This classic vegan mac and cheese is ultra cheesy, saucy and creamy. Topped with breadcrumbs and baked until golden brown and crispy. Seriously satisfying.
This classic baked vegan mac and cheese is everything you want a mac and cheese to be.
It’s creamy, saucy, ultra cheesy and topped with a delicious crispy breadcrumb topping and baked to perfection.
This is really a ‘classic’ vegan mac and cheese recipe in the sense that a classic mac and cheese usually involves a bechamel sauce with heaps of cheese added to it, and then it’s placed into a dish and topped with breadcrumbs and baked.
And that’s really very close to what we did here.
We made a vegan bechamel sauce and added all sorts of cheesy flavorings to it in lieu of actual cheese so that even non-vegans will find this cheesy as all heck, and then we topped it with delicious breadcrumbs and baked it. Just like the classic version.
How to make Vegan Mac and Cheese
This vegan mac and cheese is ultra cheesy yet we did not use one shred of actual vegan cheese in it. So if you’re living somewhere where it’s hard to find vegan cheese in the supermarket, no worries, this recipe is for you.
I did try a version with some vegan cheese added to the sauce, and quite honestly I just didn’t think it worked as well as the version without, so this is it.
I created a bechamel sauce with some vegan butter, all purpose flour, coconut milk and vegetable stock and once that was thick and creamy like a white sauce should be, I added some cheesy flavorings in the form of dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
The spices in this sauce really make it, you won’t have any doubt that this is a cheese sauce. We used our cheesy garlic vegan alfredo sauce as major inspiration for this.
Add the cooked macaroni to your big pot of sauce and toss it all together and then transfer into a 9×13 baking dish, top with breadcrumbs and bake for 20 minutes until beautifully golden brown on top.
Super easy and extremely satisfying.
How to make Vegan Breadcrumbs
I made my own breadcrumbs for this which is easy and works great!
I toasted 3 thick cut slices of white bread and then broke them into pieces and put them into the blender. Blitzed them into breadcrumbs in the blender. Transferred to a bowl and added some melted vegan butter and tossed them up with it and then placed on top of the mac and cheese.
You can use brown or whole wheat bread but white bread actually works best for this recipe.
Vegan Mac and Cheese Q&A
What does Vegan Mac and Cheese Taste Like?
Like the best comfort food ever! It’s super cheesy and so close to the ‘real thing’ you might not even know it’s vegan. Seriously!
What can I use instead of vegan butter?
You can use a dairy-free margarine which is basically the same thing. Just read the ingredients of the margarines and find one that is dairy-free.
Alternatively you can make your own homemade vegan butter and use that in this recipe.
What kind of coconut milk did you use in this recipe?
I used full fat coconut milk that comes in cans. That created the richest sauce for this recipe. Definitely do NOT use any kind of coconut milk that is sweetened, that would not work in this recipe. It needs to be canned full fat unsweetened coconut milk. If you’re not a coconut fan then see below!
How can I make this vegan mac and cheese without coconut milk?
You can use soy milk instead of coconut milk, the end result is slightly less rich but you can definitely do it, I have tested it this way and it was great.
I have not tested any other plant milks and while almond milk may work fine, my only worry is that it will create a sauce that is a little thin.
Can this be made ahead?
Yes! If you need to make it ahead of time you can make up the sauce and macaroni up to 2 days before and mix it up and assemble in the 9×13 dish. Cover with foil and keep refrigerated.
Then when you’re ready to bake it, add the breadcrumbs and bake. In this case, since it is going into the oven cold from the fridge, add an extra 5 minutes of baking time.
Can I leave out the nutritional yeast?
The nutritional yeast really brings it with the cheesy flavor in this sauce! But yes you can leave it out without it ruining the recipe, but I do recommend you leave it in.
Can I make this vegan mac and cheese gluten-free?
The sauce can be made gluten-free if you use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend as a direct replacement or use cornstarch (if using cornstarch then use half the amount as called for in the original recipe). And then of course you can use a gluten-free macaroni. You would then need to use gluten-free bread for the crumb topping, or alternatively you could add vegan cheese to the top instead of breadcrumbs.
How long does Vegan Mac and Cheese Last?
Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Can you Freeze Vegan Mac and Cheese?
Yes you can! This freezes very well.
What goes with Vegan Mac and Cheese?
If you’re thinking of what to eat with vegan mac and cheese then there’s some great sides that go perfectly with this!
If you’re thinking in terms of comfort food then our vegan garlic bread or vegan cornbread is a perfect addition.
Some vegan coleslaw or a delicious vegan kale salad or black bean and corn salad would also go very well. If you’re looking for an appetizer then something like our vegan tomato soup or vegan tomato basil soup would fit the bill perfectly.
More vegan pasta recipes
- Our vegan butternut squash mac and cheese recipe is made with butternut squash and cashew nuts! It’s quite different to this one, and it’s not baked but it’s so good.
- Our vegan pesto pasta will not disappoint and is a wonderfully quick and easy recipe.
- Our vegan pasta bake is perfect for when you want to feed a crowd. Our vegan pasta salad is an ultra quick 15 minute recipe that you will love! And if you’ve ever been a fan of spaghetti bolognese then our vegan bolognese will be right up your street!
- And then our recipe for the easiest vegan lasagna is totally divine but we also have a recipe for the best vegan lasagna which is fancier but oh so worth it!
- Also check out our vegan mushroom stroganoff and our vegan mushroom pasta.
So let us know what you think of this classic baked vegan mac and cheese recipe in the comments and please rate it too! Thanks so much.
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Classic Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8
Description
This classic vegan mac and cheese is ultra cheesy, saucy and creamy. Topped with breadcrumbs and baked until golden brown and crispy. Seriously satisfying.
Ingredients
For the Cheese Sauce:
- 1/2 cup (112g) Vegan Butter
- 6 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 3 14oz (400ml) Cans Coconut Milk (1200ml in total)*
- 1 cup (240ml) Vegetable Stock
- 3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 cup (60g) Nutritional Yeast
- 3 tsp Onion Powder
- 3 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 and 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 and 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 and 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
For the Macaroni:
- 1 18oz (500g) Pack Elbow Macaroni*
For the Breadcrumb Topping:
- 3 Thick Slices White Bread (Toasted)
- 2 Tbsp Vegan Butter (Melted)
Instructions
- Add the vegan butter to a pot and let it melt. When it’s melted add in the all purpose flour and stir it vigorously with the melted butter.
- Then pour in the cans of coconut milk and the vegetable stock. Use a hand whisk to whisk out the lumps. Keep whisking until it starts to boil and then keep whisking for a few minutes after it has boiled until it thickens. It will continue to thicken as it cools, so it doesn’t have to be all the way there when you remove it from the heat, as long as it has thickened considerably from when you started.
- Remove it from the heat and add in the dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and whisk in. Now your sauce is ready, you can prepare your macaroni.
- Cook your macaroni according to the package directions and then rinse and drain.
- Add the cooked macaroni into the pot of sauce and toss it up with the sauce.
- Then transfer the macaroni and sauce to a 9×13 baking dish and smooth down.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Prepare the crumb topping by breaking up the 3 thick slices of toasted white bread and placing into the blender. Pulse blend until you have crumbs. Then transfer to a mixing bowl, and add in the melted vegan butter and toss up the crumbs with the melted butter.
- Place the breadcrumbs evenly over the top of the macaroni cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the topping is golden brown and crispy.
Notes
*If you want to replace the coconut milk with a different non-dairy milk such as soy milk then you would use 5 cups of soy milk to replace the 3 cans of coconut milk.
*The coconut milk must be canned full fat unsweetened coconut milk. I would never use a sweetened coconut milk for any recipe and have never used it. Canned full fat unsweetened coconut milk is the way to go. There is a link to a good brand in the ingredients list. Alternatively, use soy milk (as per instructions above).
*If you have someone to help you then you can work on the sauce and they can cook the macaroni at the same time. But the sauce is very ‘hands-on’ so if you’re on your own it works best to just focus on the sauce and then do the macaroni. But if there are two of you it will save considerable time to do both at once.
*You don’t have to use macaroni, you can use a different pasta but of course it should be one that is suited to this kind of meal, like penne or shells and not something like spaghetti or linguine.
*If you’re using store-bought breadcrumbs then you will need around 1 and 1/2 cups to 2 cups breadcrumbs for the topping.
- Category: Entree, Savory
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serve (of 8)
- Calories: 683
- Sugar: 5.3g
- Sodium: 856mg
- Fat: 38.7g
- Saturated Fat: 25.7g
- Carbohydrates: 66.3g
- Fiber: 3.6g
- Protein: 14.7g
Keywords: vegan mac and cheese
Hi! Is there anything I can substitute for Dijon mustard as my son is allergic?
Hi Chelsea, you can just leave it out! 🙂
This is a really great recipe! I’ve tried a ton and it’s in the running for my favorite now!
Mostly made it exactly but I only had 2 cans of coconut milk so I used one can full of almondmilk. It was still amazing! My very first impression of the taste was it’s a bit mustardy but otherwise perfect, so if you do sub your milks maybe go easier on the dijon. But I also probably didn’t flatten out my tablespoons, and anyway it was still delicious. Just follow the recipe you’ll be ok. If not hope this helps.
Can’t wait to eat the rest and will make again!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Kristen!
This is truly the best vegan recipe I have found! Trying to convince my husband to try vegan food has been somewhat difficult, however this recipe has changed all of that. He is now looking forward to trying out more of your delicious recipes. Thank you Alison for putting your heart and soul into making vegan dishes for us all to enjoy.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Maureen!
This is the best vegan mac and cheese I’ve ever had! I followed the recipe exactly (except I used panko instead of breadcrumbs) and it was decadent and delicious. I was afraid there was too much sauce when I mixed it with the pasta but the whole thing came out of the oven creamy and perfectly saucy. I’ll definitely be making this again.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Rebecca!
Could you make this in a slow cooker?
I made this for my brother in law (served in a tortilla topped with barbecue tofu bites and vegan cheddar shreds) and he LOVED it. He liked the sauce so much he even licked the whisk clean. I replaced the coconut milk with unsweetened oat milk and the sauce thickened nicely.
★★★★★
Perfect! Thanks so much Andi!
my new favourite meal to make! i’m a 15 yr old vegan of 2 years and i’ve never came across something this tasty and easy at the same time. its bussin
★★★★★
That’s awesome Maeve! Thanks so much!
My partner and I love making this, but when we used 3 cans of coconut milk it was a bit much in terms of flavour, and there was a LOT of oil swimming around. We substitute just any plant milk, usually cashew, and it works a lot better for us.
★★★★★
Great recipe! Easy to make and super delicious.
★★★★★
Thanks Kira!
Absolutely delicious! The breadcrumb topping made it. I also added blended boiled sweet potato and carrot to the mix and it went down a treat.
★★★★★
Sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing Kirsti!
Tasty dish, but rather rich and I only used 2 cans of coconut milk and one of soya milk!
I served this with petit pois in a garlic and red wine sauce. I have lots of left overs so will freeze for another time.
Thank you.
★★★★
I am admittedly new to vegan cooking but my family did not like this. Too oily/coconutty. I really don’t know what to expect regard vegan “cheese” but we did not get that cheesy taste from this one. We also had the burgers tho and they were very good.
★★
Sorry to hear it didn’t work out well for you! I think something may have gone wrong as this recipe usually works great! Glad to hear the burgers were good though.
Hands down one of the best dishes I’ve ever made. When I make it for non vegans they have no clue. I like to add a tablespoon or so of miso paste to deepen the flavor. I also bake it in a cast iron and top with scallions. So so so incredible thank you for this recipe ????
★★★★★
Thanks so much Emily! Miso paste is a great addition and scallions too! 🙂
Can I use an egg as a thickener or add in? I only need this to be dairy free.
It’s not necessary at all. But if you want to add it in, then sure. 🙂
I made this mac and cheese and it was so easy! The coconut milk does not overpower it at all. Even my husband loved it. I will definitely make it again. Thank you!
Awesome Karin! Thanks so much for sharing!