The best ever vegan bacon mac n cheese
This is the ultimate vegan mac n cheese recipe that hits every time you have comfort food cravings.
While traditional macaroni cheese relies on plenty of dairy products like milk, butter, and cheese, this fully plant-based version delivers all the cheesy flavor you love without any of the dairy.
This tempeh mac n cheese features an creamy cheese sauce made entirely from vegan ingredients that you probably already have at home.
But what really takes this dish to the next level is the smoky, savoury topping. Instead of bacon bits, we're making tempeh bacon crumbles that are salty, crispy, and smoky.
For even more comfort-food appeal, this vegan baked mac n cheese is finished in the oven, making the topping golden and crisp.
Whether you're serving it for a cosy family dinner, a weekend treat, or a crowd-pleasing potluck dish, this vegan mac and cheese is guaranteed to satisfy. The recipe comfortably serves four people, although don't be surprised if everyone comes back for seconds!
Ingredients you'll need to make a vegan mac n cheese-
- Macaroni pasta- I like to use a tube type pasta to ensure all of that lovely sauce is caught inside the tube however you can really use any pasta shape you have on hand (we’ll still call it mac n cheese even if it isn’t made with “mac”!).
- Tempeh- Tempeh makes a really great bacon crumble. Even if you’re not too keen on tempeh usually in this recipe by using the seasoning and baking it you will barely even tell that its tempeh meaning you get the bacony goodness with a little nutrient boost also!
- Vegan cheese- Whichever one you know that has the best melt!
- Liquid smoke- Liquid smoke is a next level smoke seasoning that I think is a must in your cupboard. Sure smoked paprika is good for a smokey flavor but once you’ve tried liquid smoke you’ll never look back! In this recipe the liquid smoke really elevates the ‘bacon’ crumbles.
- Nutritional yeast- This is the secret to the most amazing cheesy flavor that is essential in this dish.
Vegan mac n cheese without cashews
Many vegan mac n cheese recipes are made from cashews but if you're looking for a nut free pasta sauce this is the recipe for you.
This cheese sauce is made from all purpose flour, vegan butter and non dairy milk. Firstly forming a roux with the flour and butter and then adding the milk. Lastly to give the cheese flavor adding vegan cheese and nutritional yeast.
Some Popular recipes from the blog
- Viral Doner Kebab (Vegan Version)
- Vegan Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Greek style lemon and herb potato wedges
Making tempeh bacon crumbles
Tempeh is so delicious when smoky and baked until crispy! All you need to do is blitz the tempeh in a food processor into a crumb or crumble by hand, season with paprika, salt and liquid smoke and bake until crispy. The perfect mac n cheese topping!
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Vegan Mac N Cheese with Tempeh Bacon
Ingredients
- 200 g Macaroni pasta dry weight
- 200 g Tempeh
- 200 g Vegan cheese grated
- 800 ml Soy milk
- 30 g Dairy free butter
- 1 tbsp Plain flour
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp Yondu or soy sauce
- 1 tsp Liquid smoke
- 2 tsp Garlic granules
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- 30 g Nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Food process the tempeh into a breadcrumb size and place into a large bowl.
- Add the smoked paprika, liquid smoke, soy sauce and 1tsp of garlic granules and mix well.
- Tip on to a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 15 minutes.
- In a large sauce pan melt the butter on low heat then add the tbsp flour and mix well.
- Once combined into a paste turn down the heat and add a small bit of the milk. Mix this until it turns to a paste again. Continue doing this bit by bit until all the milk is used. You will have to stay by it and whisk it the whole time to avoid burning.
- Next mix in half (100g) of the cheese to the sauce and the salt, pepper, other tsp of garlic granules and the nutritional yeast. Stir until the cheese has melted and take of the heat to thicken. Make sure there are no lumps left in the sauce here.
- Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, drain then add to the cheese sauce.
- Transfer the mac n cheese to a baking dish and top with the rest of the cheese (100g) and the tempeh crumbles.
- Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 180°C for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 5 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
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Making the sauce - Making a good cheese sauce requires patience and undivided attention from start to finish. No one likes a lumpy sauce. To master this you must stand and stir consistently when adding ingredients and continue stirring until the desired thickness is reached. As soon as this is done remove from the heat.
Sauce thickness troubleshooting - The soy milk is a guide for this recipe as sauce thickness is most definitely a personal preference. Personally I like a saucy mac n cheese so I try to make a good amount of sauce. If your sauce is too thick keep adding soy milk bit by bit until you like the consistency. If you have added all of the ingredients and stirred well on the heat and your sauce is still not thick enough- in a separate bowl you can mix a teaspoon of cornflour and water and add this to the sauce. Stir on low heat until thickened.
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If you love pasta you'll love these vegan pasta recipes
- Smoked Aubergine Ragu Tagliatelle
- Creamy spinach pasta with tofu ricotta
- Chickpea 'Tuna' Pasta Salad
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