1 C veggie broth

• Roughly 4 C cook noodles of your choice
• 2 1/2 TBSP non-dairy butter
• 10 oz cheddar cheese shredded (V)
• 4oz block of white cheddar cheese, shredded (V)
• 10 oz Colby Jack cheese, shredded (V)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place 1 1/2 C plant milk in a bowl with 1 tbsp vinegar. Stir well. Set aside.
3. Cook noodles according to packaging, drain water. Place cooked noodles into a bowl and mix in vegan butter. Set bowl aside.
4. Steam the carrots, onions, and potatoes until they’re soft enough to cut with a fork.
5. In a blender combine carrots, onions, and potatoes with seasoning. Add plant milk and veggie broth throughout the blending process until you reach the desired thickness, similar to pancake batter.
6. Combine the cooked elbow noodles, some shredded cheese, and cheese sauce in a bowl and gently mixed together. Layer your baking pan with noodles, cheese sauce, and shredded cheese until the baking pan is full. Top with shredded cheese.
7. Place the mix into an oiled baking pan**, covered, for 25 minutes on 350 degrees. For a crispy and golden brown top remove covering and turn your oven to a high broil and cook with the oven door ajar for 5 minutes.
8. Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes:

* I use unsweetened cashew or oat milk.

**I ’ve found that baking the mac and cheese in a glass container/baking pan works best.

*** The more cheese sauce you add between layers of pasta the cheesier and saucer the mac n cheese will be - not a texture of ‘baked mac n cheese

**** You can steam a whole onion and add it with the carrot and potato to make your cheese sauce. It will probably require you to add 1/4 C extra liquid (plant milk, veggie broth, water) to the blender.