This creamy Mac and Cheese recipe is made without cashews and consists of a couple of simple ingredients. It's ready in no more than 15 minutes, making it the perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner! It's also plant-based and doesn't contain vegan butter or margarine.
This creamy mac and cheese recipe consists of a velvety vegan cheese sauce but is entirely nut-free. There are no cashews included, making this a nut-free meal that's low in fat and high in nutrients.
For more pasta recipes see Green Sauce Pasta, Coconut Milk Pasta or Vegan Walnut Pesto.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It’s a simple recipe that’s ready in 15 minutes- perfect for busy weeknights.
- It tastes similar to real mac and cheese but it's made without butter and heavy amounts of cheese!
- It's dairy-free, vegan and can easily be made gluten-free.
- It’s meal prep- and freezer friendly!
Ingredients & Substitution Notes
- Garlic: Garlic powder could be used instead. Or if you're not a fan of garlic you could use onion powder instead.
- Frozen Pumpkin Cubes: Pumpkin is the key ingredient in this recipe. Using frozen pumpkin is what makes this recipe so quick and easy. You can also use frozen butternut squash instead. Or you can also use pumpkin puree. Both store-bought and homemade pumpkin puree will work.
- Pasta: Elbow macaroni pasta is used in traditional mac and cheese. However, this recipe works with any type of pasta such as penne, shell pasta, spaghetti or tagliatelle. Choose whole-wheat pasta to up your fiber intake! Also, make sure to use vegan macaroni to keep this recipe vegan. Use gluten-free pasta to keep this recipe gluten-free.
- Vegetable Broth: I used store-bought vegetable powder dissolved in water. You could use a veggie stock cube or homemade vegetable stock.
- Nutritional Yeast: It can usually be bought in any bigger grocery stores or health food stores. The combination of nutritional yeast and parmesan is responsible for the cheesy taste of this recipe.
- (Vegan) Parmesan: Adds some additional cheesy flavor and should not be omitted! Could be replaced by another type of strong-flavored, dairy-free cheese such as (vegan) cheddar.
- Plant Milk: You could use any non-dairy milk you like such as soy, oat milk or almond milk. Make sure to use unsweetened milk though.
- Cornstarch: Could be replaced with tapioca starch or potato starch.
How to Make Vegan Mac and Cheese without Cashews
This easy vegan mac and cheese recipe comes together in no time. It's a simple stovetop recipe that doesn't require an oven. All you'll need is a fairly strong blender.
STEP 1: Cook pasta. Start by cooking your pasta in a large pot according to package instructions. Don’t overcook them (make sure they’re al dente). Don’t forget to salt the water.
STEP 2: Garlic. Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until golden brown.
STEP 3: Sauce. While the pasta is cooking, add pumpkin cubes, plant milk, veggie broth, nutritional yeast and garlic to a blender and blend until smooth.
and blend until smooth
STEP 4: Cornstarch. In the meantime, dissolve corn starch in ¼ cup of water. This will help thicken the sauce.
Add the sauce from the blender to the saucepan (the same that you roasted the garlic in) and add dissolved cornstarch, parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes until sauce thickens slightly.
STEP 5: Add pasta. Add your cooked pasta to the sauce.
Give it a good stir, sprinkle with some serve parmesan and enjoy!
Variations & Add-Ins
- Vegan: This recipe is vegan as long as you're using a plant-based type of milk and parmesan.
- Gluten-Free: You can easily make this a gluten-free pasta dish by choosing a certified gluten-free pasta of choice.
- Soy-Free: Keep it soy-free by not using soy milk or a soy-based cheese.
- Oil-Free: To keep this recipe completely oil-free, simply omit the olive oil and roast the garlic in some water or soy sauce.
Optional Add-Ins
- Lemon Juice: Add the juice of half a lemon. This will add some additional refreshing and tangy flavors.
- Vegan Cheese: For a stronger cheesy taste, you could add some vegan cheddar (I like violife cheddar) or cheese of choice.
- Spices: For a spicier sauce you could add some chili powder, chipotle or piri piri sauce.
- Veggies: Feel free to throw in some additional veggies. Our favorites are frozen peas or roasted veggies such as brussels sprouts, broccoli or roasted cherry tomatoes. You can either roast or steam them and add them to pasta shortly before serving.
- Sundried Tomatoes: Add some chopped-up sundried tomatoes for an additional flavor combination.
Serving Suggestions
- Parmesan: Add some macadamia parmesan or regular parmesan shortly before serving.
- Seeds: Instead of parmesan, sprinkle the pasta with some sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds before serving.
- Fresh Herbs: Add some fresh minced herbs such as fresh basil, sage or parsley.
Meal Prep Options
The creamy sauce for this pasta dish can easily be made the evening before. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge, that way you'll only need to cook the pasta the next day.
Storing
- To store: Story any leftover mac and cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- To freeze: Freeze in a freezer-friendly container for up to 2 weeks. Let thaw on the counter or in the fridge overnight.
- To reheat: You can either reheat them on the stovetop or in the microwave using a microwave-safe jar. When using the stovetop, reheat on low heat and add a splash of milk.
FAQs
Usually, it consists of cashews and nutritional yeast. Instead of cashews, this recipe calls for pumpkin and vegan cheese. Together with the nutritional yeast they create the cheesy flavor of this recipe.
You could use frozen butternut squash or pumpkin puree. I highly recommend trying our homemade pumpkin puree but feel free to use a store-bought one.
Yes, you could also use canned pumpkin. I highly recommend my homemade pumpkin puree recipe for the most delicious, fresh-tasting pumpkin puree.
In contrast to more traditional mac and cheese recipes, this one consists of mostly of wholefood ingredients and doesn't include any butter or heavy amounts of cheese. It's therefore high in nutrients and fiber. Pumpkin contains high amounts of beta-carotene (an antioxidant), vitamin A, C, B-vitamins, copper and folate. Read more about the health benefits of pumpkin here. Nutritional yeast (especially if it's fortified) also provides some vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B2, B3, B6, B12 and iron.
More Pumpkin Recipes
More pasta recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Mac and Cheese NO cashews
Ingredients
- 7 oz macaroni *or other pasta of choice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves ,chopped
- 7 oz frozen pumpkin cubes or 1 cup pumpkin puree *see notes
- 1 cup plant milk *such as soy/ almond milk
- ½ cup veggie broth
- 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ⅓ cup (vegan) grated parmesan
- salt & pepper
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions.
- Heat some olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add garlic and cook until slightly brown.
- Then transfer pumpkin cubes/ pumpkin puree, plant milk, veggie broth, nutritional yeast and garlic to a blender and blend until smooth.
- In the meantime, dissolve corn starch in ¼ cup of water.
- Put the sauce from the blender into saucepan (the one that you cooked your garlic in). Add corn starch, grated parmesan, 2 tablespoon of olive oil, pinch of salt & pepper.
- The amount of salt needed will depend on how salted your veggie broth was (make sure to taste and adjust flavor).
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 3-5 minutes until sauce thickens.
- Add cooked pasta to the sauce, mix well and serve with some additional parmesan sprinkled on top.
Video
Tips & Notes
- Pumpkin Cubes: You could use 1 cup of pumpkin puree instead. Check out our super quick, delicious Homemade Pumpkin Puree recipe.
- Plant Milk: You could use any unsweetened dairy-free milk of choice such as almond milk or soy milk.
- Meal Prep Option: The creamy sauce for this pasta dish can easily be made the evening before. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge, that way you'll only need to cook the pasta the next day.
- To store: Story any leftover mac and cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- To freeze: Freeze in a freezer-friendly container for up to 2 weeks. Let thaw on the counter or in the fridge overnight.
- To reheat: You can either reheat them on the stovetop or in the microwave using a microwave-safe jar. When using the stovetop, reheat on low heat and add a splash of milk.
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