Vegan Mac and Cheese Powder (Easy Homemade Recipe!)

If you’ve ever wished you could have creamy vegan mac and cheese on the table in minutes, this homemade Vegan Mac and Cheese Powder is about to become your new pantry staple! Made with raw cashews, nutritional yeast, arrowroot starch and simple seasonings, this dairy-free cheese powder turns into a rich, velvety cheese sauce with just soy milk and pasta.

It’s ridiculously easy to make, naturally customizable, and you can keep the dry cheese powder on hand whenever that mac-and-cheese craving hits. Add broccoli and green onions, tofu, extra vegan cheese or a chipotle pepper in adobo for a seriously delicious twist.

Watch how to make Vegan Mac and Cheese Powder over on my YouTube channel! And don’t forget to subscribe while you’re at it  😉

Inspiration & Ingredients

The beauty of this recipe is that you make the cheese powder ahead of time, then whenever the mac and cheese craving strikes, you’re only a few minutes away from a bowl of creamy, cheesy goodness.

The base is a combination of raw cashews and nutritional yeast. The cashews give the powder richness and creaminess, while nutritional yeast brings that unmistakable cheesy, savoury flavour.

Then we bring in the supporting cast: arrowroot and cornstarch for the perfect sauce consistency, flour for a little extra body, and a seriously flavour-packed blend of onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, smoked paprika, mustard, turmeric, salt, pepper and just a touch of sugar.

The result is a creamy, savoury, silky cheese sauce with a gorgeous golden-orange colour.

Plus, you don’t need coconut milk, potatoes or a blender full of vegetables to make it. Just powder + soy milk + pasta!

Why You Need to Make Vegan Mac and Cheese Powder

It’s pantry-friendly

Once you’ve made the powder, you can keep it in your pantry and have homemade vegan mac and cheese whenever you want.

It’s ridiculously easy

The hardest part is literally putting the ingredients into a blender. Make the powder, cook your noodles, and mix with soy milk. Then heat and eat, baby!

It tastes REALLY cheesy

The combination of nutritional yeast, mustard, garlic, onion and paprika gives this sauce a deep, savoury, cheesy flavour, while the cashews make it rich and creamy.

You can customize it endlessly

Keep it classic, add broccoli and green onions, throw in some finely cubed tofu (becomes undetectable mixed with the noodles), make it extra cheesy with vegan shredded cheese, or add chipotle for a smoky queso situation.

How to Make Vegan Mac and Cheese Powder

Instructions

1. Blend the cheese powder ingredients: Add all of the cheese powder ingredients to a high-speed blender, and blend until everything is combined and the cashews have been pulverized into a fine powder. And stop there! You don’t want to keep blending once the cashews are finely powdered because they’ll eventually start releasing their oils and turn into cashew butter. Transfer the cheese powder to an airtight container and store it in your pantry.
2. Make the Mac and Cheese: For a standard Kraft dinner-sized meal, cook 1½ cups of dry macaroni noodles according to package directions. This should give you about 2¼ cups or so of cooked noodles.
3. While the noodles are cooking, make the cheese sauce. My recommendation is for roughly every 2 to 2½ cups of cooked noodles use ½ to ⅔ cup of the cheese powder; simply blend the powder with double the amount of soy milk (a 1:2 ratio) in a blender until smooth. So for ⅔ cup cheese powder, use 1⅓ cup soy milk.
4. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens and becomes creamy and velvety.
5. Once the sauce has thickened, add your cooked macaroni and stir until every noodle is coated in that glorious cheese sauce.
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

tips for the Best Vegan Mac and Cheese

Blend the powder with the milk for the smoothest sauce. If your cheese powder has any small bits of cashew remaining, don’t panic! This is easily fixed.

Instead of simply whisking the powder and soy milk together in the saucepan, blend them together first using a blender or immersion blender, then pour the mixture into the pot to heat.

This breaks down those little cashew pieces and gives you a much smoother, creamier cheese sauce.

Don’t over-blend the cheese powder. This one is important! You want the cashews to be finely powdered, but don’t keep blending once you’ve reached that point.

Cashews contain quite a bit of natural fat, and if you keep pulverizing them, they’ll eventually start sticking together and turning into a cashew paste — basically the beginning stages of cashew butter, which we don’t want!

Blend just until the cashews are powdered and evenly incorporated with the other ingredients, then stop.

Use unsweetened soy milk. I recommend unsweetened soy milk because it gives the sauce a creamy texture and neutral flavour without adding unwanted sweetness.

Soy milk also adds a little extra protein, which is always welcome in my kitchen!

Don’t crank the heat. Once you’ve combined the powder and milk, heat the sauce over medium heat, stirring frequently.

You don’t need to boil the hell out of it. You’re looking for a gentle cook until the starches activate and the sauce becomes thick and creamy.

Want it thinner? Easy! Just whisk in a splash more soy milk until you reach your preferred consistency.

Remember that the sauce will continue to thicken slightly as it sits, especially once you add the pasta.

How to Jazz Up Your Mac and Cheese

Classic mac and cheese is delicious, but sometimes we need to make things a little more interesting.

Here are some of my favourite ways to take this from good to oh damn.

🥦 Broccoli + Green Onions

This is probably my personal favourite way to eat it. Add broccoli florets directly to the pasta cooking water about 5 minutes before the macaroni is finished cooking.

Drain everything together, then toss it with your cheese sauce and finish with a generous handful of sliced green onions.

The broccoli adds colour, texture and some much-needed vegetable credibility to your bowl of cheesy carbs.

💪 Add Tofu

Want to make your mac and cheese more filling and protein-rich? Add finely cubed firm or extra-firm tofu.

You can stir it directly into the finished mac and cheese, and because of it’ soft texture, it basically gets completely disguised alongside the noodles. It’s a great way to turn your comfort food into a much more substantial meal!

🧀 Make It Extra Cheesy

If you want to go completely over the top, stir some vegan shredded cheese into the finished sauce.

Let it melt into the sauce before adding your noodles for an extra-gooey, ridiculously cheesy result.

🌶️ Chipotle Queso Mac

For a smoky, spicy, queso-esque twist, blend one chipotle pepper in adobo into the cheese sauce. Start with one pepper and add more if you like things spicy.

The smoky chipotle is ridiculously good with the paprika and mustard already in the cheese powder. Serve it with green onions, cilantro, jalapeños or your favourite taco toppings for a mac-and-cheese-meets-queso situation.

Storage

Store the dry vegan cheese powder in an airtight container in a cool, dry pantry. Make sure your cashews are fresh and your container is completely dry before storing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this gluten-free?

Absolutely!

Simply use your favourite gluten-free flour in place of all-purpose flour and make sure your other ingredients are certified gluten-free if necessary.

Can I use a different plant milk?

Yes, although I recommend unsweetened soy milk for the best combination of creaminess and protein.

Other unsweetened plant milks should work, but avoid anything strongly flavoured or sweetened.

Why are there tiny cashew pieces in my powder?

Don’t worry — this is mostly a blender issue.

If your blender doesn’t completely pulverize the cashews, simply blend the finished cheese powder together with the soy milk before heating it. This will give you a much smoother sauce.

Can I make the cheese powder without cashews?

You can, but the cashews are doing some important work here. They add richness, creaminess and body to the sauce.

If you’re looking for a nut-free version, you’ll need to adjust the recipe rather than simply leaving them out. I recommend trying sunflower seeds; I haven’t tried it yet myself, but if you do, let me know how it goes!

Nutrition

Per serving, based off below recipe card measurements (2 ‘adult sized’ servings; using ⅔ cup cheese powder)

660 calories • 28g protein • 99g carbs • 16g fat • 8g fibre

Nutrition information is approximate and will vary depending on the ingredients used, especially the amount of pasta cooked and cheese powder used.

Hasta la Cheese-ta, Baby

Y’all, I didn’t expect a jar of powdered ingredients to be this damn exciting. But there’s something extremely satisfying about having a homemade vegan mac and cheese mix sitting in your pantry, ready to transform into a creamy, cheesy, saucy masterpiece in minutes. Like, come on!

It’s easy, it’s customizable, it’s ridiculously delicious, and you can turn it into an actual meal with some broccoli, tofu and green onions.

Basically, this cheese powder is hot stuff, and I can’t wait for you to try it for yourself!

Love this recipe? I’d really appreciate if you gave me a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below! You might want to also check out my Dill Pickle Pasta, Butternut Squash Pasta, or Lasagna Soup!

Lastly, if you made any of these recipes and decide to share them on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @SteamyVegan and use hashtag #SteamyVegan! I seriously love seeing what you’re cooking up! Plus make sure to check me out on YouTube — I have HUNDREDS of recipe videos to give you limitless plant-based inspiration!