This quick stovetop 15 minute easy vegan mac and cheese is so quick to make and will satisfy all your vegan mac and cheese cravings.
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Hold the front door. Are we really going to show you how to make a delicious vegan mac and cheese in just 15 minutes? Is that really what you read? Absolutely! You are going to love this 15 Minute Easy Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe.
And guess what? It’s super allergy friendly.
Listen, we’ve tried all the boxed vegan mac and cheese brands (well, almost. we know there’s a few out there we haven’t tried, but we’ve tried 10!)
We know that there’s some decent ones out there, but truth be told, if we weren’t overly impressed and we knew we could make a better tasting recipes in the same amount of time. And guess what, we succeed.
Note – this is a stove top version. If you want a baked vegan mac and cheese, click and follow that link!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I make this Top 8 Allergen Friendly Mac and Cheese?
Yes!
One of our main goals for this besides making just a delicious and easy vegan macaroni and cheese was to make it allergy friendly as well.
There are a few ingredients that we need to look out for in how our recipe is written, but let’s get to it.
To start, you want to use a gluten free pasta. There are so many choices available now, so just use the one that you like the best.
For the vegan butter, ensure that it is soy free. We prefer earth balance soy free when it comes to this. It comes in a red tub.
Then, we have dairy free milk. We actually prefer oat milk for this because it’s creamier. Most dairy free oat milks are certified gluten free, so just double check your labels.
And then we have the vegan parmesan cheese. We are use Violife in this recipe, which does contain coconut oil, but no other allergens. If you have a coconut allergen, you can use Follow Your Heart parmesan.
We also have a vegan parmesan on our site that you can make with sunflower seeds; however, it doesn’t melt well which is why we recommend using one of the store bought brands.
Lastly, make sure you pick a shredded dairy free cheese that is safe for your allergies.
Can I prep this 15 minute easy vegan mac and cheese ahead of time?
Yes! You can make this 3-5 days ahead of time and store in an air tight container in the fridge. Heat up on the stove or in the microwave when ready to eat. You may need to add an additional splash of milk when reheating.
IS VEGAN CHEESE HEALTHY?
Depending on your health goals, different foods are good for different reasons. This dish is based off beans and nutritional yeast in itself is very healthy.
We do use some processed packaged cheese and a vegan butter substitute that could be seen as not as healthy. You could try the sauce without these to see if you like it.
If health is a concern for you, then we encourage you to speak to a nutritionist.
CAN I MAKE THIS IF I DON’T HAVE A HIGH POWDERED BLENDER?
Yes! If you don’t have a high powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, then we recommend that you put all the ingredients except the cheese shreds into a normal blender or food processor and blend until creamy.
Afterwards, move the sauce to a sauce pot on the stove over medium heat and add the vegan cheese shreds. Stir until your vegan cheese has melted and you have a smooth, uniform vegan cheese sauce.
WHAT ARE THE BEST BRANDS TO MAKE A VEGAN CHEESE SAUCE?
When you make something like a vegan cheese sauce recipe you likely want to know exactly how we made it in order to get the best test.
We have not found a major difference in what brand of butter beans you use, so no worries there.
As far as dairy free milk, we typically go with Target’s Good & Gather Oat or Almond milk depending on what we have on hand. However you can use whatever your favorite is. We do recommend unflavored, unsweetened dairy free milk.
We usually use the Now Food’s brand of nutritional yeast.
As far as vegan butter, this again is one that we think you use your favorite, but we have used country crock plant based sticks and Earth Balance with a lot of sucess.
For vegan parmesan – we use the Violife wedge as our go to but if you can’t find any you can also make your own vegan parmesan cheese
Lastly, for vegan cheese, you can use a block or shreds. We have particularly really loved the Violife Epic Cheddar block and shred it ourselves inside, however we had had success with other brands like Violife and Dairy cutting board blend.
WHAT CAN I SUB FOR BUTTER BEANS?
Some people can find butter beans and others can’t. Depending on where you live, maybe it’s not easy for you either.
Butter beans provide a creamy and smooth consistency so that’s why we recommend those; however, other white beans can also be used like cannellini or great northern.
We do not recommend using chickpeas in this dish.
What are other vegan side dishes to try?
There are endless possibilities, but here are some of our favorite vegan side dishes that we think everyone will like:
- Vegan Cornbread
- One Pot 30 Minute Vegan Mashed Potatoes
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole
- Italian Vegan Pasta Salad
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Vegan Green Bean Salad
- The Best Vegan Baked Beans
- Vegan Glazed Carrots
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
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15 minute easy vegan mac and cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups macaroni noodles, uncooked (Use gluten free if needed)
- 1 15oz can butter beans, drained
- ½ cup vegetable stock
- 1 cup dairy free milk (we like oat for this)
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ½ cup vegan parmesan cheese (we use Violife for this recipe)
- 1 cup vegan shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Bring a salted pot of water to a boil.
- Cook macaroni noodles according to the package. Drain noodles once done and set aside.
- While noodles cook, add all remaining ingredients to a high powdered blender.
- Blend this until very well combined (about 3-4 minutes). Set aside.
- When noodles are drain, drain then thoroughly and return to pot.
- Pour sauce in and stir well to combine. Cook just until heated through.
- Remove from heat. Adjust salt and pepper. Serve.
Do you use the green butter beans or the big white ones? Sometimes the small green ones are hard to find
white ones!
This is the first time making vegan mac n cheese, my husband insisted that I make some so I searched out your recipes. This was pretty darn good, but I made way more sauce than needed. I am going to freeze it, I hope it will thaw well enough to make some more next week for Thanksgiving. Can’t wait to try more recipes from your page.
SO happy that you enjoyed it. It does freeze well!
Yummy! This is my new favorite Mac and cheese recipe! I used the Trader Joe’s Parm and their Mexican cheese blend and almond milk and it is so good!
yay! so glad to hear that
Hi there!! I’ve made this Mac two years in a row now! I followed the video on YouTube! I’m prepping for thanksgiving and notice that the step with the chickpea flour is not listed here! I’m looking for some help! Thank you!!
Hi! This is our quick 15 min version, I think the recipe you’re looking for is our baked mac and cheese which is here: https://makeitdairyfree.com/the-best-vegan-mac-and-cheese/
Just a heads up – there’s no longer chickpea flour listed – we updated the recipe this year to make it easier to follow. You’ll still love it!
Was looking for a vegan recipe I could make for some of my vegan friends and this recipe didn’t miss!. I Made this recipe with a couple modifications and it was excellent! It taste just as good as the regular mac and cheese that I normally make in my opinion. I used Daiya Cheddar Cheese and Good Planet Foods Parm. I gotta say that vegan cheeses have come a long way in terms of taste, these two brands get very close. I would recommend that others buy the block cheese instead of the shreds. Usually pre-shredded come coated with an anti-caking agent which can throw off taste and texture. The last couple modifications were smoked paprika instead of regular, unsweetened almond milk instead of oat milk, and instead of using veggie stock, I used about 1 Tbsp of the veggie base better than bouillon. I wanted to utilize less liquid so that the sauce would be thicker but not lack any flavor. Besides the better than bouillon has plenty salt so no need to add additional!
So glad that you enjoyed it!
Awesome recipe!!! I can’t thank you enough as we have a severe cashew allergy in our house and I haven’t been able to find a good nut free Mac cheese recipe until now!!! Thanks you thank you thank you!!!
So happy you love it!
Honey, when I tell you that this recipe is amazing, It…IS…AMAZING!!! My oldest daughter who thinks that vegan Mac and cheese should be against the law actually ate it. She put the smallest portion on her plate, tasted it and then went back to add more to her plate. My husband who is terribly lactose intolerant, can be very critical and loves cheese had 2 helpings! My youngest who usually eats my vegan Mac and cheese said she likes this version better than the way I usually make it. This is going to be the ONLY way I make Mac and cheese from now on. I’m going to have to keep a Mason jar of this sauce on hand because it’s definitely a winner!