Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese
This creamy and comforting vegan mac and cheese is made easy using a pressure cooker and baked to golden perfection. Ready in under an hour, it's a deliciously satisfying plant-based comfort food.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 cups elbow macaroni 12 oz/340g
- 1 tablespoon oil any kind, olive oil preferred
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked overnight or boiled 5 minutes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 0.5 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry ground mustard
- 1 tablespoon lime juice or juice of 1 lemon
- 0.5 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari, miso paste, liquid aminos
- 0.5 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 0.25 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1.5 cups vegan milk canned full fat coconut milk for creaminess
- 1 cup vegan shredded cheese ¾ for sauce, rest for topping
- 1 cup breadcrumbs gluten free if needed
- to taste salt & pepper
- 3 tablespoons melted vegan butter or oil
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). This gets the baking started right after the pressure cooker finishes up.
- Cook the elbow macaroni in the pressure cooker according to the package instructions, cutting the time short by about a minute so pasta stays al dente. After pressure build, do a quick natural release to keep that perfect texture.
- Drain the cooked pasta if needed and set it aside for just a sec.
- While pasta cooks, blend soaked cashews with garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, black pepper, dry mustard, lime juice, and a cup of water until creamy smooth. It’s your cheesy base.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, toss in minced garlic, sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant but not browned. Add this garlic oil to the blender again and pulse to combine all those flavors.
- Mix your cashew cheese sauce with the cooked macaroni.
- Pour the mixture into a baking dish, top with vegan shredded cheese and breadcrumbs, drizzle melted vegan butter on top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes till the top’s bubbly and golden.
- Let cool for 5 minutes so it sets just right for serving.
Notes
This vegan mac and cheese is best served warm and can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat with a splash of vegan milk to loosen the sauce. Perfectly creamy and comforting with a crispy breadcrumb topping.