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    Where Is My Spoon > Recipes > Vegan

    Vegan Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

    Published by: Adina June 23, 2020 · Last modified: October 4, 2021 12 Comments

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    Vegan cauliflower mac and cheese with cashews, a super easy and satisfying plant-based recipe. Creamy, cheesy and so comforting!

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    plant-based pasta dish with nutritional yeast

    Vegan cauliflower mac and cheese with cashews, a super easy and satisfying plant-based recipe. Creamy, cheesy and so comforting!

    Believe it or not, this vegan cauliflower mac and cheese is one of my son's favorite pasta dishes. And he's 11 and not much into the cauliflower. And he's quite apprehensive each time I mention that I've cooked something vegan for dinner.

    But no matter, if you are vegan or not, you will absolutely love this pasta dish. It is everything a good mac and cheese should be, only healthier. It is incredibly rich and creamy, comforting, and moreish.

    spaghetti with creamy sauce being lifted from the plate

    Ingredients

    • Raw cashews, which need to be soaked for several hours. Together with the cauliflower, they make the base of the sauce, they make it creamy and velvety.
    • Cauliflower: you can use either fresh or frozen and defrosted.
    • Chopped potatoes: not much, but they also add to the creaminess of the sauce.
    • Nutritional yeast: not baker's yeast. It is flaked and it is used to give food a cheesy flavor without the actual cheese.
    • Other ingredients: coconut milk, garlic, garlic powder, sweet paprika, lemon juice, and pasta.
    close up spaghetti with creamy sauce and microherbs on top

    Method

    • Soak the cashews for one hour in cold water.
    • Start cooking the water for the pasta. Add the pasta when the water is boiling.
    • Cook the vegetables in salted water for about 10 minutes or until soft. Drain, but reserve about ½ cup of the cooking water.
    • Blend the vegetables, coconut milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and spices with an immersion blender or in a food processer. The sauce should be really smooth and creamy. Add some of the reserved cooking water if necessary to thin the sauce slightly. I normally have to add some.
    • Adjust the taste and combine the sauce with the cooked macaroni.
    bowl of cauliflower and potatoes and bowl of creamy vegan sauce
    cauliflower sauce for mac and cheese

    More vegan pasta dishes:

    Vegan Lentil Soup

    Spinach Peanut Butter Noodles

    Noodles with Coconut and Turmeric

    Meatless Spaghetti Sauce

    vegan cauliflower sauce with nutritional yeast served with spaghetti
    vegan cauliflower sauce with nutritional yeast served with spaghetti

    Vegan Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

    Vegan cauliflower mac and cheese with cashews, a super easy and satisfying plant-based recipe. Creamy, cheesy and so comforting!
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Share GrowSaved! Rate
    Course: Vegan Recipes
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 326kcal
    Author: Adina
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    Ingredients 

    • ¾ cups raw cashews
    • 10 oz cauliflower, chopped about 2 ½ cups
    • 7 oz potatoes, chopped about 1 ¾
    • 2 garlic cloves peeled but left whole
    • ½ cup coconut milk
    • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
    • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • sweet ground paprika
    • fine sea salt and ground black pepper
    • 1 lb elbow macaroni or other pasta

    Instructions

    • Soak the cashews in water for about 1 hour.
    • Cook pasta and vegetables: Bring two pots of water to a boil. Add the chopped vegetables and the garlic cloves to the smaller pot and cook for about 10 minutes or until they are soft. Keep about ½ cup of the cooking water and drain the rest. Cook the macaroni in the other pot. Drain well.
    • Blend the vegetables, coconut milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper until really smooth and creamy (immersion blender or food processor). Add some of the reserved cooking water little by little to reach the right consistency.
    • Adjust the taste again and serve immediately.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1/6 of the dish | Calories: 326kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 374mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @adinabeck or tag #WhereIsMySpoon!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Angie@Angie's Recipes says

      July 13, 2015 at 9:52 am

      I would lick that creamy sauce CLEAN! Love what you eat....delicious, yet nutritious and healthy.

      Reply
    2. Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says

      July 13, 2015 at 10:49 am

      Absolutely delish looking vegan mac and cheese!

      Reply
    3. Adina says

      July 13, 2015 at 12:10 pm

      Thank you both, Angie and Anu!

      Reply
    4. Mario says

      July 13, 2015 at 5:09 pm

      Sounds tasty, but I would skip the half teaspoon of garlic powder! 😀

      Reply
      • Adina says

        July 13, 2015 at 6:30 pm

        I am sure you would, Mario. But you missed the two garlic cloves, what about them? 🙂

        Reply
        • Mario says

          July 14, 2015 at 2:26 pm

          Damn! So I sort them out for vampire defense 🙂

          Reply
    5. Thao @ In Good Flavor says

      July 15, 2015 at 3:41 am

      I love how thick and creamy the sauce looks! I'm really liking the cashews in it. This is such great vegan version of mac and cheese.

      Reply
    6. Adina says

      July 15, 2015 at 7:53 am

      Thank you, Thao. It is so rich, you won't even think is vegan.

      Reply
    7. jo@jocooks.com says

      July 18, 2015 at 12:07 am

      The sauce looks so creamy and thick, I never would have thought to put potatoes in the sauce. Great idea, love it!

      Reply
      • Adina says

        July 18, 2015 at 11:05 pm

        Thank you, Jo. The potatoes thicken the sauce nicely.

        Reply
    8. Tessa says

      July 21, 2015 at 11:34 pm

      This mac looks amazing! I need to start stockpiling hidden veggie recipes for when I have kids someday! In the meantime I don't mind doing all the tasting 🙂

      Reply
    9. Adina says

      July 22, 2015 at 8:10 am

      Oh, you will need those recipes. Especially during the period when the children are between 2 and 5 I would say. At first they will eat anything and you will think you do everything right and your kids are something special. Then they turn 2 and the horror starts... My son was really bad, but during the last year things started to pick up a bit. So I still have hope for my daughter, she was never so bad in the first place. 🙂

      Reply

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