Best vegan gluten free Mac n cheese?

December 27, 2020 9:15 PM

I have never found a good vegan Mac n cheese - it doesn’t help that I can’t have gluten. Please point me in the right direction or share your favorite recipes?
posted by jitterbug perfume to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

I’ve found that every recipe in Oh She Glows in a winner in the vegan department. Her Mac and Cheese recipe looks weird, but I’ve made it and it’s quite good! If you need gluten free, sub some gluten free pasta, the sauce shouldn’t have any gluten.
posted by GuyZero at 9:40 PM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]

Soaked cashews and nutritional yeast are key to a good vegan mac and cheese. This is my fav recipe, I make it with or without onions, roasted or raw cashews, add roasted red pepper sometimes. It's a great "cheesy" base. Any gf pasta will work.

https://veganyumminess.com/creamy-vegan-mac-and-cheese/
posted by Arctostaphylos at 10:24 PM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]

I made this recipe recently and it turned out really well. You'd need to use gluten-free miso paste and gluten-free pasta and breadcrumbs but it is an easy recipe and is very cheesy.
posted by essexjan at 5:28 AM on December 28, 2020 [3 favorites]

Isa over at Post Punk Kitchen has my favorite Mac and cheese here: Broccoli mac and cheese (obviously broccoli is optional and you can use gluten free pasta). I have a Nutri-bullet and find that I don't need to soak the cashews, which is a real time saver and makes it easier to make on a moment's notice. My biggest hurdle lately has been finding raw cashews, which my grocery store hasn't stocked in weeks.

I will say that the leftovers tend to dry out, and have yet to find a vegan recipe that doesn't have that problem. You could always make extra cheese sauce and reserve it for reheating leftovers. I use this cheese sauce recipe as my base for just about anything that I want to be cheesy/creamy - boost the spice and it's a pretty good queso for dipping or nachos.
posted by misskaz at 6:06 AM on December 28, 2020 [2 favorites]

That recipe posted by misskaz is very similar to the one we use, for which I don't have a link as we got the recipe from a friend. It does indeed work with gluten free pasta (though I do still rinse the pasta, as we've found that the chickpea penne we use is NOT delightful when overcooked).

We use non-dairy milk (cashew milk when we can find it, almond milk is fine too) instead of broth for the sauce, a bit higher of a liquid to nut ratio (2 cups milk to 1.25 cups cashews), and with the thinner sauce that can stand up to more drying out, also bake the final product in a roasting pan (20-30 minutes at 350), for which you can top with gluten free breadcrumbs with some vegan butter or just skip the topping, we've found it delightful both ways.
posted by solotoro at 6:29 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]

I use the Isa Chandra Moskowitz recipe for butternut Alfredo which is quite similar to the recipe essexjan posted. I use oatly barista for the "milk" as it's rich and creamy and never curdles (I can't stand even a hint of coconut flavour where it's not meant to be so don't use coconut milk). It comes out really well and my husband who doesn't like butternut squash was totally fooled into liking it too.
posted by hazyjane at 9:46 AM on December 28, 2020 [3 favorites]

My mainstay. Sub GF bread (DeLand bakery does a number (oatmeal, millet, etc) without eggs) for the topping. GF pasta of course. Highly recommended. Does indeed dry out as mentioned - a drop or two of water and a sheet of wax paper to steam tent in the microwave helps to rehydrate.
posted by alexandermatheson at 12:15 PM on December 28, 2020 [2 favorites]

GoGo Quinoa have a boxed gluten-free macaroni and vegan cheese that's pretty good.
posted by zadcat at 12:25 PM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'll vouch for the gluten-free boxed vegan mac and cheese made by Chickapea. It's high in fiber and protein and low in sodium, with a damn-near-irresistible sweet potato and pumpkin sauce.
posted by virago at 12:01 AM on December 29, 2020 [1 favorite]