Vegan Macaroni and Cheese begins with a no-cook dairy-free, yogurt miso mac and cheese sauce, that you stir into the gluten-freepasta, or not, your choice!
- Gluten And Dairy Free Mac And Cheese Recipe Baked
- Gluten And Dairy Free Mac And Cheese Recipes
- Gluten And Dairy Free Mac And Cheese Recipe
Creamy Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese with Stovetop & Casserole Options. This easy, cheesy, recipe is not only dairy-free, it’s also vegan, soy-free, and optionally gluten-free. The sauce is made without any type of soy and is completely free of flours and starches. The cashews act as a natural thickener while providing a rich, creamy finish. May 27, 2020 Set aside. In an oven-safe 10' or larger skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir until no pockets of flour remain and the flour taste cooks out–one minute. Add the milk and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the salt, pepper and mustard powder.
Before we dive into some gluten-free pasta varieties to use in this plant-based and dairy-free mac and cheese recipe, let’s talk cheese!
Let’s be real; cheese is the most likely the reason you’re reading this recipe.
We know that you want to know how to get to the cheesy flavor using plant-based vegan ingredients, and you are not alone. We all want to get to the cheesiness while keeping every last drop of the dairy-free mac and cheese sauce, one-hundred percent whole food plant-based, gluten-free, and healthy!
How to: Accomplish the Cheese Flavor in this Gluten-Free Vegan Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
Have you ever tasted something that reminded you of something else you’ve eaten? That’s what happens when you get ahold of high quality, vegan, dairy-free yogurt.
The first time we tried Kite Hill brand plain plant-based vegan yogurt, we thought of sour cream and cream cheese. Needless to say, we quickly became huge fans of that brand and especially the plain dairy-free yogurt.
Then we started playing around with recipes to make vegan yogurt at home.
While we aren’t quite ready to share our version on homemade plant-based vegan dairy-free yogurt, you can bet that we will soon!
Until then, you’ve just got to try the Kite Hill brand and let us know what it tastes like to you.
And after you fall in love with the tang of it, try this Vegan Macaroni and Cheese recipe. Finally, after all of that fun, leave us a comment on the recipe and tell us about your experience!
Try mixing a dab of miso into the plain vegan yogurt and give it a taste. Then, add in some nutritional yeast and a drizzle of tahini and BAM, the cheese taste shines through!
And then, blend all of that with the softened raw cashews and a couple of other ingredients and prepare to smile – wide.
DELICIOUS Ways to Use This NO-COOK Mac and Cheese Sauce!
Of course, we want you to use this gluten-free Vegan Macaroni and Cheese recipe exactly as we are sharing it. But let’s take it a step further and think of additional DELICIOUS ways to use this no-cook dairy-free, yogurt, miso, mac and cheese, sauce!
- Use this no-cook sauce to dress up roasted vegetables.
- Drizzle it across a plate of air-fried potatoes, yum!
- Stir this dairy-free yogurt miso mac and cheese sauce into your favorite rice.
- Did we mention mashed potatoes? Add some cheesiness to smashed spuds!
Don’t you love it when that happens?
Wow, we haven’t even turned on the stove, and here we are, wowed by the way we arrived at the umami cheese taste that we once believed only to come from dairy.
We’re standing in our kitchen, tasting what we would never have thought possible. A vegan mac and cheese sauce that is ready to stir into gluten-free pasta, or other pasta of choice, and chow down!
By the way, for whatever it’s worth like the old song says, the cheese most definitely does stand alone. Nothing compares to the desired flavor profile of cheese. That’s why we get so excited when we get even close to accomplishing such a thing completely dairy-free!
Gluten-Free Pasta Options We LOVE!
While you do not have to use a gluten-free pasta to enjoy the vegan mac and cheese sauce in this recipe, our recipes have gluten-free ingredients because it is what we prefer. That said, use any pasta you like. Our goal is to provide you with the beautiful no-cook, vegan, mac and cheese sauce to use as you please.
There are all sorts of gluten-free pasta available these days. At nearly every grocery store, there is a variety of choices, including everything from a pasta made of beans to pasta made of rice. Rice is the type of gluten-free pasta we use in this recipe for Vegan Mac and Cheese.
There are a few different brands of rice pasta that we use most often. The first brand is Tinkyada. You can click on this link to purchase the Tinkyada pasta we used in this recipe shoot.
Thrive Market offers another brand we like. We’ve shopped with Thrive Market for years and feel confident sharing it as a shopping source. And as plant-based and gluten-free, vegan consumers, we’re especially pleased with their attention to labeling. Their in-house brand is the other rice pasta that we like to use. It cooks nicely, even when we want to keep things al dente, which we appreciate.
MORE Plant-Based, Vegan and Gluten-Free Cheese Recipes For You – ENJOY!
Thank You for Being Here!
We take the time to thank you at the end of each post for a good reason. You, the reader, cook, explorer of all things new and exciting in vegan plant-based flavor land, are the reason we do what we do.
More than that, you are the reason we enjoy doing what we do. We believe we are supposed to share what we learn about plant-based living with you so that eventually, everyone will get to know that they can eat healthy veggie-based food without sacrificing an ounce of flavor or pleasure!
So thank you for following on the social media platforms you enjoy most. And thank you all, so much for commenting here on the blog and for sharing our recipes on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and over dinner when you invite friends to try one of your delicious, homemade, plant-based vegan meals.
Happy Eating!
- 10
- 20Cook Time:
This no-cook combination of plant-based ingredients creates incredible vegan cheesiness that’s quick, easy, and ready to stir into your favorite macaroni in a flash! This recipe makes enough for eight generous one-cup servings of pasta and sauce. The sauce portion provides four fabulous cups of no-cook sauce, which is plenty to cover a one-pound dry package of prepared macaroni or other pasta. And one-pound of uncooked small to medium pasta shapes, such as macaroni equals, 8 cups, cooked.
Ingredients
- prepared pasta of choice - We use Tinyada brand brown rice pasta to keep our vegan mac and cheese gluten-free.
- 1 cup of raw cashews, soaked and drained
- 1 cup of unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 cup of plain plant-based yogurt
- two cloves or so of garlic, peeled
- A generous 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, if preferred
- 4 to 5 tbsp of nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 tbsp of tahini
- about 1/4 tsp of ground turmeric
- 3 tsp of miso- We enjoy the results of using this organic brand.
- 1/4 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt, or another salt, more or less to taste
- additional toppings: freshly ground black pepper, tomatoes, fresh herbs such as parsley, our oil-free Cashew Parmesan Cheese Topping, or Pine Nut Parmesan, fresh basil and oregano
Instructions
- Once you've soaked your raw cashews for 20 minutes or so, you're on your way to this excellent no-cook blender sauce!
- Place all of the ingredients, except the miso and salt, in a high-speed blender, such as the refurbished model we use by Vitamix.You could also use an immersion blender or food processor if your cashews are nicely soaked. No matter which blending tool you use, combine the ingredients until you achieve a creamy, rich, decadent tasting sauce!
- Now, add in the miso a teaspoon or so at a time and blend just until it's incorporated. Taste, and add the next spoon of miso, or not and then add the salt, adjusting seasonings to your preference. Stir the seasoned sauce into your prepared and drained macaroni of choice. We usually serve this alongside a heaping helping of roasted vegetables or a big bowl of greens. Come to think of it, our favorite way to enjoy mac and cheese alongside roasted broccoli with garlic - we're going to have to make a meal-in-a-bowl post of that combo!
Notes
- Soaking is everything when it comes to accomplishing a creamy no-cook sauce. Be sure to soak your raw cashews for 20 minutes or so, or even as long as overnight.
- You'll achieve the creamiest texture of sauce by using a high-speed blender.We purchased a refurbished VITAMIX about six years ago, use it multiple times daily, and it is still going strong!
- In this and all of the recipes you try, remember to taste and adjust amounts of flavor-enhancing ingredients such as garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, to preference before serving.
- Since we enjoy saving money on preferred organic ingredients, we searched and found the following bulkopportunities for ingredients in this recipe: here is the non-fortified brand, of nutritional yeast; it's like getting one bag for free • and here's a bulk buy deal on the organic tahini • our favorite organic spice brand offers this bulk buy deal on three bottles of turmeric • and since so many dairy-free recipes call for blending cashews, why not take advantage of this fantastic bulk buy on organic cashew pieces?
- Total Fat 13.9 g21 %
- Saturated Fat 2.2 g11 %
- Cholesterol 0 mg0 %
- Sodium 208.7 mg9 %
- Carbohydrates 52.3 g17 %
- Fiber 5.2 g21 %
- Sugar 1.9 g---
- Protein 11.5 g23 %
- Vitamin A 2 %
- Vitamin C 1 %
- Iron 19 %
- Calcium 9 %
BY VEEG.CO
Ingredients
- prepared pasta of choice - We use Tinyada brand brown rice pasta to keep our vegan mac and cheese gluten-free.
- 1 cup of raw cashews, soaked and drained
- 1 cup of unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 cup of plain plant-based yogurt
- two cloves or so of garlic, peeled
- A generous 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, if preferred
- 4 to 5 tbsp of nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 tbsp of tahini
- about 1/4 tsp of ground turmeric
- 3 tsp of miso- We enjoy the results of using this organic brand.
- 1/4 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt, or another salt, more or less to taste
- additional toppings: freshly ground black pepper, tomatoes, fresh herbs such as parsley, our oil-free Cashew Parmesan Cheese Topping, or Pine Nut Parmesan, fresh basil and oregano
Instructions
- Once you've soaked your raw cashews for 20 minutes or so, you're on your way to this excellent no-cook blender sauce!
- Place all of the ingredients, except the miso and salt, in a high-speed blender, such as the refurbished model we use by Vitamix.You could also use an immersion blender or food processor if your cashews are nicely soaked. No matter which blending tool you use, combine the ingredients until you achieve a creamy, rich, decadent tasting sauce!
- Now, add in the miso a teaspoon or so at a time and blend just until it's incorporated. Taste, and add the next spoon of miso, or not and then add the salt, adjusting seasonings to your preference. Stir the seasoned sauce into your prepared and drained macaroni of choice. We usually serve this alongside a heaping helping of roasted vegetables or a big bowl of greens. Come to think of it, our favorite way to enjoy mac and cheese alongside roasted broccoli with garlic - we're going to have to make a meal-in-a-bowl post of that combo!
Notes
- Soaking is everything when it comes to accomplishing a creamy no-cook sauce. Be sure to soak your raw cashews for 20 minutes or so, or even as long as overnight.
- You'll achieve the creamiest texture of sauce by using a high-speed blender.We purchased a refurbished VITAMIX about six years ago, use it multiple times daily, and it is still going strong!
- In this and all of the recipes you try, remember to taste and adjust amounts of flavor-enhancing ingredients such as garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, to preference before serving.
- Since we enjoy saving money on preferred organic ingredients, we searched and found the following bulkopportunities for ingredients in this recipe: here is the non-fortified brand, of nutritional yeast; it's like getting one bag for free • and here's a bulk buy deal on the organic tahini • our favorite organic spice brand offers this bulk buy deal on three bottles of turmeric • and since so many dairy-free recipes call for blending cashews, why not take advantage of this fantastic bulk buy on organic cashew pieces?
Have you had good gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese since going GF? Today, I’m here to help with an easy and wonderful recipe for Mac and Cheese. Extra Cheesy Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese.
My mom has traditionally been the one who makes Macaroni and Cheese for all our family gatherings. She started making gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese during the holidays several years ago so that I could enjoy it with everyone else. I was so grateful, especially because I know my mom can make it truly safe for me. (As we know, not everybody understands how to do that.)
This year at Thanksgiving, Mom wasn’t planning to make Macaroni and Cheese. She told us that her contributions to Thanksgiving for our driveway sharing of menu items before eating safely on our own would be mashed potatoes and deviled eggs.
And we were quite happy that she chose to make those two dishes as both are much-loved recipes of hers. As an added bonus, she’s been making her mashed potatoes without dairy whenever Son will join us at the table and they’re always as delicious as ever.
However, Mom has not ventured into making her Macaroni and Cheese dairy free. I get that. Using dairy-free “cheese” successfully in recipes can be more complicated—sometimes a lot more complicated—and dairy-free cheese is not always readily available in our area.
Son requested gluten-free, dairy-free Mac and Cheese this year so I decided to break my personal hiatus from making Macaroni and Cheese and make a version that he could enjoy. Because my mom always delights us with her recipe, I’ve only made the classic dish myself a handful of times.
Surprisingly, the last time I remember making it, I actually made it in the microwave. It was my same basic recipe, with an attempt to expedite its completion by using the microwave. It worked but quite unsurprisingly, it didn’t have that same baked goodness without actually being baked in the oven.
So, I planned to skip the microwave this time and make a gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese dish that would taste wonderful whether it was made with “regular”—aka dairy-full cheese—or dairy-free cheese.
I also have strong opinions on Macaroni and Cheese recipes and which ingredients should be included—or which ingredients should be left out. I’m a big fan of recipes that focus on the macaroni and the cheese. I’m not as keen on recipes that have a bunch of other add-ins.
I’m not saying that Macaroni and Cheese recipes that include other ingredients like eggs and gluten-free flour can’t be delicious. I’m sure there are many such recipes that are special but as always on gfe, I like to keep things as simple as possible.
But because I was making a dairy-free version for us, I wanted to be sure that the cheese factor lived up to our expectations. At the last minute, that meant adding three different kinds of cheese—ones that I had on hand—and the combination of those cheeses with the usual basic ingredients in my Macaroni and Cheese worked. They worked so very well!
At the last minute, Mom actually did make her gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese this year and gave us a small container to take home. We all ate the Mac and Cheese recipe that I’d made for our Thanksgiving meal but later when the leftovers came out, Son’s girlfriend ended up eating Mom’s Mac and Cheese.
She loved it—as she has always loved all of Mom’s cooking—but she reported that it was not quite as good as my Extra Cheesy Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese. Wow.
Hearing her review, I beamed of course. Admittedly, I think the fact that three different types of cheese are used in this recipe definitely take it up a notch.
Oh, and we all agreed that we would never share the “even-better-than-Grandma’s” assessment with Mom. Never ever. So, keep that tidbit quiet! Please.
I apologize for the lack of photos of this dish but we felt famished by the time we got home from our visit and quickly chowed down on our Thanksgiving meal. It was only when we were re-heating leftovers that I had time to snap photos—and that was of a single serving after reheating.
Of course, I could make you wait until I make this Mac and Cheese again and have time to take lots of photos but I really don’t want to do that. Because you’ll want to make this recipe soon!
It should not be reserved just for holidays and other special occasions either but it is certain to make any meal special. And that’s always a good thing in my opinion.
Plus, we officially head into Winter next week and winter is the ultimate season for enjoying comfort food. This Extra Cheesy Macaroni and Cheese is Comfort Food with a capital “C” and a capital “F.” Enjoy!
Oh, and try to stay warm and cozy like my grand dog, Mochi, clearly was at the moment I took this photo. As you can see, as soon as Mochi left the spot but only after I turned the heater off, Dozer took her place. With his size and all his magical fibers of joy and love flying around, I’m really glad he waited until the heater was turned off!
More Gluten-Free Comfort Food Dishes
A Few of the Comfort Food Dishes on gfe
~ Chicken and Rice Casserole
~ Creamy Slow Cooker Swiss Steak
~ Easy Mexican Casserole
~ Pot Pie
Some Gluten-Free Comfort Food Dishes from Friends
~Brisket and Cornbread Casserole
~ Cheeseburger Fries
~Potato-Vegetable Chowder (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)
~Waffled Tater-Tot Tostada
Extra Cheesy Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
Gluten And Dairy Free Mac And Cheese Recipe Baked
Ingredients
- 12 ounces uncooked gluten-free pasta (elbows, penne, spirals, etc.)
- 4 tbsp butter or margarine (I use the soy-free Earth Balance in pink tub)
- ½ cup milk, whole, 2%, or full-fat canned coconut milk (I use canned full-fat coconut milk)
- 7 ounces American cheese slices, chopped into small squares (see notes and I use Follow Your Heart dairy-free American slices)
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (I used Follow Your Heart dairy-free medium cheddar shreds)
- 2 to 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded/grated (I used Follow Your Heart dairy-free shredded Parmesan)
- ½ tsp salt (more or less to taste)
- ½ tsp black pepper (more or less to taste)
- ½ tsp paprika (more or less to taste; I used smoked paprika)
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. (I like to add a little extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt after the pasta comes to a boil.) Drain pasta using a colander running a little cold water over the pasta to stop it from cooking further.
- Do a quick hot water scrub, rinse, and wipe of pot in which you cooked the pasta to remove the sticky residue that results from cooking the pasta.
- Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
- While pasta continues to drain, add butter and milk to the now clean pot that you cooked the pasta in. Over medium-low heat on your stove top, keep stirring until the butter is melted. Add in drained noodles, American cheese, and cheddar cheese. Stir vigorously a minute or two until most of the cheese melts.
- Pour mixture into greased casserole dish.
- Bake 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over the top of the pasta mixture and sprinkle paprika over all. Turn on broiler, place casserole on second rack down from broiler and broil for a couple of minutes until the cheese on top of the casserole is melted. Watch carefully to ensure the cheese topping does not burn.
Gluten And Dairy Free Mac And Cheese Recipes
Notes
Gluten And Dairy Free Mac And Cheese Recipe
With the American cheese slices stacked on top of each other, I use a knife to make a grid and cut all the way through the slices to get small squares of cheese to ensure better melting when the squares are stirred in with other ingredients.