The ultimate dairy free mac and cheese recipe with potato and carrot packed full of savory umami flavor from aromatics, miso and nutritional yeast. Super easy to make, creamy, luscious and out of this world delicious!

Best Dairy Free Mac and Cheese

This creamy and cheesy vegan mac and cheese from scratch is made with tons of nutritional yeast and absolutely no dairy. The silky cheesy sauce is also nut free (no cashews), gluten free and outrageously delicious, even your picky eaters will go back for seconds. Serve it sprinkled with crispy roasted broccoli and baked tofu sausage bits for the ultimate pasta dinner both grown ups and kids will love.

The Dairy Free Cheese Sauce

Potatoes – Use a waxy Golden variety, scrubbed and rinsed well, for best results peel them first so you don’t affect the color of the sauce.
Carrot – For mild sweetness, gorgeous color and body, don’t forget to peel first.
Nutritional Yeast – Umami, cheesiness and a dose of B vitamins delivered straight into your sauce.
White Miso – For saltiness and deep umami, you can use a soy or chickpea based miso but make sure it is white so as to not affect the final golden color of your mac and cheese. We eat with our eyes first!
Onion + Garlic – Sautéed aromatics until softened purely to serve as flavor base, they will get blended in with everything else and no-one will know they are there.
Lemon – Freshly squeezed to balance the flavor profile of all the savory ingredients.
Spices – Dried onion and garlic and touch of dijon mustard for extra layers of flavor.
Olive Oil – use your good cold pressed extra virgin for this, it makes your sauce extra rich, flavorful and luscious. I only used 1/4 cup but if you’d like to make it oil-free you are welcome to replace it with extra water.
Water – reserve some of the water you boiled the veggies in as it contains both flavor and nice starches that will enhance the creaminess of the sauce.
Sea Salt + Black Pepper to taste – remember to taste as you go as there’s plenty of umami and saltiness from the miso paste already.

About the Pasta

Choose a small shape like lumache, shellbows, shells, or macaroni with ridges cooked al dente. Pasta rigate helps hold tons of extra sauce in its little crevices and we all know it’s all about that sauce. Cook just until al dente and start with a great quality bronze dyed, 100% durum wheat semolina pasta which has a rough porous texture that helps the sauce stick to it beautifully.

On Storage + Reheating

Refrigerate any leftovers already portioned in individual lidded glass containers up to 5 days (just because I’m not the FDA). Reheat in the microwave oven or in a skillet on the stove top adding a splash or two of water to loosen it up.

Serving Suggestions

Crispy Baked Tofu that taste like Italian sausage
Vegan Chorizo
Steamed or Roasted Broccoli
Vegan Ribs
Vegan Chicken Cutlets
The Best Seitan
Jackfruit Meat
These Fried Mushrooms
Vegan Scallops
Lentil Loaf
Vegan Steak.

how to make the best dairy free mac and cheese

5 from 1 vote

Dairy Free Mac and Cheese (with Potato & Carrot)

Ultimate dairy free mac and cheese with potato and carrot packed with savory umami flavor from aromatics, miso and nutritional yeast. Creamy, luscious and out of this world recipe for any occasion.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:15

Cook Time:15

Total Time:30

Ingredients

3 cups gold potatoes (aprox.4 medium gold potatoes)
1 large carrot peeled
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp white miso paste
1 small yellow onion sautéed
3 garlic cloves minced
1/2 lemon juiced
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp dijon
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 cup reserved starchy boiling water from the potatoes +carrot
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or extra water
S & P to taste
1 lb lumache pasta
1 lb broccoli florets (optional) steamed (FAST Broccoli Note —— Place the broccoli florets in a pot. Boil water in a teakettle and pour over the broccoli florets, cover with a lid and let it sit while you work on your pasta).

Instructions

Scrub and rinse the gold potatoes and cut them into small dice. Peel and rinse the carrot and dice. Add to a medium pot and cover with cold water by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil, add a big pinch of salt and cook until the veggies are soft. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water then drain your veggies.
3 cups gold potatoes, 1 large carrot
Meanwhile preheat a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion in a drizzle of olive oil until softened and it starts to get some color. Stir in the garlic and sauté just until fragrant. Remove from heat and transfer to a powerful blender together with 1/2 cup of the reserved veggie water.
1 small yellow onion, 3 garlic cloves, 1/2 cup reserved starchy boiling water from the potatoes +carrot
Add the olive oil, lemon juice, potatoes, carrot and spices to the blender and puree until silky smooth. Add more water or olive oil as needed to create an emulsion. (Use the tamper if need be to get things moving). Taste and adjust seasonings with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 2 Tbsp white miso paste, 1/2 lemon, 1 Tbsp onion powder, 1 tsp dijon, 1/4 tsp granulated garlic, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, S & P to taste
Boil the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl or back into the pasta pot. Pour in the cheese sauce and combine well until everything is coated really well. Mix in the broccoli after draining it well. (Note: If for some reason the sauce seems loose just turn the heat back on and gently cook everything together for a couple more minutes. Cover with a lid and let the pasta soak up the sauce for a few minutes until thick and creamy.
1 lb lumache pasta, 1 lb broccoli florets (optional)
Serve with steamed or roasted broccoli florets and baked tofu sausage bits on top.

Video

Notes

Storage - Refrigerate any leftovers already portioned in individual lidded glasses containers up to 5 days (just because I'm not the FDA). Reheat in the microwave oven or in a skillet on the stove top adding a splash or two of water to loosen it up.
Nutritional Yeast - Umami, cheesiness and a dose of B vitamins delivered straight into your sauce.
White Miso - For saltiness and deep umami, you can use a soy or chickpea based miso but make sure it is white so as to not affect the final golden color of your mac and cheese. We eat with our eyes first!

Nutrition

Course: pasta

Cuisine: European

Keyword: dairy free mac and cheese, Vegan Mac and Cheese

Servings: people

Calories: 581kcal

Author: Florentina

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