Creamy, comforting vegan mac and cheese – without dairy and without loads of nutritional yeast. This easy baked vegan mac gets its rich, silky sauce from cashews and Brazil nuts, with a crisp golden breadcrumb topping. And the nutritional yeast? Just a hint – and completely optional.
Meet Mac Oh-Geez.
Because sometimes you just want a big scoop of creamy, cozy mac without trying to make it taste aggressively “cheesy.”
That’s what I love about this recipe.
Many vegan mac and cheese recipes lean heavily on nutritional yeast to create cheesy flavor. And while I like nutritional yeast, I don’t always want it to take over a dish.
Here, there’s just one tablespoon in the sauce and one tablespoon in the topping – and both are optional.
Instead, the creamy sauce comes primarily from a blend of cashews and Brazil nuts (or almonds), non-dairy milk, lemon juice, garlic, and a few simple seasonings.
The result is a luscious, comforting vegan mac and cheese bake that doesn’t feel like it’s trying too hard to imitate anything. It’s simply really good mac.
From Let Them Eat Vegan to My Oil-Free Collection
Mac Oh-Geez first appeared in my cookbook Let Them Eat Vegan – and it’s still a favorite all these years later!
I’ve recently revisited many recipes from the book, updating and simplifying them to be fully oil-free, and giving every recipe a beautiful new photo.
You’ll find this revised Mac Oh-Geez, along with many other refreshed favorites, in my new Let Them Eat Vegan: Easy Oil-Free Vegan Recipes collection. All the details are here.
It’s a fresh take on some much-loved recipes… easier, oil-free, and ready to be loved all over again.
If you’d like to see more and support my work, link here for the two collections. Thank you. 🙏
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Mac and Cheese
This Mac Oh-Geez is:
- Rich, creamy, and comforting
- Completely dairy-free and vegan
- Made with simple plant-based ingredients
- Delicious with or without nutritional yeast
- Easy to make gluten-free
- Topped with crispy golden breadcrumbs
- Perfect for family dinners, holidays, potlucks, or anytime you need some serious comfort food
And there’s plenty of sauce. Because dry mac? Oh, geez. No. 😉
Where I Source My Organic Nuts & Pantry Essentials
Since nuts are the secret to that beautifully creamy Mac Oh-Geez sauce, quality matters!
A great source for organic nuts, seeds, dried fruits, grains, spices, and other pantry staples is OM Foods. They have a huge selection of organic essentials at prices that make stocking a plant-based pantry much more affordable… especially when buying staple ingredients.
And I have a little extra savings for you: use code DREENA for $10 off your order at OM Foods.
So if you’re stocking up on cashews, Brazil nuts, almonds – or any of your everyday organic pantry essentials – it’s a great place to fill your cart. 🌱
This section contains an affiliate partnership. I may receive a commission when you purchase using my code, at no additional cost to you.
Vegan Mac and Cheese: Pasta Note
Three cups of dry pasta may not look like much when you start, but once the pasta cooks and absorbs some of that creamy sauce, this recipe makes enough to happily serve 3-4 people.
I usually use about 3 1/4 cups dry pasta because I love my mac saucy.
You can increase it to 3 1/2 cups, but I wouldn’t go beyond that. More pasta means less sauce per noodle – and Mac Oh-Geez deserves to stay creamy!
Homemade Breadcrumbs Tip
Making your own breadcrumbs is ridiculously easy – and it’s a great way to use those random ends of bread that otherwise get forgotten.
Whenever you have extra bread ends, collect them in a bag in the freezer. Once you have enough, let the bread thaw and add it to a food processor.
Pulse or process until the crumbs reach your preferred consistency.
Use what you need for the recipe, then pop the remaining breadcrumbs back into the freezer for another day.
Does Vegan Mac and Cheese Need Nutritional Yeast?
Nope!
Nutritional yeast is popular in vegan cheese sauces because it adds a savory, slightly cheesy flavor. But you don’t need a large amount of nutritional yeast to make a delicious vegan mac and cheese.
In fact, that’s one of the things that makes this recipe different.
This vegan mac and cheese uses only a small amount, and you can leave it out entirely. The combination of nuts, lemon, garlic, non-dairy milk, and seasonings creates plenty of rich flavor on its own.
So if you don’t like nutritional yeast – or simply don’t have any – you can still make this recipe.
Can I Make This Vegan Mac and Cheese Gluten-Free?
Yes. Simply use your favorite gluten-free cut pasta and gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Just keep an eye on the pasta while cooking. You want it slightly underdone before it goes into the oven so it doesn’t become too soft during baking.
Creamy Vegan Comfort Food at Its Best
This is the kind of recipe I love: familiar and comforting, but made entirely with plants.
No dairy. No cheese. No mountain of nutritional yeast.
Just tender pasta enveloped in a creamy sauce, finished with that irresistible crispy breadcrumb topping.
Mac Oh-Geez, indeed.
Mac Oh-Geez! Creamy Vegan Mac and Cheese Bake
Ingredients
- 3 – 3 1/2 cups dry cut pasta ex: macaroni, penne, see note
- Sauce:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup raw brazil nuts or raw almonds
- 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
- 1 medium clove garlic
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp rounded dry
- mustard optional
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups plain
- unsweetened non-dairy milk
- Breadcrumb Topping:
- 3/4 cup dry whole-grain breadcrumbs any type, can use gluten-free, see note
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
- Couple pinches sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 375°F.
-
Get all ingredients ready to blend for sauce, then start cooking pasta.
-
While pasta is cooking, blend all sauce ingredients in a blender until very smooth.
-
Once pasta is almost tender (not fully tender), drain without rinsing.
-
Mix noodles with sauce, and immediately pour into a lightly oiled 8 x 12” baking dish. (it will look like there is a lot of runny sauce – it will thicken up, really, trust the pasta!)
-
Mix breadcrumb toppings in a small bowl, then sprinkle over top of casserole.
-
Cover with foil and bake for 17-18 minutes (if you refrigerate the casserole before baking, give it another few minutes to fully heat through).
-
Then, remove foil cover and bake another 5-7 minutes or until topping is golden
-
brown and crisped. Don’t over-bake or sauce will get too thick.
-
Remove from oven and place casserole on a hot plate (rather than on top of oven, since residual heat from oven will continue to thicken the sauce). Serve.
Notes
on the dry-side.
Breadcrumbs Note: It’s easy to make breadcrumbs, and a great way to use ends of bread! When you have some loose bread ends, collect in a bag in the freezer. Store enough to be able to batch-prep your crumbs. When ready to prep, remove bread from freezer to thaw, then add to a food processor. Pulse/process to desired consistency. Use for recipes, and store remaining crumbs back in the freezer.
Nuts & Ingredients Note: Source reasonably priced organic nuts, seeds, dried fruits, grains, spices, and other pantry staples from OM Foods. They have a huge selection of organic essentials at prices that make stocking a plant-based pantry much more affordable. I have a little extra savings for you: use code DREENA for $10 off your order at OM Foods.
