Additionally, cashews have tremendous health benefits such as being protein-rich, full of fiber, and good for heart health! You can soak your cashews in water overnight or for a quicker method, you can also pour boiling hot water over cashews and soak for about 30-45 minutes. Cashews: Make sure they’re raw! Cashews are the base of this mac and cheese recipe for their creaminess.Pasta: Use any kind of short cut pasta like elbow or shells, they work the very best!.(Note: the full recipe/ingredients notes, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card, directly below.) With that being said, I looovveee this vegan mac and cheese y’all! And regardless of your diet, it’s my hope that you will too. Additionally, ya girl is also a self-professed mac and cheese fiend who takes her mac and cheese very seriously. However, I do enjoy eating and developing plant based recipes a lot. To begin, this vegan mac and cheese is super creamy, delicious, CHEESY TASTING, extra flavorful and loaded with spices galore! If you’re a new reader, you should know that I do not follow a strictly plant based diet myself. Like how does this even work? Is it truly “cheesy” and good just like non-vegan mac and cheese tho? But like, is it worthy of being on the holiday dinner table and all? I know this recipe has your wheels spinning, so let’s discuss… Now I know some of you are like, umm wait, hold up a second. Sayyy whaaaaat! Oh yes, I said VEGAN MAC AND CHEESE!

Eat straight from the stovetop or bake until golden brown and crispy!

To get that all-important orange color, we boil a carrot and then boost it with a fat pinch of deep yellow ground turmeric.Deliciously creamy and super flavorful vegan mac and cheese made with a cheesy cashew cream sauce and toasty breadcrumb topping. Turmeric for color: Since we eat with our eyes, a sauce that’s not ghostly pale is more visually inviting and gets our brains set for a cheesy meal before the first bite.

But adding one tablespoon of oil really goes a long way in making this sauce taste like macaroni and cheese and not just cooked pasta tossed with puréed potato goop.

Oil: The cashews contribute some fat, which is important for the sauce’s body.

Apple cider vinegar: A small touch of acidic tang helps to cut through the creamy richness of the sauce.

It adds a suave depth to sauces that I’d describe as “instant yum.” A little nooch goes a long way I prefer to cap mine at 1/4 cup. They’re inactive, dehydrated flakes whose yeasty character calls to mind a cheesy aroma and taste.

Nutritional yeast: Lovingly referred to as “nooch” in many circles, nutritional yeast flakes are not active baking yeast.

Good vegan mac and cheese