A normally unhealthy dish gets a whole food based makeover. This vegan sharp white mac and cheese bake is as creamy and delicious as it’s dairy counterpart!
Let’s talk cheese sauce. After the huge success of my original Ultimate Cheese Sauce, magic in the kitchen happened again and my Sharp White Cheese Sauce was born. This one has been just as popular so far, which makes me do a happy dance, Elaine style (Seinfeld reference for all my fans out there). I love when I can create a healthy version of a traditionally unhealthy dish. No bloating for me!
Ultimately it comes down to the fact that I love food, as if that wasn’t apparent, but furthermore, I love good food. I only eat what tastes amazing, and when we made this diet change I was not going to settle for less than absolutely delicious. And I’m here to tell you that this new vegan white mac and cheese bake is definitely not less.
I can make almost anything plant based!
When I made the sauce, I was trying to recreate the flavor from a mac and cheese at a favorite restaurant of ours. We were with some friends that ordered it and literally almost passed out from how good they said it was. The very first thing I thought was “I can make this, without all the unhealthy stuff.”
Disclosure here, I had to try a bite in order to know what I was going for. I couldn’t create something I had never tried, but one bite was all it took for me to know for sure that it could be done. So off I went to make the impossible possible. I was going to create a creamy baked sharp white mac and cheese with a crispy topping all using vegetables, no oil, no dairy, and a gluten-free topping. No pressure there!
I knew the sauce I could definitely do since I had my original vegan cheese sauce already solidified in the books. I simply used the white versions of the veggies from that sauce, and played with the different spices and seasonings.
But making a baked pasta that stayed creamy and did not dry up, plus have noodles that were not mushy, was a challenge. Plus having a gluten free crispy topping without added oil or butter was not going to be easy. After a few trials with the sauce, I figured out how to keep this mac and cheese bake creamy and al dente. Done.
Hemp seeds are such a great whole food fat!
Now enter Manitoba Harvest and their email to me about partnering up for a post using their Hemp Hearts…I immediately knew what I was going to do. Hemp hearts, other than being one of my favorite things ever, have an amazing whole food fat content that when pulsed with things give the appearance of added oil or butter.
Bake it and crispy magic happens. I use Hemp Hearts in my hemp almond parmesan all the time and it’s awesome! I knew this recipe needed those little bits of heaven for the crispy I was going for.
Side note, although this post is sponsored by Manitoba Harvest, I have loved their products and used them long before they even know who I was, plus I only endorse things I love here.
It’s magic I tell ya!
This is the perfect main meal, holiday side, or “put stretchy pants on, sit on the couch and gorge” type of recipe. Not saying I do that, but you know, in case that’s your thing 😉 I’m happy to report that I have served this to our friends and they can not believe it has no dairy.
This is my ultimate success. Like a magician plays tricks on the eyes, I play tricks on the palate. Your mouth says yes this is cheese…but I say it’s actually veggies mixed ever so carefully with other flavors to give you the illusion instead. Vegan white mac and cheese in disguise.
So, now your job is to experience this illusion. Better yet, serve it to your friends, family, guy off the street (no wait don’t do that, it could be dangerous) and DON’T tell them it isn’t dairy.
If you really want a laugh, just leave it be. And every time they come over and tell you that they could NEVER give up dairy, giggle a bit because you know something they don’t 😉
Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 - 2 ½ cups Vegan White Cheese Sauce , recipe makes about 3 1/2 cups
- 1 ½ cups water or water from cooking veggies , can also use veggie broth for an extra flavor boost
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ - 1 teaspoon mustard seed powder , take out or use less if you don't want it too sharp
- ¾ teaspoon chickpea miso , see note
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 12 ounces your favorite pasta , gluten-free if needed
Crispy topping (makes about 2 1/4 cups):
- ½ cup almond flour or hemp seeds , see note
- ½ cup breadcrumbs , gluten-free if needed
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2-4 tablespoons vegan Parmesan , optional for extra flavor
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
- Make cheese sauce according to recipe.
- After it’s blended, add the water, extra apple cider vinegar, mustard seed powder, chickpea miso and salt. Add slowly and taste as you go to get desired flavor.
- Blend again. It will now taste much stronger and be watery, but this is ok. When baking, it loses a bit of flavor and creaminess so this will make sure that it is perfectly flavored and creamy after baked.
- Put all crispy topping ingredients into a food processor if using hemp seeds. Process until well combined. If using almond flour you can just mix it.
- Cook pasta for only about 2-3 minutes. You will be baking this so this prevents mushy noodles. Although it doesn’t seem like a long time, if you overcook then your noodles will end up mushy after baked, especially if using gluten-free noodles.
- Once pasta is done, drain and rinse well to prevent too much starchiness in the baked dish.
- Return to the pot and mix in the cheese sauce. Start with 2 cups but if you want it extra saucy add 2 ½.
- Pour into a square baking dish. Sprinkle crispy topping over it evenly.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until crispy on top. Start checking at 15 minutes to ensure your pasta doesn’t overcook. Different pastas types cook differently. You can also broil the last few minutes to get it brown and extra crisp on the top.
- Serve!
Notes
- Using hemp seeds gives a more crisp baked topping due to the oils in the hemp seeds. If you use almond flour it would be better to add a little butter or oil over the top to get the same crisp but it is still good without.
- If you don’t have chickpea miso, you can try using a white miso although it will be a little more mild in flavor so you may need more, especially if you want it nice and sharp tasting.
- Make cheese sauce and crispy topping.
- This can be baked a little longer for baby and pulsed into a smooth or chunkier food. If baby is new to foods, you can also leave out the extra spice/seasoning ingredients in the sauce and it will be less sharp.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Julia says
Oh. My. God. This is amazing. I can’t stress enough how delicious this is!! So glad I found it!! I love that I can sneak my toddler vegetables too 🙂 I topped with some follow your heart cheese shreds too.
veggiesdontbite says
I’m so happy you liked it Julia!! It is very sneaky and it’s a good thing we are good moms and keep up the secret.
Laura says
Yum! Just tried this today and loved it. Thank you! Since the miso has raised a question or two: I used red soybean miso but stuck to the amount recommended in recipe – still had great flavor.
veggiesdontbite says
Thank you so much for letting me know Laura! I am thrilled you liked it! And thanks for the miso update. Good to know that red works!
Amy says
Is mustard seed powder the same thing as ground mustard?
veggiesdontbite says
Yep!!
Jazmine Brokaw says
Hello. This looks SO good! I definitely want to try. I was looking at the recipe though and I am a little confused about the White cheese sauce. I scrolled through the comments to see if I could find an answer. I see you told one lady that the words “Sharp White Cheese Sauce” is actually a link to how to make the sauce. But I am not able to click on that. It’s the same format as the rest of the words.
Sharp White Cheese Sauce
1 1/2 cup water or water from cooking veggies
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard seed powder
3/4 teaspoon chickpea miso
1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
24 ounces your favorite pasta
Crispy topping (makes about 2 1/4 cups):
1/2 cup Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts
2 slices toasted bread use gluten free for gluten free recipe
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
That is all I see, and it won’t allow me to click on any of the words.
Can you please help?
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Jazmine! So sorry, I am changing over to a new recipe card plugin and it erased all my links and didn’t translate everything well. I am slowly going through and fixing all the recipes but had not gotten to this one yet. I just fixed it up for you! The link should be working again. Thanks so much and hope you like it!
Srivani says
Had this recipe bookmarked for ages. Finally made it tonight. WOW! Definitely one of the best Mac and cheese recipes I’ve ever made… and I’ve made lots! The cheese sauce is awesome. We served some extra sauce over some broccoli/cauliflower that was served on the side. The 4 year old and 11 month old both LOVED this! Thanks you.
veggiesdontbite says
Wow!!! Thank you so much for the rave review. I am so happy you love this as much as we do! I love dipping cauliflower in the sauce too! Be on the lookout because in the new year I have a new mac and cheese coming that is equally as delicious!
CL says
Can regular yellow miso be used instead of chickpea miso
veggiesdontbite says
Hi! Yes, if you read through some of the comments I have had a few people make it with other miso varieties. Depending on how sharp the flavor of your miso is, you may need more or less. Chickpea miso has a pretty strong taste. I would start with a little and work your way up until you get the flavor you like! Hope it goes well!
JD says
This is one of my favorite meals. Perfect for the holidays. I like it with a tad less mustard powder but I typically dont like the mustard flavor abd still like some here.
Diana says
Sophia this was awesome! I didn’t have yellow carrots or pepper so I subbed orange carrots and red pepper. It obviously turned it orange not white but oh my goodness it was fabulous! I used brown rice elbows and they were perfect. The crunchy topping was so good! I made a double batch because I knew it would be delicious so now I have a jar full to sprinkle on everything! My neighbor has recently become vegan for health reasons so I can’t wait to bring her a piece! She’ll faint!
veggiesdontbite says
Thank you so so much Diana!! It really doesn’t matter the color as long as it taste good! I’m so thrilled you liked it and I cannot wait to hear how your neighbor fainted. LOL!!
Shari says
Sophia, this mac and cheese is outrageously delicious! I knew I had to make it when you posted it on Facebook today. I almost got lazy and didn’t make the crispy topping, but thank goodness I did. That is what really pushed it over the edge and gave it the “wow” factor. Thank you!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Shari! Thank you so so much for the awesome review! I’m so happy you loved it as much as we do. I can’t even tell you how many trials I did to get that creaminess even after it was baked and perfect the sharp flavor I was looking for. My family was WAY over mac and cheese, LOL! And yes, the topping is so yum! Look for more recipes coming using that combo. Thanks for being here and trying my recipes!
Alex says
Thanks so much; that did the trick. I’m going to try this next pasta night.
veggiesdontbite says
Awesome Alex!! Let me know how you like it!!
Alex says
Something strange is happening. It looks like at least two ingredients are missing. The cheese sauce has seasonings, but nothing that will give it bulk. I tried looking on both firefox and chrome. Can you tell me what I’m missing? This is what I’m seeing.
• Sharp White Cheese Sauce
• 1 ½ cup water or water form cooking veggies
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed powder
• ¾ teaspoon chickpea miso
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
• 24 ounces your favorite pasta
Then it segues into the topping recipe.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Alex! I just redesigned my site and the links are the same color as the text, I’m working on changing that now so that people can tell they are links! SO, in this recipe “Sharp White Cheese Sauce” is actually a link to the cheese sauce recipe! Click on it and it will take you there. So sorry, working on this issue now!! Let me know if you have any other questions!