Baked Mac ‘n Cheez (Vegan)

An incredible plant-based twist on the classic macaroni and cheese casserole baked with a golden panko crumb topping.

Like many people and most children, my husband loves macaroni and cheese. He goes through spells where he asks for it a lot. So, I typically keep a jar of Mighty Cheez Sauce on hand, which makes for a quick and easy healthy meal on a busy weeknight.

Macaroni and Cheese is one of those classic comfort dishes – it’s great as a side dish at a barbecue or family dinner. It fits right in when served up with Plant-based Carrot Dogs, Backyard Baked Beans, and corn on the cob. However, in our house, we usually eat it as a main course, usually alongside a salad or vegetable. Sometimes we just mix in green peas. While other times, we load the macaroni and cheese in a casserole dish and heap some incredibly crunchy panko bread crumbs on top to make it extra special.

And it’s glorious.

The Mighty Cheez Sauce is the real super star here. It’s extremely versatile and easy to make, mainly comprised of potatoes, carrots, and optional soaked cashews. Two additional and unique ingredients – sun-dried tomato and light beer – contribute a unique depth and some umami flavor. I use this delicious and creamy sauce in a number of recipes, including my Grilled Fiesta Bowl, Crunchy Bean Tostadas, Super Nachos, Layered Fiesta Stack, Creamy Veggie Tex-Mex Pasta, Garden Veggie Quesadillas, and more. This sauce is also delicious served over potatoes and vegetables.

But I digress. This post is all about Baked Mac ‘n Cheez <– and this Mighty Cheez Sauce makes a mean plant-based macaroni and cheese. If you haven’t already prepared the Mighty Cheez Sauce in advance, you can make it in the time it takes to boil the pasta. Like I said: super quick; super easy; super healthy. You just need to add a splash of plant milk to thin the sauce down a bit since the pasta absorbs a bunch.

And just like that, you have a creamy and delicious plant-based Mac ‘n Cheez. But when I want to kick things up a notch, I like to bake it with this super crispy golden panko bread crumb topping. The results are phenomenal!!

Speaking of the topping, it consists of one or two ingredients, depending on whether you want to use vegan butter or margarine. The margarine or butter can be omitted and the panko crumb topping still comes out super toasty. The results are just more traditional and obviously more tasty when the panko crumbs are tossed in a drizzle of vegan butter.

One of the great features of this Baked Mac ‘n Cheez is that you can use any pasta you like. I prefer using the traditional elbow macaroni but have also used rotini and penne. It really depends on your preference and what you have on hand. You do you.

This Baked Mac ‘n Cheez recipe incorporates only a portion of the Mighty Cheez Sauce, as written in the recipe below. I’ve adjusted the amounts so that you make only the amount you need for this recipe, which is about three cups. If, by chance, you already have some Mighty Cheez Sauce, you’ll want to use two and half cups of Mighty Cheez Sauce and about half of a cup of plant milk to thin out the sauce a little.

This is important as the pasta will absorb much moisture as it bakes. Start with half a cup of plant milk and gradually add in more until you get a nice creamy sauce. This is completely dependent on the type and dryness of your potatoes. Also, to keep this whole food plant based, as mentioned before, you can omit the optional vegan butter in both the sauce and the topping. The choice is yours.

I hope you enjoy this Baked Mac ‘n Cheez as much as I do.  Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!   I’m just starting out and would love to see your results.  Enjoy!!

Cheez Sauce Ingredients

• ¼ cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water
• 1 sun-dried tomato, soaked in hot water
• 1 ¼ cups diced Yukon gold potatoes
• ½ cup diced carrots
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbsp vegan butter (optional)
• 2 Tbsp light beer *see note below
• 1 cup plant milk
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ – ½ tsp siracha (depends on preference)
• salt to taste (optional)

Mac ‘n Cheez Ingredients

• 1 cup panko crumbs
• 1 Tbsp vegan butter (optional)
• 1 pound elbow macaroni (or other pasta)
• Mighty Cheez Sauce (recipe above)
• 1 tsp parsley, chopped (optional)

Cheez Sauce Instructions

• Soak raw cashews and sun-dried tomato in hot water at least 1 hour.  Drain and rinse well.
• Boil potatoes and carrots in saucepan until fork tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain.
• Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender; mix on high speed for 1-2 minutes, until very smooth and creamy.

Mac ‘n Cheez Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Boil pasta according to the package directions. Rinse and drain.

1. In a small bowl, combine panko crumbs and melted vegan butter. Set aside for a moment.

1. Using the pot you cooked the pasta in, combine the Mighty Cheez Sauce and pasta.

1. Pour the mac n cheez blend into a large casserole dish and top with panko topping.
2. Bake for 25 minutes, or until top is golden.  You can broil for an additional 1-2 minutes to get the crumb topping darker, if desired. Be careful not to burn it though.
3. Remove from the oven and garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Notes

• The beer enhances the cheezy flavor in this sauce. We use Heineken 0.0 alcohol-free beer but any light beer should work. Or simply substitute with plant milk, vegetable broth, or water.

• Depending on your potatoes, this sauce can get a bit thick. Just add a little more plant milk to thin it down, if needed.

• You can use another variety of potato; but some may not lend the stretchy-starchy texture desired in this cheez sauce.

To make this gluten-free, simply use gluten-free pasta and gluten-free panko bread crumbs.