So I’m sure you’ve seen many vegan mac n cheese recipes… But I swear, none are as good as this one! Stretchy from the tapioca starch, creamy from a “buttermilk” effect, and golden sunset orange, it’s literally crack. (Help, I can’t stop eating it! I’m on my third bowl!)
I haven’t made this on the stove top, but I’m pretty sure it would work similarly. This version is designed for the instapot! Also, unlike the cardboard shapes that normally become of regular Mac and cheese noodles, this version reheats really well because the base of the sauce is potato and carrot, and they don’t get sucked in by the noodles over time like cheese does.
By the way did you see that it’s CASHEW-LESS?! That’s right, no mega-blenders needed! Just mincing with a knife! That makes this recipe even easier than you might believe possible for a vegan cheese sauce!
I have tested this recipe on non-vegan mac and cheese lovers, and they were incredibly enthusiastic about it! Let me know what you think in the comments too!
Ingredients
Main pot
16 oz dried elbow macaroni
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups water
1 cup potato, peeled & minced
1/2 cup carrots, peeled & minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp vegan butter
1/2 tsp salt
Cheeze sauce
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
3/4 cup vegetable broth
4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp dill
Thickener
2 1/2 Tbsp tapioca starch (ideally), or corn starch
Instructions
In the pressure cooker, add oil and butter, set to saute.
After a minute or two, add minced garlic and stir for 1-2 minutes.
Add the rest of the “Main pot” ingredients (noodles, potatoes, carrots, water, and salt). Stir until smooth. Then cover with the instapot lid, making sure the vent is closed.
High pressure cook 6 minutes.
While that’s cooking, add “Cheeze sauce” ingredients to a large bowl. Whisk together until smooth, then let it sit until the pressure cooking is finished. The lemon juice might cause the milk to coagulate a little bit – that’s the “buttermilk” effect! You can do a taste test – it should be pretty salty (it will be less so once it’s mixed with the noodles) but you can add more or less of the spices as you like! Add more red chili flakes if you want more of a kick, for instance.
Once the cooking time is complete, do a quick release.
Add the tapioca starch to the large bowl with the sauce ingredients, whisk until smooth. Add the finished cheese sauce to the instapot and stir for 1-2 minutes with a spatula. It will be thin for a bit until the heat from the noodles activates the tapioca starch. Then it will thicken and become gooey/stretchy/yummy.
Garnish with some extra red chili flakes, serve and enjoy! Also reheats wonderfully well for later!
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