My cross to bear in life is and will always be my love for barbecue joints. It’s difficult for me because I avoid eating meat and dairy for environmental and health reasons. To cope with this incredible hardship, I make vegan alternatives. This time, Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe (GF & Nut Free).
What Makes Great Mac and Cheese?
Baked mac and cheese is by far the best side to get at a BBQ joint, no argument needed. A great mac is spiced well, includes creamy cheese, soft noodles, and a crunchy crust. Making sure you spice your mac well should be a priority. Especially, with vegan cheese that can sometimes take over the dish. I use gluten-free noodles for this recipe but any noodles can work for this (make sure to salt your water!)
For this recipe, I make the crust with vegan croutons (mainly because I was out of bread crumbs) but you could use either or even gluten-free bread crumbs. Using vegan croutons was some form of divine timing though. It created the BEST crust for the mac and cheese. It created a crunchy layer that goes perfect with the creaminess of the cheese.
INGREDIENTS:
- Noodles (GF are fine too)
- Vegan Butter
- Flour (Any type of flour works)
- Unsweetened Almond Milk (Or a non dairy milk)
- Violife Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese (I used Mozzarella for this recipe)
- Vegan Seasoned Croutons, Italian Bread Crumbs or GF Bread Crumbs work well also
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Mustard Seed Powder
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Pepper
- Salt
The best part of this mac and cheese is that you don’t need any nuts. No cashews soaking, no nutritional yeast, just some old fashion mac, and cheese. Use the vegan cheese you love the most but if you don’t have one I highly recommend Violife.
I hope you enjoy this recipe for your next lunch or dinner. It’s great paired with my BBQ Cauliflower Wings. If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on social media so I can see your creation.
Enjoy!
– Summer
Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe (GF & Nut Free)
Vegan Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups Noodles Use gluten free noodles to make this gluten free.
- 3 tbsp Vegan Butter
- 1 Tbsp Flour Any type of flour works
- 1/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 3/4 cup Violife Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese I used Mozzarella for this recipe
- 3/4 cup Vegan Seasoned Croutons Italian Bread Crumbs work fine too.
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Mustard Seed Powder
- 1/4 tsp Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cook 2 cups of noodles, follow instructions on package.
- In a medium size pot, melt 2 tbsp of butter until melted. Add flour and mix together until it's a smooth paste
- Add milk and let simmer until it starts to bubble. Mix in cheese and mix together. Vegan Cheese takes longer to melt so turn down heat slightly to let it melt and not burn.
- Add garlic powder, onion powder, mustard seed powder, oregano, salt, pepper, paprika, Mix together and continue to cook until cheese is completly melted.
- Add other tbsp of butter into mac and cheese and mix.
- Pour croutons into plastic bag and crush them up. Set aside
- In a small baking pan, pour mac and cheese into it and top with crushed croutons.
- Bake for 5 minutes then broil for 1 minute.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe (GF & Nut Free)
The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe (Nut Free)
