Best vegan mac and cheese (Instant Pot) ultra-creamy, comforting, and made with a simple cheese sauce that tastes rich without the dairy. Ready in just 30 minutes in the Instant Pot or stovetop for an easy weeknight dinner.
Looking for more cheesy, plant-based comfort food? Try my baked vegan mac and cheese, vegan cheesy hash brown casserole, or my cheesy cauliflower and broccoli over potatoes!
If you grew up loving the classic mac and cheese, same. I was a lifelong Kraft devotee; nothing beat it. When I went plant-based, I thought those days were over.
So I set out to create a mac and cheese recipe I’d feel good about eating, serving, and would actually enjoy.
After much trial and error, this easy vegan mac is the one on repeat. If you’re ready for mac and cheese that’s indulgent and good-for-you, this dairy-free mac is it.
Love creamy vegan pastas? Try my coconut milk pasta sauce, creamy tomato sauce with pasta, vegan marry me chickpeas pasta, or this chilled garlic lovers' pasta salad.
Why This Recipe Works
- Creamy, cheesy texture — no flour or butter: Potatoes, carrots, and cashews blend into a velvety sauce.
- Instant Pot or stovetop: Less work, more flavor.
- Meal prep superstar: Sauce keeps for days — just reheat and pour.
- Feel-good comfort: Savory, satisfying, but lighter and plant-based.
- Easily adjustable — make it cheesier, tangier, or spicier to fit your taste.
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy vegan mac & cheese recipe:
- Pasta (not shown in photo) – Elbow macaroni is classic, but any shape works. Use gluten-free pasta (like brown rice pasta), if needed
- Vegan cheese sauce – Yellow potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, raw cashews, water, vegan bouillon cube, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, turmeric, salt, black pepper, plant‑based milk, & nutritional yeast
- Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk – Unsweetened cashew, oat, soy, or almond milk—just make sure it’s plain and unsweetened
- Cashews – Use white beans or sunflower seeds
- Vegan bouillon cube – Substitute with low-sodium vegetable broth, but you may need to add more salt, depending on which brand you use. My favorite is this vegan bouillon cube.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to make Vegan Mac and Cheese
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Start the cheese sauce
Add potatoes, carrot, onion, garlic, cashews, water, vegan bouillon cube, and all spices (except salt, pepper, milk, and nutritional yeast) to the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes, then natural release for 10 minutes.
Blend cheese sauce
Transfer the Instant Pot contents to a high-speed blender (if using a standard blender, see Notes). Add in plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Blend everything on high until creamy.
Tested Tips
- Don’t overcook the pasta — stop at just al dente since it’ll soak up some sauce.
- No need to soak cashews — they’ll soften while cooking with the veggies. Cashews get really creamy when cooked and blended — no soaking, no gritty texture.
- Taste as you go — adjust salt, tang (lemon/Dijon), or spice (cayenne/paprika) after blending.
- Plant-based milk: Always use plain, unsweetened. Anything vanilla-flavored will make your mac taste like dessert.
- Sauce too thick? Blend in a splash more plant milk.
Vegan mac and cheese is a favorite holiday and meal prep side with my vegan lentil meatloaf recipe, mashed potatoes no milk or cream recipe, and this quick easy vegan gravy. So good!
Best Noodles for Mac and Cheese
Elbow macaroni is classic, but any short pasta with plenty of curves or nooks will work. The real goal? Hold as much creamy sauce as possible.
- Elbows: The classic mac and cheese shape — always a winner.
- Shells: Catch pockets of sauce in every bite.
- Cavatappi: Twisty, chewy, and soaks up flavor.
- Fusilli or Rotini: Spirals grab on to every bit of cheese sauce.
- Penne or Rigatoni: Tubes for extra sauciness.
Pick a pasta with ridges (“rigate”) if you can find it. The grooves mean more cheese sauce in every bite. Gluten-free varieties work just as well, too.
No need to overthink — just use what you have, but shapes with holes, curves, or ridges make it a little extra satisfying.
Make it your way
- Tex-Mex: Add roasted corn, pickled jalapenos onions and carrots, and black beans.
- Buffalo: Stir in hot sauce and top with sliced green onions.
- Veggie-packed: Add peas, broccoli, or sautéed spinach.
- Nacho-style: Swap the cheese sauce in this recipe with my vegan nacho cheese sauce for a delicious twist!
Meal prep for Mac and Cheese
This cheesy sauce is all about simplicity and real ingredients, like potatoes, carrots, and cashews, just like the kind of everyday foods in the Blue Zones diet, where plant-based eating is the norm.
It comes together fast in the Instant Pot or on the stove.
This is a meal prep staple in my kitchen. I batch this vegan cheese sauce — my kids love it, and I always have an easy dinner ready to go. Pour it over pasta for an easy mac and cheese, drizzle it on veggies, dunk potatoes, or add it to bowls.
For more vegan easy meal prep ideas, check out my vegan meal prep guide, perfect for beginners, or check out more easy 30 minute vegan meals.
Storage Tips
- Refrigerator: Mac and cheese (sauce mixed with pasta) is best fresh, but will keep in the fridge for about 2–3 days. Keep leftover sauce in an airtight container separately for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Store sauce and pasta separately for best texture (2–3 months).
- Reheat: Warm gently on the stove or microwave, adding a splash of plant-based milk if needed to loosen it up.
If you love using an Instant Pot for easy meal prep, make sure to check out my Instant Pot chickpeas recipe (soaked or unsoaked) and this Instant Pot refried beans recipe.
Vegan Mac and Cheese FAQs
Unsweetened almond, cashew, oat, or soy milk are all great choices - just make sure it's plain and unsweetened. Avoid anything with vanilla or added sugar, or it will be dessert-like.
The secret's in the blend! Cooking and blending potatoes, carrots, and cashews with plant milk creates a velvety sauce that clings to noodles. For extra creaminess, use a high-speed blender and add a splash more milk if it's too thick.
Yes—swap cashews for white beans or steamed cauliflower and use oat milk.
It's mostly whole food, everyday veggies (potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic), plus cashews for creaminess. Everything gets blended up with plant milk and cheesy seasonings.
Did you try this recipe? Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment below and sharing it on Instagram, Facebook, & Pinterest! 💛
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Best Vegan Mac and Cheese (Instant Pot)
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Ingredients
- (1) 12–16 ounce elbow macaroni, any shape works—gluten-free if needed. For a classic batch, use a 16-ounce package; for a saucier version, go with 12 ounces.
- 2 medium yellow potatoes, roughly chopped
- ½ cup carrot, roughly diced, about 6–7 inches
- ⅔ cup onion, roughly chopped, about ⅔ of a medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- ½ cup cashews, unsalted and unroasted
- 1.5 cups water, OR low-sodium vegetable broth and omit vegan bouillon cube (see Notes)
- 1 vegan bouillon cube
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, adjust to taste, plus more for the pasta water
- 20 turns black pepper
- ½ cup plant-based milk, unsweetened and unflavored
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast, optional
Instructions
- Start the Cheese Sauce: Add potatoes, carrot, onion, garlic, cashews, water, vegan bouillon cube, and all spices (except salt, pepper, milk, and nutritional yeast) to the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes, then natural release for 10 minutes.
- Cook Pasta: While the sauce cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just al dente. Before draining, Reserve ⅓ cup of the pasta's cooking water. Do not rinse pasta after draining.
- Blend Cheese Sauce: Transfer the Instant Pot contents to a high-speed blender. Add in plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Blend everything on high until creamy.
- Mix & Serve: Return drained pasta to the pot or a large serving bowl. Pour the cheese sauce into the pot or bowl and add reserved pasta water to loosen. Toss well. Add any optional toppings or optional add-ins (see Notes) and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For the full step-by-step cheese sauce recipe: Includes stovetop instructions, helpful tips, and substitutions, check out easy vegan cheese sauce.
- If using low-sodium vegetable broth instead of water + vegan bouillon cube, you may need to add additional salt (in ¼ teaspoon increments).
- Creamier: Add 1–2 tablespoons more cashews or a drizzle of olive oil.
- Thinner: Blend in a splash of plant-based milk until it’s just right.
- Optional flavor add-ins: Try a squeeze of lemon, a bit of Dijon mustard, or a pinch of miso for extra umami.
- Optional Add-Ins: Frozen peas, steamed broccoli, sautéed greens, or steamed cauliflower.
- Optional Toppings: Crispy breadcrumbs, vegan parm, hot sauce, fresh herbs.
- Add spice: Add a pinch of cayenne, a heaping spoonful of this tatemada salsa recipe, a few dashes of hot sauce, pickled jalapeños, or a pinch of chili powder for gentle heat and smoky depth.
- Nutritional Yeast: You can skip it; it’s still great without it.
Nutrition
Julie Gaeta is a plant-based recipe creator, certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and mom of nine who's been plant-based for over 20 years. She's cooked approximately 4,382 pots of beans and can't vacation without her juicer and pasta pot. Her work has been featured in HuffPost, Yahoo, YourTango, and other major outlets. She helps others simplify wellness and feel good again through her blog, coaching, and weekly newsletter.
Julie Gaeta says
Always a favorite. Creamy, comforting, and seriously satisfying. Make a double batch of the cheese sauce, it never lasts!