The very best and most delicious baked mac n cheese you’ve ever had!! The perfect vegan dish to bring to holidays.
Skip to Recipe.
Welcome to Thanksgiving month! Who doesn’t love baked mac n cheese? I never considered mac n cheese as a staple for holiday meals until I met my husband and I realized there is a whole southern world of mac n cheese-loving people who have prized recipes for the mac n cheese that they proudly bring to their family get-togethers.
My mother-in-law has the best recipe and right after I got married I got it from her and would make it for my husband for any special event. It’s basically his favorite meal. But since becoming vegan I just couldn’t find a recipe that I liked or that even resembled his mom’s mac.
Enter my own creation: a creamy baked mac n cheese that has that crispy topping once baked and has that nostalgic warmth we all love around the holidays. I’ve recently nailed down my vegan ricotta recipe and realized with a few small changes I could make a similar ingredient to replace the cottage cheese found in the original baked mac recipe I used to use.
Please give this one a go and let me know what you think!
Ingredients list:
- Macaroni noodles – Any brand will do, even gluten-free.
- Vegan Mozzarella/Cheddar – I used two small bags of shredded simple truth mozzarella and cheddar.
- Vegan Butter – I always like to use Miyoko’s Creamery, but any vegan plant butter will do. This will be used to make the roux.
- Flour – I always use King Arthur. Even gluten-free will work in this recipe. The flour is just to create a roux.
- Oatmilk – this is a very neutral milk and won’t make the mac n cheese become overpowered with other flavors.
- Silken tofu – this is a key ingredient for the cheese sauce. Make sure you get silken tofu, as its softer and more creamy than other more firm tofus. You don’t want chunks of firm tofu in your mac n cheese!!
- Nutritional yeast – This helps give the sauce a bit more of a cheesy taste.
- Seasonings – I used garlic salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of Italian seasoning. You really only need a little of each for this recipe.
Detailed Instructions:
- Cook macaroni – Fully instructions on the macaroni box.
- Make the roux – Using a medium-sized pan, heat to medium temperature on your stove. Add two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of flour. Stir until it forms a creamy and thick paste.
- Pour in milk – Slowly pour in the milk and whisk until completely combined.
- Add cheese and nutritional yeast – Pour in the cheese and yeast and stir again. It will take some time for the vegan cheese to dissolve, but you want to make sure it is mixed well with the other ingredients.
- Add silken tofu – Mix in the silken tofu and stir regularly until everything is dissolved and they form a creamy cheese sauce.
- Seasonings – Add the seasonings to taste and test the flavor before you add too much. You don’t want a salty mess on your hands. Really only a little bit of salt will do.
- Combine all ingredients – Once the noodles are done and the cheese sauce is ready, combine both together and stir until mixed well. Pour them into a 13×9 baking dish.
- Bake – Set oven to 350° and bake for 20 minutes.
- Serve and bask in the glory that is this vegan mac n cheese!
Recipe List
Ingredients:
- 32oz Macaroni
- 2 tbps vegan butter
- 2 tbps flour
- 1 cup oatmilk
- 8oz vegan mozzarella
- 8oz vegan cheddar
- 16oz package silken tofu
- 1 tbps nutritional yeast
- seasonings – garlic salt, pepper, italian seasoning (to taste)
Instructions:
- Set oven to 350°
- Cook macaroni according to box instructions.
- Combine flour and butter to make the roux. Stir until ingredients combine completely.
- Pour in milk and stir.
- Add cheeese and nutritional yeast and make sure everything is mixed evenly.
- Add silken tofu and stir into everything is dissolved.
- Taste test cheese mixture and add seasonings as needed.
- Combine noodles and cheese sauce and pour into 13×9 baking dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes and serve.
