Vegan mac and cheese
A creamy, golden, genuinely cheesy-tasting sauce made from pantry staples and nutritional yeast, with no dairy and no blender.
- 25 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.17 a serving
- 500 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 12 oz elbow macaroni
- 3 tbsp vegan butter
- 2½ cups unsweetened soy milk
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp ground mustard
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt, plus ½ tsp
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Each serving has about 500 calories, 20 g protein, 74 g carbs and 13 g fat, and costs about $1.17 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No elbow macaroni? Penne works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon salt, cover and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cook the macaroni 1 minute less than the package says.
High heatTimer: 6 min
Meanwhile, the vegan butter in a medium over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute, .
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Slowly pour in the soy milk, the whole time, then cook 5 to 6 minutes, whisking often, until it bubbles and .
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Whisk the first splash of milk smooth before adding more. That’s how you stop lumps.in the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard, paprika, turmeric, vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt until smooth.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Low heat
Dolly’s tip: Nutritional yeast is the flaky yellow stuff in the spice or health aisle. It’s what makes this taste cheesy.the macaroni and stir it into the sauce, loosening with of soy milk if it’s thick. Taste for salt and serve.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Splash. A splash is a small, quick pour, about a teaspoon to a tablespoon. It’s there to loosen or brighten a dish, so the exact amount doesn’t matter.
How you’ll know: The dish looks a little looser or tastes a little brighter, not soupy.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
