Vegan Macaroni Cheese

vegan macaroni cheese close up with a scoop taken

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Servings 4 people

Calories 667kcal

Cost £2.42

Ingredients

500 ml (2 cups) unsweetened soy milk or your fave unsweetened plant-based milk
100 ml (½ cup) water
100 g (7 tbsp) vegan butter, vegetable shortening (e.g. TREX), refined coconut oil or olive oil
300 g (11 oz) (2 medium) potatoes peeled and coarsley grated
3 tbsp nutritional yeast (see section below recipe card if you don't have any)
1 tsp garlic granules
½ tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp American mustard or your favourite mustard
4 tsp malt vinegar or any neutral vinegar
1 tbsp marmite or dark soy sauce or miso paste (not a heaped tbsp!)
salt and black pepper
350 g (¾ lb) dry pasta e.g. macaroni, spirali, shells, penne
3 tbsp dry breadcrumbs

Instructions

In a medium pot set over a medium heat, warm the soy milk, water and vegan butter/shortening/refined coconut oil/olive oil until the fat has melted.
500 ml unsweetened soy milk, 100 ml water, 100 g vegan butter, vegetable shortening (e.g. TREX), refined coconut oil or olive oil
Add the grated potatoes, nutritional yeast, garlic granules, smoked paprika and mustard to the pot and stir. Bring up to a boil then turn down the heat to let it simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potato is completely soft.
300 g (2 medium) potatoes, 3 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 tsp garlic granules, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp American mustard
Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Once boiling, pour in your dry pasta and cook according to the timings on the packet. Drain the pasta and pour into a large baking dish.
350 g dry pasta
Preheat the oven to 240°C (465°F) fan.
Remove the potato mixture from the heat and add the vinegar and marmite/soy sauce/miso paste. Blend until smooth using a stick/immersion blender (or a jug blender) then taste and season with salt and black pepper. We suggest being quite generous with the salt here, start with 1/4 to 1/2 tsp and go from there.
4 tsp malt vinegar, 1 tbsp marmite or dark soy sauce or miso paste, salt and black pepper
Pour the warm sauce over the drained pasta in the baking dish and stir to combine. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs - I like to add some a drizzle of oil on top too but this is optional.
3 tbsp dry breadcrumbs
Bake for 10-15 minutes until the topping is golden and the sauce is bubbling. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes, then serve.

Notes

Make it Gluten-Free: the marmite, malt vinegar, pasta and breacrumbs contain gluten so you'll need to replace these. For the marmite, try tamari, gluten-free soy sauce or gluten-free miso. For the malt vinegar, use any neutral-tasting vinegar or lemon juice. For the pasta, use any gluten-free dry pasta you like. For the breacrumbs, use gluten-free breadcrumbs or crumbled GF cornflakes.

Cost breakdown (based on prices from Asda as of Nov. 2023):

Unsweetened soy milk (500 ml): £0.25
Vegan butter (Flora Plant block) (100 g): £0.50
Potatoes (300 g): £0.20
Nutritional yeast (20 g): £0.60
Garlic granules (5 g): £0.04
Smoked paprika (2 g): £0.04
American-style mustard (10 g): £0.04
Malt vinegar (20 g): £0.01
Yeast-Extract (i.e. unbranded Marmite) (10g): £0.09
Dry pasta (350g): £0.53
Dry breadcrumbs (20g): £0.12

Total cost = £2.42

Cost per serving (1/4 of recipe) = £0.61

Nutrition