Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese

This Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese is the perfect weeknight dinner recipe. It's packed full of vegetables, flavor and whole grains. This recipe is vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and refined sugar-free!

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This creamy baked Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese is the ultimate plant based dinner. It's packed full of veggies and whole grains, and super simple to make. This recipe is sure to be a favorite amongst vegans and non vegans alike!

Vegan Mac and Cheese is great. There are thousands of recipes online. Many of them taste just like the real thing, or have a creative twist like my Sweet Potato Mac And Cheese.

More often than not these vegan recipes contain nuts. This is perfectly fine unless you are nut-free. That's exactly why I created this sunflower seed butter mac and cheese! Whether you have an allergy, are looking for a more affordable option, or are just looking for a delicious recipe, this one's for you!

Ingredients For This Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese:

This Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese is the perfect allergen friendly meal that features clean and simple ingredients.

• SunButter Organic Sunflower Seed Butter - This is the key ingredient to achieving the perfect creamy nut-free vegan mac and cheese. It's made with simple and clean ingredients, is certified organic, and is SO much more affordable than nut butters such as cashew butter. It has a delicious flavor that elevates this recipe to the next level.
• Golden Potatoes - Any potato variety will work for this vegan mac and cheese. However I prefer to use golden potatoes. They have a creamier and richer flavor which makes them perfect for this recipe.
• Baby Carrots - It's important that you use baby carrots, and not regular carrots. Baby carrots have a sweeter flavor, and will compliment the other flavors in this recipe. Regular carrots don't have much flavor, they will work if that's all you have, but I prefer not to use them.
• Garlic - You may adjust the garlic to your taste. Since this is not a traditional mac and cheese recipe, you can play around with the flavors quite a lot. I personally don't love traditional mac and cheese, because I think it lacks flavor. Therefore I add lots of garlic to this recipe.
• Sweet Onion - You can use a sweet onion, or a regular onion. Much like the carrots, this will just affect the flavors slightly. Regular onions will work. However I find that sweet onions work better.
• Nutritional Yeast - This is what gives this recipe the perfect plant based cheesy flavor. Nutritional yeast is a natural ingredient that is high in B vitamins and protein.
• Nut-Free Vegan Yogurt - If you're not nut-free, you can use any vegan yogurt. However if you want to make this recipe nut-free, use a soy, flax, coconut, or oat based yogurt.
• Smoked Paprika - This gives this nut free vegan mac and cheese the perfect warm smoky flavor. Smoked paprika is great, because it's not too overwhelming, but it's still super flavorful.
• Sea Salt - One of the key ingredients to achieving cheese like vegan flavors is using lots of salt. You can leave this ingredient out if you eat a low sodium diet, but I highly recommend including it.
• Gluten-Free Macaroni Noodles - If you don't eat a gluten-free diet, you can use regular, whole wheat, or even bean based noodles for a high protein and high fiber option.
• Broccoli - Is the perfect vegetable to include in this recipe. You can use fresh broccoli, or use frozen broccoli for a quicker option.
• Gluten-Free Panko - Just like the pasta, if you are not gluten-free, you do not need to use gluten-free panko. I like using the Panko brand, because it has minimal ingredients.
• Fresh Thyme - Makes for the perfect garnish on top of this mac and cheese recipe.

See recipe card for quantities.

How To Make This Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese:

Begin by peeling the garlic and roughly chopping the onions and the potatoes. Add to a steamer with the baby carrots and steam until soft. About 25 minutes.

Add the steamed vegetables to a blender with the nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, plant based yogurt, salt, and Sunbutter sunflower butter.

Blend the ingredients on high for about 2 full minutes. You want to make sure that it becomes a smooth and creamy liquid without any clumps. Boil the gluten-free macaroni noodles according to package instructions.

Combine the cooked gluten-free macaroni noodles and broccoli together in an oven safe dish.

Remove from the oven and top with fresh thyme. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Lightly blanch the broccoli. Once it turns bright green, strain. Preheat the oven to 375.

Pour the cheesy sauce over the gluten-free macaroni noodles and broccoli. Top with gluten-free panko and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

Hint: Don't overcook the macaroni noodles or broccoli before adding to them to the to the oven safe dish with the sauce. The liquid in the sauce will cook the noodles and broccoli even more. By slightly undercooking them before baking you will end up with perfect noodles and broccoli.

Easy Substitutions:

If you have an allergy, don't have a certain ingredient on hand, or are just looking to use something else, there are plenty of easy substitutions that can be made in this nut free vegan mac and cheese.

• Vegetable - instead of broccoli, you can use any cruciferous vegetable. Kale and cauliflower are my top picks.
• Noodles - There are so many noodles catered towards so many diets nowadays, that the noodle substitutions are truly endless for this recipe. Use bean based noodles for a grain-free option, gluten-free for a gluten-free option, konjac noodles for a low calorie option, the list goes on!
• Garnish - This recipe can be garnished with any fresh herb. I personally love thyme, but you can also use parsley, sage, chives, etc.

Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese Variations:

This Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese is a go-to healthy vegan weeknight dinner recipe for me. Although it is absolutely delicious as is, there are a couple variations I love to make to mix it up.

• Spicy - add chili pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to the sauce to make an extra spicy mac and cheese.
• Deluxe - add plant based protein, extra vegetables, and vegan cheese on top for a fully loaded nut free mac and cheese.
• Noodles - Just because this is a mac and cheese recipe does not mean you have to use macaroni noodles. You can use any noodle shape for this recipe. I recommend using bite sized noodles with some sort of shape and form that can hold the sauce.

See my Sweet Potato Mac And Cheese for another vegan mac and cheese variety!

What You Will Need To Make This Nut Free Mac And Cheese:

This Nut Free Mac and Cheese is great, because it doesn't require any crazy equipment. You will need:

• Blender - Any blender will work for this recipe. However if you eat a plant based diet, I strongly recommend using high speed blender such as a Vitamix. It's a game changer when it comes to making creamy cheese sauces like the one in this recipe.
• Steamer/Pot - You will need a steamer and a pot to steam the vegetables and boil the pasta. There are plenty of pots out there that do both.
• Oven Safe Dish - Any oven safe dish will work. I love using my cast iron, because it's beautiful, and it cooks evenly.

How To Store This Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese:

This recipe is one of my favorite meal prep friendly meals to make. It will last all week if stored correctly, and tastes great all throughout the week.

If you're planning on meal prepping this nut-free vegan mac and cheese, I recommend using air tight storage containers. Any meal prep container will work, however air tight containers will keep the pasta from drying out best.

This vegan mac and cheese recipe can also be frozen. Again, I recommend using air tight containers when freezing. If stored properly this recipe can keep in the freezer for up to two months.

I recommend reheating it in the oven if frozen. Heat your oven to 350 and bake for 25 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Related Vegan Main Courses:

Looking for other vegan weeknight dinner recipes like this? Try these:

Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese

This Nut Free Vegan Mac And Cheese is the perfect weeknight dinner recipe. It's packed full of vegetables, flavor and whole grains. This recipe is vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and refined sugar-free!

5 from 14 votes

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Course Casserole, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

Equipment

• 1 High speed blender
• 1 steamer
• 1 oven safe baking dish

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 box gluten-free macaroni noodles
• 2 crowns broccoli
• ½ cup gluten-free panko
• ½ sweet onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 golden potatoes
• 1 cup baby carrots
• ½ cup nut free vegan yogurt
• ⅓ cup sunbutter organic sunflower seed butter
• 1 teaspoon miso paste
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
• Fresh thyme to garnish

Instructions

 

• Begin by peeling the garlic and roughly chopping the onions and the potatoes. Add to a steamer with the baby carrots and steam until soft. About 25 minutes.
• Add the steamed vegetables to a blender with the nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, plant based yogurt, salt, and Sunbutter sunflower butter.
• Blend the ingredients on high for about 2 full minutes. You want to make sure that it becomes a smooth and creamy liquid without any clumps. Boil the gluten-free macaroni noodles according to package instructions.
• Lightly blanch the broccoli. Once it turns bright green, strain. Preheat the oven to 375.
• Combine the cooked gluten-free macaroni noodles and broccoli together in an oven safe dish.
• Pour the cheesy sauce over the gluten-free macaroni noodles and broccoli. Top with gluten-free panko and place in the oven for 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and top with fresh thyme. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Keyword easy dinner, fall dinner, healthy dinner, mac and cheese, nut free vegan mac and cheese, nut-free

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Food Safety

It's important to make sure you are always practicing safe habits in the kitchen. When making this Nut-Free Vegan Mac And Cheese, make sure to:

• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Wash hands before touching food
• Use hot mitts when touching hot objects

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.

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