Best Damn Vegan Mac & Cheese: My Holiday Table Staple

Mac and cheese literally gives me life. It is the ultimate comfort food and always a total crowd pleaser, and on a holiday table it is the dish I watch disappear first. This is my own recipe, the one I first shared on Properly Palmer, my personal blog where the recipes and the everyday experiments live. It has earned its spot here on the Properly Holiday blog because it is the side I make when I want every single guest, vegan or not, scraping the pot clean.

Why this one earns its holiday spot

Instead of store bought vegan shreds or a processed boxed mix, this mac builds its sauce from scratch: raw cashews, russet potatoes, and carrots, blended silky smooth, with nutritional yeast and ground mustard stepping in for that sharp, cheesy tang you crave. It is a reimagined Southern staple, and it satisfies a serious mac attack craving properly.

Let me be honest, the way I was in the original post: I am not going to tell you vegan mac and cheese tastes exactly like the dairy filled original, because it simply does not. But this recipe comes pretty close, and on a table full of rich holiday food, its creamy, bright flavor is the one people keep going back to.

The ingredients

• 4 cups diced russet potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups diced carrots
• 1 cup cashews
• 1 cup dairy free milk
• 1/2 onion
• 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch paprika
• 16 oz dry pasta (preferably gluten free)

Short pasta holds the sauce best. Shells and rotini work beautifully if macaroni is not your mood.

The directions

1. In a large pot add the russet potatoes, diced carrots, and cashews. Cover with water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
2. Drain the vegetable mixture and add it to a food processor with all remaining ingredients except the pasta. Purée until smooth.
3. Cook the pasta according to directions.
4. Cover the pasta with the vegetable purée mixture and mix until the pasta is evenly coated. Top with paprika if desired when serving.

Baked or stovetop?

This recipe is a classic stovetop mac, which means ultra creamy and velvety, with a higher sauce to pasta ratio than baked versions, and it gets to the table much faster. If you love the baked casserole vibe with a crunchy top, pour the coated pasta into a baking dish, top with vegan breadcrumbs or extra paprika, and broil for a few minutes until golden. Best of both worlds, and it looks gorgeous in the serving dish.

Make it ahead (the holiday host’s best friend)

My preferred make ahead method is to prepare the cashew and vegetable sauce completely and store it separately. After blending until perfectly smooth, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to three months. When you are ready to serve, boil the pasta fresh, warm the sauce in a saucepan, and toss them together. If the chilled sauce has thickened too much, whisk in a splash of dairy free milk until it reaches the consistency you want. The creamiest texture, every single time, with zero day of stress.

Make it a holiday hosting night

This is exactly the pot I put out for a wreath night: it holds happily on the stove while everyone makes, feeds a crowd without fuss, and gives your plant based guests a main character dish instead of a sad side salad. Set it beside the candlelight, keep the serving spoon ready, and accept the compliments gracefully.

More from my kitchen

This recipe lives with the rest of my cooking over at Properly Palmer, my personal blog, where new recipes and South Florida guides land first. Start with preparing your coastal home for the holidays for the full house tour, and when your table is set and your pot is on, come shop the collections for the door and the tree. Dinner is handled. The rest is just pretty.