This quick stovetop 15 minute easy vegan buffalo mac and cheese is so delicious! Perfect for lunches, late night snacks or the base of dinner!
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We are elevating the vegan mac and cheese game today. Yes, you read that title right. We’re making 15 Minute Vegan Buffalo Mac and Cheese.
This is perfectly spiced, insanely creamy, and oh my gosh, just delicious.
We’ve given you a 15 Minute Easy Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe. We’ve given you a baked vegan mac and cheese. We’ve even 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!) and told you our favorite.
But we thought it was time to up the up ante.
Buffalo mac and cheese is one of our favorite ways to spin classic mac and cheese. It’s slightly spicier, although you can make it as spicy as you want. It’s delicious on it’s own or you can spin it to be a full meal with some vegan buffalo chicken pieces or vegan buffalo cauliflower.
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 and vegan cream 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 Daiya cutting board blend.
For cream cheese, we like Wayfare and Violife.
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
Pin this easy 15 minute vegan buffalo mac and cheese for later!
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15 minute easy vegan buffalo mac and cheese
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups macaroni noodles, uncooked (Use gluten free if needed)
- 1 15oz can butter beans, drained
- 2 cups dairy free milk (we like oat for this)
- ½ cup vegetable stock
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ½ cup vegan parmesan cheese (we use Violife for this recipe)
- 2 cups vegan shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 oz vegan cream cheese
- ½ cup Buffalo sauce, more to taste
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.
Thi receipe is my favorite vegan mac and cheese recipe. I always have left over sauce since I am making it for one person. Can the vegan cheese sauce be frozen? if not how long will it last in the refrigerator?
It lasts in the fridge 1 to 1 1/2 weeks depending on the container. A tightly sealed jar works best. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Delicious. Family was surprised to learn it was vegan.
For those with just a little 16 oz Ninja bullet type, I suggest finding “baby” butter beans. Add some beans and some of the milk, blend. Add some more beans and maybe more milk depending on consistency. I don’t try to add every ingredient to the ninja cup. Just the beans and some oat milk to get it very creamy.
After noodles are cooked and drained, I add the butter, nutritional yeast, cream cheese, cheeses, broth and rest of the milk to the pot of noodles. And stir while on low heat, until everything is melted. Add the butter bean blend and seasonings. Stir some more.
Even if I am able to borrow a heavy duty blender and bring butter and cream cheese to room temp, it comes out gritty and grainy for me. So small ninja is the win for me.
Thanks for your tips Celeste! I’m sure this will be beneficial to some. Happy to hear that it was a hit with the family
Wow this was such a hit. I made this for Christmas and all the non vegans ate it and didnt realize it was vegan. When I told them they were shocked at how good it was! You guys are always killin it
Love that so much! It’s such a great feeling right?
Easiest best vegan mac that I’ve found so far. Kid and crowd pleaser!
So happy that it was a hit! Kids are so hard to please!
Thank you for this recipe! My husband has a dairy allergy and this is the first mac and cheese he has been able to enjoy in years! Also, the leftover “cheese sauce” made a perfect base for a potato soup!
oh what a great leftover idea. So glad that you hubby finally got to enjoy mac and cheese again!
What kind of Buffalo Sauce do you use?
You can use your favorite! Just ensure there’s no dairy since sometimes they contain that
I just want to say I am in love with your recipes! I’ve been vegan for some time now but just now getting in the groove of having set recipes that are actually delicious! Lol. Please keep doing what you all are doing, it’s greatly appreciated!
So happy to hear that you are enjoying them