5 Ingredient Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese

This is the ONLY mac and cheese recipe I make for my family, and no one knows it’s entirely vegan and dairy free!! It’s ridiculously creamy and cheesy (without nutritional yeast) and made with just 5 ingredients in under 20 minutes!!

Why you’ll love this vegan mac and cheese recipe:

Mac and cheese is a staple recipe that we all need for quick and easy dinner recipes throughout the week. But just because we’re vegan does NOT mean we need to give this up!!

This dairy free mac and cheese is super easy to make and based off of my mom’s classic baked mac and cheese she used to make us as kids- so the flavors, texture, and overall presentation is nearly identical.

Along with my vegan lasagna and marry me tofu, this dish is definitely most made in our kitchen.

You only need 5 simple and easy-to-find ingredients (NO, you don’t need nutritional yeast), and there’s no need for a food processor nor blender.

Oh, and guess what? You don’t have to make this a baked vegan mac and cheese! Just want an easy dairy free mac and cheese that’s ready in 15 minutes? No problem- skip the baking, and just make the mac and cheese as is!

This vegan mac and cheese is perfect as a main dish or side dish for vegan Thanksgiving, or any holiday dinner, weeknight dinner, or family gathering. And if you’re doing Veganuary or just looking for a plant-based version of your favorite favorite winter comfort food, this is your recipe.

Ingredients overview:

I want to start out by saying that there is no blending up vegetables to make the sauce. So the ingredients are literally parallel to that of a traditional dairy recipe:

• Macaroni pasta: I recommend Jovial Foods pasta- they’re my absolute favorite! They have both bean based, gluten free, and regular pasta. Or you can even make your own homemade pasta!
• Vegan cheese: I used both vegan cheddar cheese and vegan mozzarella cheese. You can use one or the other, or both! For brands, I used Violife, as they are nut-free (some family members are nut-free!). However, if you’re not nut-free, you can also use Forager Project! I just tried their new vegan cheeses, and they’re amazing.
• Oat milk: You can also use homemade nut milk or coconut milk. However, I don’t recommend using store bought nut milk, as it tends to be too watery.
• Oat flour: this will be to thicken the cheese sauce. You can also use all purpose flour (if not gluten-free) or gluten free 1:1 baking flour.
• Vegan butter: we’re going with a classic baked mac and cheese style, so this truly does taste just like the classic version- only vegan and dairy free! I recommend Flora Plant Butter for the best taste.

The breadcrumbs on top are technically optional. If you’re not baking this vegan mac and cheese, then you can omit them. However, it’s a simple mixture or oat flour, vegan butter, and herbs. So delicious and naturally gluten free!

How to make an easy baked vegan mac and cheese (overview)

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

Like I mentioned above, you can absolutely make just a regular vegan mac and cheese from this recipe- without the baking. However, baked mac and cheese, with the breadcrumbs on top, is such a treat!

Here’s how to make an easy baked vegan mac and cheese:

How to make easy vegan gluten free breadcrumbs for mac and cheese:

It’s actually the vegan gluten free breadcrumbs. I don’t know why I think it’s so cool, but I do. Probably because it reminds me of the Panko breadcrumbs my mom used to put on top of her homemade baked mac and cheese.

To make vegan gluten free Panko breadcrumbs, simply grind up the oats in a food processor into a rustic flour. We don’t want it to reach an actual oat flour, but just enough that the oats are into smaller pieces- like breadcrumbs.

Mix with vegan butter and herbs (like rosemary and thyme). Then just sprinkle on top of your mac and cheese, along with a dash of sea salt (and you can add in some more nutritional yeast if you’d like!) for flavor.

Bake and enjoy!

What shape of pasta should I use for mac and cheese?

For any mac and cheese recipe, you really can use any form of short pasta that you’d like. You can use penne or rigatoni, but honestly, the best pasta shapes for mac and cheese are the ones with the nooks and crannies (as then the cheese sauce gets into the pasta with really every bite!).

I recommend using macaroni (elbows), fusilli, conchiglie (or shells), rotelle (or wheels), rotini, or cavatappi.

Customize this vegan mac and cheese:

Jazz up this classic vegan comfort food with a few different twists:

• Add roasted broccoli, zucchini, or cauliflower tossed into the mac and cheese
• Stir in cooked lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, or black beans for added protein
• Add in frozen green peas before baking for a twist on pasta with peas
• Stir in spinach or kale for added greens
• Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes to the cheese sauce

You are just going to absolutely love this easy vegan mac and cheese! It’s such a simple and quick dinner to make that will please all eaters, whether or not they’re vegan.

Happy mac and cheese baking!

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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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