Crispy Baked Vegan Mac And Cheese

This recipe features an easy cheese sauce that is ridiculously creamy and cheesy (and even secretly wholesome…hi, butternut squash!). Once mixed with elbow macaroni, it gets topped with a buttery bread crumb topping and baked until crunchy and browned. The textural contrast of creamy and crispy is irresistible and every bite is packed with flavor, indulgence, and nostalgia.

What you need to make the best Vegan Mac and Cheese

Butternut Squash. Butternut squash adds a velvety body to the cheese sauce and (2) it brings that nostalgic orange-yellow color you associate with mac and cheese. Cashews. Soaked raw cashews, when blended up, rival the creamiest of dairy sauces. I’ve tried vegan cheese sauces without them and they never compare. Nutritional Yeast. A potent source of savory flavor and helps mimic the taste of cheese. In order to get this to really taste cheesy, I use a generous ½ cup of nutritional yeast. Miso Paste. One of the reasons people love cheese is that it naturally umami. To bring in more umami without using dairy, I add a bit of white miso paste. Lite Coconut Milk. Mac and cheese is meant to be indulgent, so to amp up the creaminess, I add in some “lite” coconut milk. It has a high enough fat content to bring the creaminess, but it’s not too heavy.

How to make Crispy Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese

Coat the butternut squash halves with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 425ºF for 45-55 minutes, or until completely fork tender and lightly browned. Scoop out 1 ½ cups of butternut squash flesh. Panko. The light, flaky texture brings an irresistible snappy crunch to the topping and works much better than standard breadcrumbs. Add the butternut squash flesh to a blender with the soaked cashews, miso, nutritional yeast, spices, coconut milk, and tapioca flour. Blend until thick, creamy, and smooth. For the topping, mix together the panko, nutritional yeast, salt, paprika, and melted vegan butter. Sprinkle the breadcrumb topping over the mac and cheese. Bake at 400ºF for 15-20 minutes until the topping is crispy and golden brown.

Tips for making this recipe

How to easily slice butternut squash

If you find it difficult to slice your butternut squash in half, pop it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes to help soften and make it easy to slice.

How to soak cashews

If you have a high-powered blender, you can soak your cashews in boiling water for just 30 minutes. But if you have a standard blender, soak them in cool water for 8 hours or overnight so the sauce is smooth and not gritty.

Taste the cheese sauce

Taste the cheese sauce before you pour it onto the macaroni. Add more salt, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, mustard powder, or miso paste as needed. If you’re planning to use this cheese sauce to make regular mac and cheese (i.e., not baking it), omit the tapioca starch. It’ll taste chalky if not cooked.

Let the mac and cheese rest

If you want your mac and cheese to almost solidify into a mass (see photo below), allow it to cool for 15-20 minutes before slicing into it.

Watch! How to make Crispy Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese

If you give this Crispy Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe a try, be sure to tag me on Instagram with your recreations and please comment with your feedback below.