This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Mom’s Baked Vegan Mac & Cheese Recipe
My mother used to make a delicious baked macaroni and cheese topped with (accidentally vegan) Ritz cracker crumbs and paprika. The sauce began with a roux to make a rich béchamel and was baked to perfection. Note: The texture of this baked casserole is meant to be firm, not saucy. The optional shredded vegan cheese makes the sauce richer, but it’s delicious without it.
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
Pasta
- 16 ounces (454 g) elbow macaroni
- Olive oil or vegan butter, for preparing the baking dish
Sauce
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) vegan butter
- 1/4 cup (31 g) all-purpose flour
- 5 cups (1.2 L) plain unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup (20 g) nutritional yeast, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup (112 g) shredded vegan cheese (optional)
Topping
- 1 cup (72 g) finely crushed Ritz crackers
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) melted vegan butter
Directions
- To make the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup (240 ml) of pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease a 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33 cm) baking dish with olive oil or vegan butter. Set aside.
- To make the sauce: In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Add the salt. Simmer, whisking occasionally, until thick, about 5 minutes.
- Add the nutritional yeast, mustard, onion powder, and pepper and whisk until smooth. Cook for 5 minutes until thick. Reduce the heat to low. Taste and adjust the seasoning, as needed. If the sauce is too thick, add as much of the 1 cup (240 ml) of reserved cooking water, as desired.
- Add the cooked macaroni to the sauce and stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cracker crumbs, paprika, and melted butter to combine.
- To finish: Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish, top with the cracker crumb mixture, and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and golden on top.
Recipe from Vegan Mac & Cheese: More Than 50 Delicious Plant-Based Recipes for the Ultimate Comfort Food. 2019 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. Text © 2019 Robin Robertson. Photography: Jack Adams Photography.
Robin Robertson
@veganwithoutbordersRobin Robertson is a veteran restaurant chef, cooking teacher, and acclaimed writer. She pens a regular column for VegNews magazine and has written for Vegetarian Times, Health Naturally, Restaurant Business, National Culinary Review, American Culinary Federation magazine, and Better Nutrition. She has written numerous cookbooks, including the best-selling titles Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker, Vegan Planet, Vegan on the Cheap, and Quick-Fix Vegan. Robertson currently writes, promotes her books, and teaches classes on her innovative vegan cuisine from her home in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Her website is robinrobertson.com.

More from VegOut
Subscribe Now
Navigation

Subscribe Now
Order the magazine!