One Pot Vegan Mac and Cheese without Cashews

This Macaroni and cheese recipe is the ultimate comfort food and guaranteed to be your new favourite recipe. It’s made without nuts, there’s no blending required, and it all happens in one pot! Prepare your taste buds for the best creamy vegan mac.

Next to my legendary queso Mac and cheese recipe, this has got to be up there with the ultimate comfort food. I used to make a slight variation to this years ago the second I dropped my bag from work, and even more-so when I was a kid after school. So you could say, I’m somewhat of an expert in the art of Mac and cheese, if not passionate! After years of being vegan, I can now assure you that if you follow the tips here, you’ll have a new bowl of pasta on rotation weekly.

Why this might be your new favourite vegan mac 

• No appliances required! Most vegan cheese sauce recipes require a high-speed blender to blend ingredients like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and cashews into a creamy sauce. I wanted to make a simple vegan mac and cheese recipe that was as easily accessible as possible.
• Made in one pot. This entire recipe comes together in 1 pot. That means no draining the pasta needed – easy to make and easy to cleanup!
• Tastes just like traditional mac! I’ve had a lot of vegan mac and cheese since going vegan (and even more before!), but this recipe is my absolute favourite! It has the best, velvety sauce and is truly the perfect vegan mac and is the base recipe for most of our vegan macaroni and cheese recipes on the blog!

The two pantry staples I won’t live without

Don’t get me wrong, all the ingredients to this recipe are necessary in my opinion for the best Mac and cheese! But when I was testing this, I didn’t want to use any nuts (Yes, we have an allergy in the house)! But to mimic that creamy texture and make this as simple to make as possible, i.e no blender, no strainer – these two ingredients stood out to me to be the most essential!

• Tahini – I’ve tested with and without, and every time I’ve left it out, the sauce falls a little flat, and a little less creamy. It adds a thick, velvety texture that clings beautifully to the pasta. Plus, I’ve found that it brings out some of that depth you can usually only get through butter and cheese.
• Nutritional Yeast – I always keep a jar of “nooch” in the pantry, and for good reason! In this recipe, I love how it adds that savoury, cheesy flavour that is so synonymous with the dish! It’s crazy how a few spoonfuls can bring it to taste like the Mac and cheese you grew up with.

Ideas for Serving

I often get asked “How can I get my kids to eat my meals at home” and I’m always hesitant to tell them how I really feel. That said, this trick worked for me as a kid! Instead of me suggesting what types of dishes go well with this deliciously savoury Mac and cheese recipe – let me tell you a few recipe to stir into your kids (or grownups that never really grew up, like me) meals to get them to eat their vegetables and “meats”!

• These hot “honey” dijon BBQ crispy tofu bites were everything to me when I was younger, and this spin on it is the perfect Mac and cheese mix in! Especially if the one you’re cooking for enjoys a little zing to their pasta!
• This one sounds a bit unorthodox, but glazed Spiced Carrots chopped and scattered throughout really hit the spot. Obviously it’s mainly due to the carrot glaze, but having something for it to latch on to that you want your kids to eat is the perfect hack!

Enjoy time and time, again!

Leftover cooked pasta can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. But in my experience, freezing leftovers is not recommended – It sometimes changes the texture of the vegan cheese sauce and It’s not my favourite. Good thing whipping up a batch in one pot is as easy as thawing leftovers!

Once leftovers are reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through, If the cheese sauce has thickened, feel free to add an additional splash of non-dairy milk to loosen it up again.

Vegan Mac and Cheese without Cashews Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 25 reviews

• Author: Olivia Biermann
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 3-4 servings
• Category: pasta
• Method: stovetop
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

This Macaroni and cheese recipe is the ultimate comfort food and guaranteed to be your new favourite recipe. It’s made without nuts, there’s no blending required, and it all happens in one pot! Prepare your taste buds for the best creamy vegan mac.

---

Ingredients

• 2 cups macaroni
• 3 cups water
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder (if you really like garlic add 1/2 tsp)

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup almond or soy milk
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup shredded vegan cheese
• pepper to taste

---

Instructions

1. To a large/medium pot, add macaroni, water, dijon, salt and garlic powder and stir well. Bring to a light boil, stirring frequently so it doesn’t stick. Cook until liquid is absorbed and pasta is cooked. If it starts getting sticky, you can add some splashes of extra water. Different brands of pasta may require more or less water, so have that extra 1 cup on hand to add in gradually just in case.
2. Meanwhile, stir together the almond milk, nutritional yeast, tahini and lemon juice until creamy.
3. When the pasta is cooked, add the sauce, vegan cheese and pepper and stir until cheese melts. Enjoy!

Notes

This is primarily a recipe where you need to stir and watch closely so as to know when to move to the next step. Heating the water to near evaporation and the sauce to the ideal creamy texture before removing from heat.

---

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 3-4 servings