Ultimate comfort food with plant powerhouse goodness makes for a delicious guiltless dish you can’t resist. Bake up this creamy, dreamy, and cozy Vegan Cauliflower Mac and Cheese for the perfect tasty casserole dish that the whole family will love. Low in fat but packed with tons of cheesy mac flavors and topped with a crispy seasoned panko crumb topping, this tasty casserole will be gone in a flash.

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

Mom and I have been trying to find ways to transform comfort food classics into low-fat delicious Whole Food Plant Based dishes that the whole family will enjoy and love.

This mac and cheese conversion really delivers. It hits all the high notes of a wholesome WFPB mac and cheese with tasty mac and cheese flavors.

Lowering the Fat

We designed this dish specifically to have lower fat content than traditional mac and cheese dishes because as you know, a traditional mac and cheese (not WFPB) is made with tons of cheese, butter, and heavy cream.

Normally when approaching a dish like this, we would definitely go the uberly decadent route with cashew cream, but then the fat content of the dish would have been much higher. So, we decided to try to get this one as low in fat as we could get away with, without sacrificing flavor. And we accomplished this by using just a tiny bit of fat from 1/8 cup of cashews.

Just as an FYI, we have plans to make a decadent mac and cheese using more cashew cream, but we wanted to test drive this one first. Wwe were very happy with the results.

However, if you are looking for that uberly decadent mac and cheese, then this recipe is not for you. It is delicious for what it is, and that is a low-fat mac and cheese casserole.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.

Understanding the brain

Now we could have totally left the cashews completely out of the dish, and you certainly can if you wish, but we wanted to add just a smidge.

Why? Well, that little bit of fat is just enough to trick the brain into thinking the dish is more decadent than the fat content really is. It just adds more dimension and richness to the dish.

Our bodies are designed to seek fat. Fat sends endorphins to the brain telling us to eat more. That is why we take such great pleasure in eating super fatty dishes. If this subject interests you, then we suggest reading “The Pleasure Trap” by Alan Goldhamer and Douglas J. Lisle.  The authors provide great insight into the science based facts that make us susceptible to our biological drive to consume fats and processed foods.

I’ll let Mom tell you more.

Hi!  Robin here!

We gobbled this mac and cheese up in a flash. Love this cauliflower mac and cheese, it is delish!  Monkey said it all, we were going for a WFPB mac and cheese that was lower in fat than a traditional more heavily based cashew cream-based dish.  TP109 loved it and ate it up like no other.

We would love for you to give this recipe a try!  We just know you are going to love it.

If you try this comforting dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

More Delicious Casserole Dishes

• Vegan “Tuna” Noodle Casserole
• Veggie Rice Casserole
• Vegan Cauliflower Au Gratin
• Pizza Sloppy Joes Under Bun
• Creamy Spaghetti Pie
• Vegan Biscuit Pot Pie
• Vegan Veggie Bean Cassoulet
• Vegan Lentil Shepherds Pie

Products Used:

• Stock pot to cook the pasta
• Stock pot to boil the potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, and cashews
• High-Speed Blender
• Small casserole dish (we used a 7 x 11 x 2.25)

Vegan Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 20 Minutes
• Cook Time: 26 Minutes
• Total Time: 46 Minutes (+5 Minutes Rest)
• Yield: 4-5 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop, Oven
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Bake up this creamy, dreamy, and cozy low-fat Vegan Cauliflower Mac and Cheese for the perfect tasty casserole dish that the whole family will love. Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Boil Ingredients:

• 2 cups cauliflower, trimmed into small florets
• 2 cups Russet potatoes, peeled, small dice
• ½ cup carrots, tiny dice
• 1/8 cup cashews

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup unsweetened plain plant milk
• ½ cup vegetable broth *
• ½ cup water (or broth)
• 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar (+/-)
• 2 teaspoons white miso *
• 1 Tablespoons reduced sodium tamari *
• ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast (+/-)
• 1 Tablespoon dried minced onions
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• Pinch turmeric (optional)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/- to taste) *
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Other Ingredients

• 12 to 14 oz. GF elbow macaroni (or pasta of choice)

Crumb Toppings:

• ¼ cup GF panko (or panko/bread crumbs of choice)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• Pinch black pepper (+/-)

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Instructions

Pasta Boil Instructions

1. Fill a large stock pot full of water. Add some sea salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil then add the pasta. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Note: You want to coordinate the completion of the pasta cooking time with the completion of the sauce. If unsure, then just wait to put the pasta into the boiling water once the sauce is done. Just turn the sauce down really low or remove from the stove.  Boil the pasta until el dente, drain, rinse with cold water to remove any excess starch, shake well, then transfer the cooked pasta into the sauce.

Crumb Topping Instructions:

1. Make the crumb topping by adding all the Crumb Topping Ingredients into a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

 Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to broil. Place the oven rack in the center
2. Place the cauliflower florets, diced potatoes, carrots, and cashews into a medium stockpot, bring to a boil, gently boil until fork tender (about 10 to 12 minutes). Drain off the water, then place them in a high-speed blender.  Add all the Sauce Ingredients into the high-speed blender with the cooked cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, and cashews. Blend on high until smooth and emulsified.
3. Place the cooked pasta into a baking dish, pour the sauce over the pasta, mix well, then sprinkle the Crumb Topping Mix evenly over top.Place in the oven and broil until the top is golden brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.  Watch carefully to ensure the crumble topping does not burn.  Then turn off the oven and allow the dish to sit in the hot oven undisturbed for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

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Notes

*Tips for Success:

• Cashews: This is a fantastic, flavorful recipe. We created this recipe specifically to be lower in fat compared to other mac and “cheese” types of recipes which use a lot of cashew cream.  However, if you are looking for a more decadent type of mac and “cheese” dish then you would need a recipe that uses quite a bit more cashew cream than this recipe.  We used only 1/8 cup of cashews, just enough to trick the brain that there is some fat in this dish while still being lower in fat.  If you wish, you can add more cashews to create a more decadent dish. Additionally, you can leave out the cashews (or use another nut or seed) if you wish, with the understanding that the flavors will change accordingly.
• Sauciness: You can control the “cheese” sauce to macaroni ratio by simply using less macaroni if you want a little more sauciness.  We used approximately 13 ounces of elbow macaroni.  If unsure, use less macaroni as the pasta really drinks up the sauce and your dish could be drier than anticipated.
• Veggie Add-Ins: You can pretty much add in any veggies you wish.  Peas and broccoli are always excellent choices.  If you add in veggies, then reduce the amount of macaroni accordingly to avoid a drier dish.
• Cooked Macaroni: Shake off any excess water and allow to drain for a few minutes, then shake the pasta again before adding to the bowl.  Lift up the pasta with your fingers and wiggle with your fingers (to release extra trapped water) as elbow macaroni really tends to hold onto water inside the little tubes of pasta and you want to get as much of that out as possible. Any lingering water that hangs onto the pasta will water down your sauce.

 *Notes Continued

*Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.

*Pasta of choice:  You can use your favorite pasta in this dish.  Bionaturae makes an excellent organic gluten free elbow macaroni made with rice, potato, and soy.

*Miso:  We used Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free.  Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil.  If you are going to live the Whole Food Plant Based lifestyle, then you will quickly find that miso is your friend.

*Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium.  You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Servings:  4-5

*Storage:  Refrigerate and use within 5 days.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.