Most mac and cheese recipes go one of two ways when you take out the dairy. Either the sauce turns gritty the second it hits the pan, or it sets up into a gluey paste by the time the bowl reaches the table. This vegan mac and cheese avoids both, with a cashew cream that blends completely smooth and a splash of pasta water that keeps the sauce silky, so the noodles stay coated and saucy instead of cemented together.
The two fixes are small but they change everything. The cashews get a quick ten-minute simmer before they touch the blender instead of an overnight soak, which means sixty seconds of blending gives you a sauce with no grit at all. And the sauce comes together right back in the pasta pot over low heat, where the starchy pasta water helps it cling to every noodle instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
Vegan Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Method
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook it until just shy of al dente, about a minute less than the package directs. Scoop out 1 cup of the pasta water and set it aside, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
- While the pasta cooks, put the raw cashews in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer for 10 minutes until they're soft all the way through, then drain them well.
- Transfer the drained cashews to a blender and add the oat milk, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and turmeric. Blend on high for 60 to 90 seconds, scraping down the sides once, until the sauce is completely smooth. Rub a little between your fingers, if you feel any grit, blend it longer.
- Stir the lemon juice into the sauce, then pour the sauce over the drained pasta in the pot. Warm it over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce thickens and clings to the noodles. Loosen it with splashes of the reserved pasta water if it gets too thick.
- Taste, add more salt if it needs it, and finish with a few cracks of black pepper. Serve warm, straight from the pot.
Notes
Why the sauce can turn grainy
Gritty sauce is almost never the recipe’s fault, it’s a blending problem. Raw cashews straight out of the bag stay slightly firm in the middle no matter how long you blend them, which is why the ten-minute simmer matters. Once they’re soft through, a regular blender at 60 to 90 seconds should give you a completely smooth sauce.
A quick test takes five seconds. Rub a little of the finished sauce between your thumb and finger, and if you feel any sandy texture, give the blender another 30 seconds before you pour. The sauce also thickens as it sits in the hot pan, so loosening it with pasta water at the end is normal and not a sign that anything went wrong.
The plant milks that actually work
Oat milk is my default here because it’s neutral, slightly creamy, and never threatens to take over the flavor. Soy milk also works well and gives the sauce a bit more body. The ones to skip are the watery milks, thin rice or plain almond milk can leave the sauce a touch loose, and canned coconut milk makes the whole dish taste like coconut.
- Oat milk: best all-round, neutral and creamy.
- Soy milk: a little more body, works just as well.
- Almond milk: fine in a pinch, but use a splash less and loosen with pasta water instead.
- Canned coconut milk: too rich and coconut-forward for this sauce.
What I serve it with
This mac and cheese is the side dish I reach for when I want something starchy and comforting next to a lighter plate. It’s great with crispy tofu or roasted broccoli, and it holds its own at a cookout beside my vegan potato salad. On a cold weeknight I have also served it as a main with a bowl of vegan lentil soup, and it pairs well with a slice of homemade seitan if you want something hearty on the plate.
Leftovers and reheating
Vegan mac and cheese reheats better than its dairy counterpart because the cashew sauce re-emulsifies without splitting. Add a splash of oat milk or reserved pasta water, warm it in a pot over low heat or in the microwave in short bursts, and stir it back together until it’s hot and creamy again. Cold leftovers straight from the fridge are also genuinely good, so I will eat the rest of the bowl with a fork before it ever makes it to the stove.
FAQ
Why did my vegan mac and cheese turn gritty?
It almost always comes down to the cashews not being soft enough or the sauce not being blended long enough. The ten-minute simmer softens the cashews all the way through, and 60 to 90 seconds of high-speed blending should then give you a smooth sauce. Check by rubbing a little between your fingers, and if you feel any grit, blend for another 30 seconds.
Can I make this nut-free?
Yes, you can make it without nuts. Skip the cashews and build the sauce as a classic roux instead: melt 1/4 cup of vegan butter in a saucepan, whisk in 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour, and cook for a minute. Whisk in 2 cups of oat milk and simmer until thickened, then stir in the nutritional yeast, mustard, and seasonings, with a teaspoon of white miso for extra depth.
What pasta works best besides elbow macaroni?
Any short shape with ridges or curves holds this sauce better than long spaghetti. Shells, cavatappi, fusilli, and gemelli all trap the sauce in their nooks, so every bite gets coated. If you only have long pasta on hand, it still works, just use a little less sauce or more pasta water so it stays loose enough to coat.
