The ultimate comfort food just got a major upgrade in this Dairy-free Mac and Cheese!
Your eyes are not deceiving you, this really is Dairy-free Mac and Cheese
No, really. It is. There is absolutely ZERO cheese involved in this recipe which is partly why it’s so brilliant. The other reason is that is PACKED with vegetables. Um hmmmmm. Veggies!
And you’ll never know they’re in there. This Dairy-free Mac and Cheese is so silky, rich, creamy and cheesy that it fooled even my most discerning, veggie-sniffing daughter. Not kidding, this kid can smell a hidden veggie from miles away like a customs dog on the hunt for pineapples and cigars.
The day I developed this recipe was the first official ‘real snow’ of the season here in Boulder. The girls came running into the house just as I was pulling the bowl of mac and cheese off the table by the window where I’d been photographing it and they immediately started to inhale it. Still in jackets, hats and snow boots. And there may have been a fight over the last noodle, too.
Naturally, I asked: “Is it good?” They both nodded and smiled. Satisfied with their answer, I turned to walk into my office and heard my oldest say to my mom as I left the room: “That wasn’t REAL mac and cheese. I don’t know what it was but it was good.” YASSSSSSS!
Mom: 1, Veggie-sniffer-outer: 0
The secret is in the sauce
Okay, enough about my on-going endeavor to hide all the veggies – you came here to learn how to make the BEST Dairy-free Mac and Cheese, right?
Well, the secret (as you might imagine) is veggies. Taking a cue from an old vegan cookbook I leafed through at a thrift store this summer I combined butternut squash, cauliflower, onions and garlic to create a silky smooth puree in the perfect shade of orange. Then to make it tangy and savory like cheese I used nutritional yeast, lemon juice and a bit of dijon mustard (like we did here in this Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce) and voila!
Super creamy, non-dairy, nut-free cheesiness if now yours to pour all over your favorite gluten-free pasta (or roasted cauliflower if you’re looking for a grain-free and/or lower carb option).
A food-allergy sufferers dream come true
Whether it’s dairy, soy, gluten, eggs or corn that can’t tolerate, you can make this recipe work for you. Even our plant-based friends can partake in this Dairy-free Mac and Cheese by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
#macandcheeseforeveryone
Put the ultimate comfort food back on the menu with this Dairy-free Mac and Cheese!
Video: How to make dairy free mac and cheese
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Dairy-free Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. coconut or avocado oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups cubed butternut squash, fresh or frozen
- 3 cups cauliflower florets, fresh or frozen
- 2 cups chicken broth (substitute vegetable broth for vegan)
- 1 ½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Scant ¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 – 1 ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 16 ounces gluten-free pasta of choice
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan with lid, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions start to soften.
- Add garlic, stir and cook another 30 seconds to a minute or until garlic is fragrant.
- Add squash, cauliflower, and broth and bring to a steady simmer.
- Once simmering, cover pan with lid and cook until vegetables are very tender, about 15-18 minutes. You may need to lower the heat slightly to maintain a steady simmer and prevent it from boiling.
- When veggies are very tender, transfer to a blender. Add the lemon juice, mustard, salt, and nutritional yeast and blend until very smooth.
- Taste and adjust seasoning before pouring over your favorite cooked pasta (or roasted vegetables).
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Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/6th recipe
- Calories: 376
- Fat: 7g
- Sodium: 340mg
- Carbohydrate: 71g
- (Fiber: 10g
- Sugar: 7g)
- Protein: 12g
Dietary
What’s your favorite thing serve with Mac and Cheese? Are you a vegetable hider too? Share in the comments below.
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I read through the instructions but don’t see when or where to add the nutritional yeast? Help, please. I’m a yeast newbie.
The yeast is added in step 6. I’ve updated the directions to make that clearer.
Do u need the yeast ?
It’s not absolutely necessary for the sauce to come together but it does give it a savory-umami flavor that is like that in cheese.
I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. The onion flavor was a bit strong for me and my kids didn’t like it 🙁 next time I may use only half an onion. But overall, really good! Poured it over quinoa rotini noodles
You can definitely decrease the onion and still have great results. Sweet onions or Vidalia onions are also great when making this for kids.
Are you supposed to drain the water from the veges before blending?
If you used only 2 cups of liquid (as called for in the recipe) you should have only a little left in the pan which you can add to the blender along with the veggies. However, if you’re worried that you might have too much liquid, drain the veggies and reserve the liquid so you can add it to the blender if needed.
My family loves it! I add ground beef to make it like a healthy “Hamburger Helper”.
That sounds delicious! Thank you for the feedback and rating, Heather!
I plan on making this for Easter. I would like to use what I have on hand. I have read that soy sauce can be substituted for the nutritional yeast by using only 1/2 of what the recipe calls for. This will favor similarly but not provide the thickening component. Do you know if maybe 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum will fill that function? I am excited to try it! Thank you!
Hmmmm, that’s a great question. Unfortunately, I have very little experience with using xanthan gum. The amount of nutritional yeast in this recipe is just for flavor and not necessarily for thickening so I think you could use the soy sauce and then decrease the nondairy milk a bit for a thicker consistency and skip the xanthan gum.
What is melting in step 1?
In step 1, you heat the oil.