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.
Ingredient FAQ
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 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.
Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe Q&A
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!
The sauce can be made gluten-free if you use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend instead of the regular flour. And then of course you can use a gluten-free macaroni. You would also need to use gluten-free bread for the crumb topping, or alternatively you could add vegan cheese to the top instead of breadcrumbs.
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.
Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 3-4 days.
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.
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Classic Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
For the Cheese Sauce:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 6 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- 5 cups Coconut Milk 3 cans (1200ml), Unsweetened*
- 1 cup Vegetable Stock (240ml)
- 3 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- 1 cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes (60g)
- 3 teaspoons Onion Powder
- 3 teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
For the Macaroni:
- 16 ounces Elbow Macaroni (450g)
For the Breadcrumb Topping:
- 3 Thick Slices White Bread Toasted, or 1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
- 2 Tablespoons 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.
Video
Notes
- If you want to replace the coconut milk with a different non-dairy milk such as soy milk then you definitely can. We have tested this recipe with soy milk and it works great.
- 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 your package of macaroni comes in 18 ounce (500g) bags, then that’s great, just use it all.
- If you’re using store-bought breadcrumbs then just eyeball it for the right amount to use so that it easily covers the top of your mac and cheese. In the case of panko breadcrumbs the amount to use is 1 cup.
- Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 3-4 days. It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
Julie says
Made this last night for dinner. It was so nice. We both loved it. I thought there might be too much mustard but it made it so nice and wasn’t overpowering at all. Only two of us so had lots left over and put it into the freezer. Dinner ready when I’m too tired to cook. Thanks for the lovely recipe.
Alison Andrews says
So glad you loved it Julie and the flavors came out just right! Thanks for the amazing review.
Diane K says
So so so good….I cut the recipe down by 1/3 since it was just for me. When I pulled it out of the oven, my husband, who LOVES cheese and dairy looked at it and said, oh I’ll try a taste. He also really liked it, and was genuinely surprised when I told him there was no cheese or dairy in it. The only change I made was to use plain Panko bread crumbs mixed with a little olive oil as the topping. I will never eat any other mac and cheese again.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks for the amazing review Diane!
Cass says
This recipe is delicious I was a bit cautious about the mustard (stirring in a bit at a time and tasting before adding more) because I was worried it would be overwhelming but I ended up with the whole 3 tablespoons. I used unsweetened soya but it still turned out ridiculously creamy and using a breadcrumb topping means you get a really nice mix of textures.
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it Cass! Thanks for the wonderful review.
Julia sinclair says
This was an excellent recipe. The perfect flavor and texture and dangerously delicious. I used unfortified nutritional yeast and panko bread crumbs. I highly recommend it!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Julia!
Holly says
It’s magical. Do yourself a favor and make this. It’s easy, tasty, and not crazy processed like all the other Mac and cheese recipies. We make this once a month or so and talk about it all the while in between. I use 2 cups of the store-bought panko bread crumbs and add 4 tablespoons of butter and a pinch of salt. It doesn’t taste like coconut at all (I was shocked the first time I made it!). I always use the Thai Kitchen unsweetened organic coconut milk.
Alison Andrews says
So glad you love it Holly! Thanks for the amazing review!
Suzanne Brady says
I was worried that the coconut milk would be overwhelming so I’m glad you wrote this review! Going to bring this to a cookout, very excited!
Recee Taylor says
This recipe was simply amazing!! I made this for my family for a “Only Sides” night, along with collard greens and baked beans. They absolutely loved it. My some at two huge portions of it. I used oat milk instead of coconut mile because we are not a fan of it. And it can our perfect. We also adde the Daisy Plant based cheddar cheese and it kicked it off even more! Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s now printed and in my recipe book❤️❤️❤️❤️
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Recee!
Li says
Just made this and it turned out amazing!! I didn’t have coconut milk so I used oatmilk and a little extra butter and it was perfect. I was just making a side for me and my sis who don’t do dairy so I used less pasta and saved the extra sauce in the fridge. Best decision I’ve made, I’ve been using it on everything as a cheese replacement and I swear I could just throw some broccoli in it and eat it with a spoon as soup.
Alison Andrews says
That’s awesome Li! So glad the sauce is turning out to have a few uses! Thanks for sharing and the wonderful review.
Rebecca says
I just made this with oat milk and it tastes great and thickened perfectly. I avoided lumps by stirring in steaming hot veggie stock with the melted vegan butter and flour before slowly adding the milk. Next time I think i will add more paprika (because i love it). I’m surprised at how cheesy and savoury this is.
I only used 400g of pasta and made up the difference with broccoli (cuz i’m healthy like that)
Will make again (and again and again). Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Rebecca!
Brianna Philpott says
I would recommend this recipe, although I don’t like the Dijon mustard in it so next time I’d go without that, it’s a little overwhelming if you don’t like it. Still very good
Colleen Finnegan says
I’d like some feedback on if this recipe tastes coconutty. I’ve read all the reviews and gotten a mixed message. I don’t mind using cashews but would like a recipe that is creamy and tastes close to the a cheese version of mac and cheese. Help needed Alison!
Alison Andrews says
You don’t have to use coconut Colleen, this recipe also works great with other plant milks like soy milk. 🙂
Holly says
This is our go-to mac and cheese recipe and it doesn’t even sort of taste like coconut milk. It’s all for the thickness and creaminess of the sauce. It’s hands down the best recipe I’ve come across for mac and cheese (non-dairy or otherwise). My dairy-eating people love it too! I don’t make any adjustments to the recipe and it’s perfect every time.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Holly!
Shilpa Sharma says
Alison, thank you so much for this recipe. I’ve been trying to find a vegan mac and cheese for over a decade that doesn’t use cashews or the fake vegan cheese. I don’t have aversions to those, but I’d just like something that’s simpler and nut-free.
I halved the recipe and tried this with unsweetened full fat Aroy-D coconut milk, and some oat milk. I found that it was coconutty, but absolutely delicious. I did add 2 t of ACV and also 2 t of miso paste, to give it an extra tang. I think Miso paste is a great substitute for anyone who can’t have Mustard.
I know that this is a recipe that I will come back to again and again. I’m going to try a few variations (with soy milk, with oatmilk), to see if it has a more neutral flavour. I will also try and get a can of the coconut milk you used, to see if that brand is more nuetral. As you can see, I can’t wait to make this again!!
Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Thank you so much for the wonderful review Shilpa! I’m so pleased you loved the recipe! And thanks so much for sharing your additions as well. 🙂
Ariane says
I love this recipe!
I have cooked it multiple time for my omni family and they loved it! I usually don’t like the taste of coconut, but I don’t mind it here!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Ariane!
Amanda says
I am surprised there aren’t more comments saying how strongly this recipe tastes like coconut. If that’s your thing, you’ll probably like it, but I found it pretty odd in mac ‘n’ cheese. That said, the texture was great.
Sheri says
So good!! All my dairy loving family and friends love it too! Today I subbed out the coconut milk with 1 1/4-1/2 cashews and 900ml veg broth. Put all of the sauce ingredients into a vitamix (omitted butter) turned on high until cashews were smooth (about 2 min). Put into pot to heat and thicken, added to lentil noodles and baked. SO GOOD and WFPB compliant! ❤️❤️❤️ thank you!!!
Alison Andrews says
Sounds great Sheri! Thanks for posting!
Molly says
I’ve made this recipe multiple times and I love it! My only question is what am I doing wrong that the sauce isn’t thickening? I have to put like triple the amount of flour to make it thicken
Alison Andrews says
So glad you like the recipe Molly! The sauce can take quite long to thicken and it is a lot of sauce! So I wouldn’t worry about it too much, if you’re getting it to work better with more flour and it still works out well then that’s great!