Super Easy Lightened Up Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese

This is the best baked vegan mac and cheese you’ll ever make! Gooey and simple, this protein packed healthy mac and cheese tastes just like the classic, yet entirely dairy free, gluten free, and EASY! A classic comfort food dinner that both kids and adults love!

The Best Ever Healthy Vegan Mac and Cheese

This is my absolute favorite baked vegan mac and cheese recipe of all time. Think super gooey, deliciously rich, and ultra creamy vegan mac and cheese that just so happens to be lightened up and healthier.

Seriously, you’ll never know. In fact, this baked vegan mac and cheese is lightened up compared to its counterparts, and is actually packed with over 19 grams of protein per serving.

Who says you can’t get protein in as a vegan?! 😉

Not to mention, this healthy mac and cheese is naturally nut free, dairy free, and gluten free. I wanted this recipe to be different than other vegan mac and cheese around the web that use cashews as the thickener. This mac and cheese is super simple and easy!

If you’re doing Veganuary or just looking for a lightened up version of your favorite favorite winter comfort food, this is your recipe.

Ingredients

I wanted to keep the ingredients to this healthier mac and cheese really simple and straight forward.

This means no blending up a bunch of vegetables to make the sauce! You can still have a healthier mac and cheese while using a store bought vegan shredded cheese (and I’ll list my favorites below).

To make this healthier baked vegan mac and cheese, you’ll need:

• Your favorite pasta shape: use a chickpea or bean pasta for more protein!
• Dairy free milk: I recommend a thick dairy free milk, such as coconut or oat
• Nutritional yeast
• Vegan shredded cheese: I recommend using So Delicious shredded cheese here, but you can actually also use Miyoko’s mozzarella sliced up.
• Arrowroot powder or cornstarch: to thicken the sauce
• Dijon mustard
• Onion & garlic powder
• Oats

My favorite part about this healthy baked mac and cheese is actually not gooeyness of the sauce (though it does get gooey!), but the “panko” bread crumbs on top.

You see, we’re actually making our own panko bread crumbs by grinding up oats! It does the exact same thing that traditional bread crumbs do, and it’s already naturally gluten free!

How to make an easy baked vegan mac and cheese

You’ll absolutely love how easy and simple this baked vegan mac and cheese is.

The full instructions and ingredient measurements are down at the bottom of the post in the recipe card. However, let’s go over the basics right here:

1. Cook the pasta: to make this a protein packed mac and cheese, simply use a chickpea pasta, such as Banza.
2. Make the cheese sauce: making a dairy free cheese sauce is actually quite similar to how a traditional mac and cheese sauce is made. Heat the mixture until boiling then reduce the heat. Then stir in the dairy free cheese until melted.
3. Pour the cheese sauce over the mac and cheese: use a wooden spoon to easily mix the sauce to evenly coat the pasta.
4. Make the breadcrumbs: to make vegan breadcrumbs, we’ll go over that in the next step, but it’s really simple! Then just sprinkle them on top of the pasta.
5. Bake the vegan mac and cheese: it only takes about 30 minutes to fully bake!

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How to make vegan breadcrumbs

As I mentioned above, my favorite part about this easy mac and cheese is not how deliciously gooey the sauce is, nor even the fact that this mac and cheese is protein packed and lightened up.

It’s actually the vegan 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 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!

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!

Vegan Mac and Cheese Q+A

What dairy free milk should I use?

I recommend a very thick dairy free milk, such as coconut cream or oat milk. If you don’t want a coconut after taste in your vegan mac, then I recommend going with the oat milk.

The thicker the milk, the creamier your healthy mac and cheese will be! You can also use homemade nut milks if you don’t have a nut allergy.

I don’t recommend using store bought refrigerated almond milk: it just won’t be thick enough and will yield very watery results. Though this mac and cheese is healthier, you still want it to taste good!

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

A great question! 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 fusilli, conchiglie (or shells), rotelle (or wheels), rotini, elbows, or cavatappi.

Do I need nutritional yeast?

For this vegan mac and cheese, I highly recommend using the nutritional yeast, or this won’t taste too much like the classic comfort food.

If you don’t have nutritional yeast, or need to avoid it, you can use miso paste in its place; however, nutritional yeast will give you the best flavor!

Can I make this vegan mac and cheese gluten free?

Absolutely! This baked vegan mac and cheese can easily be made gluten-free (and I actually often make it that way myself since I love using chickpea pasta for extra protein).

I recommend using Jovial chickpea pasta, lentil pasta, or your favorite brand of gluten free pasta (such as a rice blend and the like).

How do I store this mac and cheese once it’s baked?

If you have any leftovers after making the baked vegan mac and cheese, here’s how to store it:

• Refrigerator: store any leftovers in an airtight container that’s oven friendly and in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Freezer: store any leftovers in an airtight container that’s oven friendly and in the freezer for up to 1 month.
• Reheat: when reheating the pasta, remove the lid off of your pasta container and place it into the oven to heat for 10-12 minutes at 300F.

Can I make this ahead of time?

Absolutely! To make this easy vegan mac and cheese ahead of time, simple follow the recipe card steps below up until Step 5. Complete step 5 and then place the casserole dish covered and in the fridge for up to a day.

When ready to bake, simply preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 40-42 minutes until the oats are slightly golden on top.

I hope you love this healthier mac and cheese recipe as much as I do! It’s seriously one of my all time favorite vegan comfort food recipes. If you make this mac and cheese, let me know how it goes down below in the comments section, as well as giving it a rating so that others may find it!

As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!

Happy mac and cheese baking!

More healthy comfort food recipes:

Paleo vegan sweet potato gnocchi

Easy vegan lentil meatballs

The best ever hummus lentil loaf

Paleo vegan cauliflower gnocchi

Creamy Instant Pot Vegan Mushroom Risotto

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you make something from The Banana Diaries, I would love to see your creations! Make sure to leave a review in comments section, as well as giving it a rating so that others may find the recipe. Also, follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Facebook for more vegan recipe inspiration!

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