The best, easy vegan mac and cheese recipe with broccoli, roasted sweet potato and cashews. So simple a kid could do it!
Vegan mac and cheese tastes amazing!
Not only that but is is also a nutritious meal you feel good about feeding your family, plus it only requires a few ingredients. You have whole grains, supernatural broccoli, roasted sweet potatoes, cashews, nutritional yeast and a few spices. Add a tomato salad on the side and dinner is served!
Sweet potato and butternut squash (even carrots & pumpkin) are totally interchangeable in this recipe, so feel free to swap one for the other if you like. I’ll usually roast a big batch of them to have for the week, so really whatever is in the fridge is going in here.
You can’t get this out of a cardboard box friends!
Simple stove top and blender dinner:
- Cook the pasta and broccoli in the same pot as instructed in the recipe.
- Whip up the cheese sauce in a powerful blender. A few minutes of simmering is all the sauce needs to become lusciously thick, creamy and cheesy thanks to the magic of nutritional yeast and tapioca. The Best!
- Mix everything together and dive into deliciousness.
It’s so delicious, I’m making it for Thanksgiving!
This Easy Vegan Mac and Cheese is Everything:
Healthy
Easy
Good for You
Tastes Soooo Good
No Bake, No Oil & Dairy Free
Wholesome From Scratch
Super Creamy.
Mac and Cheese Topping Ideas:
Fresh Chives & Parsley
Toasted bread crumbs
Avocado
More broccoli
Smoked Tempeh
Baby Spinach
Chili flakes
Pine nuts or pepitas
Roasted Veggies
FAQ: Can you freeze vegan mac and cheese ?
A: Not recommended, best served right away but it makes good leftovers.
How to Make Vegan Mac and Cheese:
Easy Vegan Mac and Cheese
The best, easy vegan mac and cheese recipe with broccoli, roasted sweet potato, nutritional yeast and cashews.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Soaking time 3 hours
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 378kcal
Ingredients
Vegan Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews (soaked)
- 1 cup roasted sweet potato -mashed
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 pinch chili powder (optional)
- 1.5 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2.5 tbsp tapioca
- 1 pinch sea salt to taste
- 2 cups water
Pasta
- 3/4 lb whole wheat elbow macaroni pasta
- 3 cups broccoli florets + more
Instructions
Make the Cheese Sauce:
- Rinse and soak the cashews in hot water for 20 minutes or in cold water overnight.
- Drain and rinse again then add them to a powerful blender together with the roasted potato, nutritional yeast, all the spice and water. Process until silky smooth.
- Transfer the cheese sauce to a medium pot and bring to a simmer. Stir well for a few minutes until thick and creamy. Remove from flame, taste and adjust seasonings with sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Cook the Pasta:
- Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a good pinch of salt (the water should taste like the ocean). Add the macaroni and cook for 2 minutes less than the instructions on the box say.
- Add the broccoli florets to the pot with the pasta and simmer together for 2 minutes. The pasta and broccoli should be perfectly cooked al dente at this point but give it a taste anyways. You don’t want to overcook them.
- Reserve one cup of the pasta water then drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander. Add them to the pot with the cheese sauce and toss everything to coat well. (Add a little bit of the reserved pasta water if needed to stretch out the sauce at this point).
- Serve hot topped with smoky tempeh bits or sesame tofu if desired.
Nutrition
Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 46mg | Potassium: 544mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3430IU | Vitamin C: 41.3mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 4.2mg
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Hi. I really want to make this but I simply cannot afford to buy nuts as it is too expensive here. Anything else I can substitute for the nuts?
Try replacing the nuts with cooked white beans instead, I think that would work nice.
This Mac and cheese was incredible, the picky eaters approve and I got them to eat all their broccoli too. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes Florentina, thank you for sharing this.
Hi. Your easy vegan Mac and cheese what is tapioca is it a flour
Thanks
Yes, it is flour from cassava root.