Vegan Cheese Sauce Pasta is creamy, cheesy and is super easy to make! Your comfort food craving that is totally dairy-free and nut free will be ready in 20 minutes!
If you love easy pasta comfort food, you will also want to try my Vegan Creamy Tomato Pasta, Easy Lemon Ricotta Pasta, and Orecchiette Pasta with Broccoli Sauce.
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Nonna (my mom)is the mac and cheese queen! She makes hers starting out with thick roux, then she adds milk to it and it's basically making a besciamella (or béchamel ) sauce,Her cheese sauce begins with béchamel
I make a béchamel ALL the time for my lasagne (minus the addition of cheese!). But when nonna is making mac and cheese, all the grated cheese gets added into the béchamel.
This recipe can be made on a busy weeknight or on the weekend. A lazy Sunday with a casserole of dreamy mac and cheese sounds just about right!
Here is a glimpse of my Skillet Lasagna Bolognese (and some photos of the white besciamella (or béchamel ) sauce.
My daughter was craving a vegan cheese sauce and I had a packet of dairy-free cheddar in the refrigerator. I didn't have any macaroni on hand, so it ended up using penne pasta.
You could make this with any small pasta, or a tubular pasta like penne or even rigatoni. The sauce can be poured over the cooked pasta, stirred together, and enjoyed right away.
Ingredients
As we mentioned above, there are no cashews or nutritional yeast in this recipe. Just a few simple pantry ingredients that you probably already have on hand!
- Pasta: you could make this with any small pasta, or a tubular pasta like penne or even rigatoni. Macaroni also would be perfect for this recipe!
- Vegan Butter: I used Earth Balance brand, but you could use whatever brand you love.
- Flour: all purpose flour (I have not tested making this GF so cannot give the outcome of using GF flour).
- Non-dairy milk: I used unsweetened almond milk (make sure no vanilla flavoring). You could use oat or soy milk.
- Vegan cheese: I used shredded vegan cheddar cheese in this recipe. You can use a mix of cheddar and mozzarella, or even just vegan mozzarella. I've made it with different brands of vegan cheeses. If you are nut-free, be sure to choose a brand without nuts.
- Dijon Mustard: optional, but does bring out the cheesy flavor in the sauce.
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper (optional)
Equipment you need to make this pasta
- A cutting board and a sharp knife for prepping vegetables
- A large pot for boiling pasta
- A large skillet for sautéing the ingredients
- A colander for draining the pasta
- Tongs or Pasta Spoon: To serve the pasta.
How to make vegan cheese pasta
1. Cook the pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta until al dente.
👉 If you plan to bake it for crispy edges, cook it just shy of al dente-it will finish cooking in the oven.
2. Make the roux
While the pasta cooks, melt the margarine (or olive oil) in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Whisk in the flour and keep whisking for about 5 minutes, making sure there are no lumps.
3. Add the milk
Slowly pour in your dairy-free milk, whisking constantly to combine after each addition.
I like to switch between a wooden spoon and a whisk to keep the mixture smooth.
4. Thicken the sauce
Keep stirring as the sauce simmers and thickens-this takes about 10 minutes.
It will start to thicken just after it reaches a gentle boil. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't stick or burn.
Once it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove from heat. Remember, it will continue to thicken slightly as it cools.
5. Add the flavor
Whisk in the mustard until fully combined.
6. Add the cheese and seasoning
Stir in your cheese until melted and smooth. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
If you want extra flavor, add a teaspoon of garlic powder or onion powder and stir to combine.
7. Combine with the pasta
Fold the cooked pasta into the cheese sauce and mix until every piece is coated.
Serve as-is with a sprinkle of pepper on top, or move on to the baking step below!
Recipe Tips
- Whisk constantly while adding the milk. Adding it slowly and whisking the whole time is what keeps the sauce smooth and lump-free.
- Watch for the gentle boil. That is your cue that the sauce is about to thicken. Keep stirring so it does not catch on the bottom of the pan.
- The sauce keeps thickening after heat is off. Pull it just before it looks fully done, since it will continue to set as it cools.
- Add a breadcrumb topping for the baked version. Melt a couple tablespoons of vegan butter, toss with about ½ cup breadcrumbs or panko, and sprinkle over the top before baking.
- This recipe doubles easily. Make a double batch if you want leftovers for the week.
Can you freeze this vegan cheese sauce pasta?
Yes! Let the the pasta completely cool down. Once it has cooled, transfer to an airtight container or a zipped lock freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight and reheat the next day in a pan on medium-low heat. Keep stirring it and add of non-dairy milk to loosen it up (start with 1 tablespoon and add more 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed).
How to reheat
For best results, transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight. Then, reheat in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until warmed all the way through.
More vegan recipes to enjoy:
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Vegan Cheese Sauce Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ pound pasta I used rigatoni, but penne or macaroni work fine
- 3 Tablespoons margarine I used Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks, but use your favorite brand
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 3 cups milk I used unsweetened and unflavored almond milk
- 1 Tablespoon mustard
- 2 cups cheese shredded, I used vegan cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Fresh black pepper to taste
- Optional
- 1 tsp garlic powder or onion powder
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente (if you want to bake your pasta to get crispy edges, cook the pasta until just before al dente. It will cook more in the oven).
- While the pasta is cooking, in a separate sauce pan, melt the margarine (you could also use olive oil) on medium-high heat.
- Whisk in the flour and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps.
- Slowly add in your dairy-free milk, whisking to combine with each addition. Stir switching between a wooden spoon and a whisk to keep the lumps from forming.
- Keep stirring until it is all combined and also keep on eye on it so it would stick and burn. It will be simmering and thickening, about 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken once it begins to reach boiling point, and it will reach desired thickness usually a few minutes after it begins that low boil. Be sure to keep stirring. Once it reaches the desired thickness, remove from the heat. Keep in mind sauce will continue to thicken when you remove from heat.
- Stir in the mustard and whisk it all together.
- Stir in the cheese. Season with the salt and freshly ground pepper (if using). If you are would like more flavor, add in a teaspoon of the optional garlic or onion powder and stir to combine.
- Fold the macaroni into the cheese sauce and stir it all together. Serve with additional freshly ground pepper (optional). Enjoy!
- If you are baking it, pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake on 350F for 20-30 minutes, until it's nice and crispy around edges.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
Notes
Also, can make with olive oil, or even vegetable or canola oil. I used unsweetened and unflavored almond milk. You can use oat or your favorite soy (unsweetened and unflavored). Can use a mix of vegan cheddar and mozzarella if desired.
For a crunchy topping, make a breadcrumb topping. Melt a couple tablespoons vegan butter and add about ½ cup breadcrumbs (panko also works great!). Stir together and add on top of the pasta and cheese sauce. Can easily double the recipe to have leftovers.
This pasta was so creamy and comforting. I loved that the sauce was nut-free and still felt rich and cheesy. The mustard gave it a nice little depth, and it came together so quickly for dinner.
This was such a comforting and easy weeknight meal! The vegan cheddar melted beautifully into the sauce, and it coated the pasta perfectly. I added a little garlic powder and really enjoyed the extra flavor.
I made this pasta for dinner and was so impressed with how creamy the sauce turned out! I loved that it was completely dairy-free and nut-free, but still had that rich, cheesy flavor.
Made this for dinner and my kids ate it without a single complaint. The sauce is so creamy and they had no idea it was dairy-free. Everyone cleaned their plates. Definitely a keeper.
I was surprised by how creamy this pasta turned out without any dairy. The sauce had a lovely savory flavor and coated the noodles perfectly!
I loved how the vegan cheese sauce made it feel so indulgent!
Tasted really good, creamy and decadent! Would definitely recommend!
So creamy, comforting, and incredibly easy to make!
I miss creamy pasta dishes so much since recently discovering that I'm lactose intolerant. I'm so happy to have found this recipe! Delicious!
I have made this sauce several times. My kids really love it with elbow macaroni. It's so creamy and delicious!