This creamy vegetable-based (NO butternut squash!) healthy and easy mac and cheese recipe is the last macaroni recipe you’ll ever need, take it from a mac and cheese connoisseur! Kids will love it too, they won’t be able to tell that the cheese sauce is cheese-free. Vegan + gluten-free + dairy-free.
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Mac and cheese is by far, my all-time favorite food!
My love for it started when I was just a wee little lass. I had no idea it would follow me into adulthood, but here we are. It’s comfort food, pure and simple.
I’ve never tried a mac and cheese that I didn’t like.
Wait, I take that back.
The first time that I tried to make it from scratch on my own was a huge fail! I didn’t know how to make a roux, I didn’t season the water for the noodles…it was a disaster. I ended up hungry and still craving mac and cheese with a sink full of dirty pots and pans. Ugh.
I’ve come a long way since then, mainly because I’m transitioning to being a full-time vegan, so I’ve pretty much cut cheese out of my diet.
I started out slowly by making butternut squash mac which cut the amount of cheese in half and substituted butternut squash for the rest. It was delicious but I needed to get rid of the rest of the cheese. I loved the butternut squash sauce but it just didn’t reheat that well. It would dry out and not stay saucy like mac an cheese should be.
I needed to try again.
The BEST Healthy and Easy Mac and Cheese Recipe
I’m so glad that I failed the first time and tried again because I ended up making the best vegan cheese sauce that I poured over (another childhood favorite) broccoli stuffed purple sweet potatoes! The sauce reheats really well, and with a bit of water, it’s just as smooth and creamy as the first time you make it.
I scratched the butternut squash and used potatoes and cashews instead to make it extra creamy + a couple carrots to give it the traditional yellow color.
I’ve had so much success using cashews in recipes that call for cheese, I just knew it would work in this easy mac and cheese recipe too. If you’re nut-free, don’t fret! I’ve also made this recipe using chickpeas in place of the cashews and it was just as delicious!
Other Popular Dairy-Free Cashew Recipes:
- Healthy cashew cream spinach artichoke dip (our favorite!)
- Rainbow cherry tomato pesto cream stuffed portobello mushrooms
- Dairy-free spinach artichoke dip stuffed shells
- Cashew cream broccoli salad
- Spicy Thai sweet potato noodles
- Vegan taco pasta
- Healthy cauliflower cashew cream Alfredo sauce
- Vegan beet pasta sauce
This veggie-loaded easy mac and cheese recipe will hit the spot and then some. It’s just as delicious as the cheesy comfort food I craved when I was little.
I promise you, the kids won’t even notice a difference! You can feel so much better about feeding them this healthy macaroni and cheese recipe instead of the processed junk version.
This creamy vegetable-based (NO butternut squash!) healthy and easy mac and cheese recipe is the last macaroni recipe you'll ever need, take it from a mac and cheese connoisseur! Kids will love it too, they won't be able to tell that the cheese sauce is cheese-free. Vegan + gluten-free + dairy-free.
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup raw cashews,
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (If the sauce is too thick, add 1/4 cup additional broth until you reach the desired consistency)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1 package of gluten-free elbow noodles (or regular whole wheat noodles)
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Saute the onions for 5 minutes in olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the diced potatoes, carrots, cashews, and 2 cups of water. Season the water with a pinch of salt.
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Bring the mixture to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and let it cook for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables have softened and the water is mostly absorbed. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool. (I try not to add hot vegetables to the blender, it's dangerous!)
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Add the cooled vegetables, paprika, garlic powder, dijon mustard, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, vegetable broth, salt, and pepper to the food processor. Blend on high until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
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Pour the sauce back into the pan and heat it up. Add the cooked macaroni noodles and stir to coat every noodle. Serve and enjoy!
- If you're nut-free, you can substitute a 1/2 cup of drained and rinsed chickpeas or cannellini beans for the cashews.
- You don't have to use gluten-free noodles, you can use any whole wheat, quinoa, rice-- or whatever your favorite variety is.
- When you reheat the leftover (if there are any!) add a little bit of water or veggie broth to help loosen up the sauce.
If you make this easy macaroni and cheese recipe please share it on Instagram and tag @StaceyHomemaker so I can see your delicious creation!
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What’s your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe? Let me know in the comments!
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Looks so delicious and creamy! Very imaginative and unique ingredients. I can’t wait to try this recipe on my family!
Thank you!
This looks SOOO yummy. And I think the only thing I’m missing is nuts or chickpeas! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you, Shannon!
That recipe looks perfect!
Thank you, Krysten!
My kids love mac & cheese so I’ll be giving this a try.
Belle
Thank you, Belle! I hope they enjoy it! =)
Wow – from the looks of those pictures, I never would have guessed there was no cheese in this dish. Looks yummy – I love cashews. Does it taste “nutty” at all?
Hi, Corey! Thank you! It doesn’t taste nutty at all, the cashews blend perfectly with the potatoes to give the sauce a super creamy texture!
I’ve been using cashew milk so much lately! It’s so great for mashed sweet potatoes! This mac and cheese looks bomb – pinning!
Yessss, I love mashed sweet potatoes! Thank you!
That looks so yummy! If you hadn’t said anything, I would totally think it was normal mac and cheese!
Thank you, Danielle! That’s why it’s perfect for the kiddos too!
YUM! Mac and Cheese is a weakness of mine!
Thank you, Jenn! Me too =)
Looks great. We’ll try it tonight for dinner. I have one question – after cooking the potatoes and onions, do I drain them or use the starchy water with the extra vegetable broth when I blend them with the spices and chickpeas/cashews? Thznks
Thank you, Penny! I only had a very small amount of water left in the pan after I cooked the potatoes and carrots but I did use a slotted spoon to scoop them out so I didn’t blend the cooking water into the sauce. Hope that helps, enjoy! =)
Thank you. There wasn’t much water left for me either. The kids enjoyed it.
I’m so glad they enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know =)
How would this work if I wanted to put it in the oven and bake it after it is all put together?
Hi, Sarah! I haven’t tried baking it so I can’t tell you for sure. However, if you do it I would add breadcrumbs and cover it with foil while it is baking (not too long) so it doesn’t dry out and then put it under the broiler for 1-2 min just to brown the crumbs.
I’ll try baking it the next time I make it and I’ll update the post! Let me know how it turns out if you try baking it, okay?! =)
Do you think any extra sauce can be frozen?
Hi, Kim! Sure, I think the sauce would freeze well. However, we didn’t have any extra, we like our mac pretty saucy not dry! Enjoy!
Omg! I’ve tried so many vegan cheese sauces now and this is by far the best. I originally used oil to sautée the onions and was afraid to omit it, but did today and sautéed the onions in veggie broth and it tasted exactly the same. I’ve made the sauce 3X in the last 2 weeks and use the sauce as an additional accompaniment to chips and salsa, on veggies etc. No one believes me their is no cheese in it. I did add about 4-5 tablespoons of nutritional yeast just to intensify the cheesy flavor. Great recipe and thank you!!!
Thank you so much for commenting, Jennifer! I’m so glad to hear that you like the mac and cheese, it’s my all-time favorite comfort food recipe! None of my friends or family can tell there’s no cheese in it either!
Thank you for this recipe – it’s sooo delicious! Its the healthy version of velveeta and a huge hit in our house!😀
Hi, Caitlin! I’m so glad you and your family enjoy the mac! Thank you so much for letting me know, you made my night!
I tried this recipe and it looked nothing like the picture. Not sure where I went wrong. I used chick peas instead of cashews. Was I supposed to soak the chic peas? The sauce turned out more of a purée than a sauce, I kept adding veggie broth but it never looked the same consistency as the picture of the sauce. Any suggestions? Also, my sauce was very orange and I did not add any extra carrots.
Hello! I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t turn out for you. I’ve made it with chickpeas before and while the sauce is a little bit thicker, you should be able to get it to a sauce-like consistency with additional vegetable broth.
Did you use a high-powered blender? If your blender isn’t strong enough it won’t break down the chickpeas enough to make the sauce smooth and creamy so maybe that’s why it’s more puree-like.
It’s also possible that the carrots you used were larger than the ones I used so you mac has a more intense orange color. Since you aren’t using cashews, I would try substituting/adding 1/4 of unsweetened coconut milk for vegetable broth. The white coconut milk should help to lighten the orange sauce. Let me know if that helps!
Hello! Love this recipe. Thank you for sharing. Just have a question….your recipe says to wait for the veggies to cook before processing. Do you have to wait? Can you start processing when hot?
Hi, thank you! I’m so glad you like it! If you have a processor/blender that can handle hot food then sure! I wait until they’re cool because my nutribullet doesn’t have a steam release. Once I tried to blend hot tomatoes for soup and it ended up all over me and the kitchen. Never again!
I want to start by saying I am a newer vegan (6 months) who always craves cheese. I will put in the work and time to make a vegan mac and cheese in order to get it just right. I tried this in hopes of it tasting perfect, and was a bit discouraged. I followed the recipe to the “T”, and although the sauce did taste good, it was hard to call it cheese. I altered it a bit and added a bunch more nutritional yeast, which for sure helped, and found myself adding a lot more salt, paprika, and another teaspoon of dijon. I got a little creative and added a large dollop of vegan cream cheese into the pan, which absolutely helped. Don’t get me wrong, this was the best cheese sauce recipe I’ve tried, and I loved that it was relatively healthy. I will keep this recipe with some additions, since it was truly flavorful. Definitely will make it again, and is for sure worth it.
Hi! Thank you for commenting, I appreciate the feedback! I’m glad you could make the recipe work for you! I hope you get to try some of my other recipes =)
I am going to try this for my grandson he is gluten, dairy and dye free. We have been buying a gluten free and dairy free Mac and cheese for him, very expensive. He does love Mac and cheese.
I am planning on using almond milk and chick peas. Will this freeze up well?
Hi Maureen! A few notes…
1) Make sure you use unsweetened almond milk.
2) If you make the sauce with chickpeas you may need to add additional almond milk to thin the sauce out a bit. I’ve gotten some feedback that said the chickpeas make the sauce a bit thicker than when it’s made with the cashews.
3) I haven’t tried freezing the mac yet so I can’t tell you for sure, my husband practically inhales it every time I make it. If you do freeze it, make sure to add almond milk or water so it doesn’t dry out when you reheat it.
Can I use coconut milk completely instead of the cashews/chickpeas? I tried reading through the post a couple times as well as the comments but couldn’t confirm this. Thanks!
Hi Kat, yes you can use unsweetened coconut milk instead of the cashews. The cashews just make it a little bit more creamy but it will still be delicious without them! Enjoy!
My daughter is allergic to dairy. I have been looking for a Mac and Cheese recipe that we can try with her, I can’t wait to try this. Since she will probably be the only one to eat it, and I would love to use it all up. Would you suggest making it all then freezing with the noodles, or freezing sauce. I could make noodles each time she needs it then (I try to have her follow daycare’s menu.. which can be tricky). We did try the stuffed shells recipe that you have with dairy free spinach artichoke dip in it. It was so good, we almost couldn’t make the shells because I just wanted to eat the dip 🙂
Hi Gina! I’m so happy that you liked the spinach dip, it’s one of my favorite recipes! I haven’t tried freezing the mac with the sauce (we usually eat it all within 2 days) but I would recommend freezing the sauce separate from the noodles and just cook the noodles as you need them so they won’t get mushy. I hope your daughter loves it as much as we do! Please let me know how it works out for you!