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Janelle Carss

Vegan Mac and Cheese Powder (Easy Homemade Recipe!)

5 from 2 votes
Creamy, cheesy vegan mac and cheese made with an easy homemade cheese powder! Keep the powder in your pantry and make a delicious dairy-free mac and cheese in minutes.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: North American
Calories: 660
Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

Vegan Cheese Powder
  • ½ cup raw cashews sub sunflower seeds for nut-free
  • 1 cup nutritional yeast
  • 2 tbsp arrowroot starch sub 1 tbsp tapioca starch
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp flour (all-purpose or gluten-free)
  • 3 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp ground mustard powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ¾ tsp smoked paprika
  • scant ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
Mac and Cheese
  • 1½ cups dry macaroni or shells, gluten-free if needed
  • ⅔ cup vegan cheese powder
  • 1⅓ cup unsweetened soy milk
  • 1 tbsp vegan butter

Equipment

  • 1 High-Speed Blender

Method
 

  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.
    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.
    Add 1 tbsp vegan butter to the pot and let it melt. Then simply whisk the powder with double the amount of soy milk (a 1:2 ratio) in the pot until smooth. So for ⅔ cup cheese powder, use 1⅓ cup soy milk.
    3. If you've got any tiny bits of cashew remaining in your powder, I highly recommend blending the powder and soy milk together in a blender rather than simply whisking them together in the pot. This gives you a much smoother sauce.
  3. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens and becomes creamy and velvety.
    Once the sauce has thickened, add your cooked macaroni and stir until every noodle is coated in that glorious cheese sauce.
    Taste and adjust the seasoning or stir in more cheese powder if needed.

Video

Notes

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.

 

 

Tips for the Best 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.
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.