Cheesy Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese With a Cashew Sauce That Does the Cheese Work

7:45 on a Sunday night, a dish of something golden coming out of the oven, and a table where one person does not eat dairy. This cheesy vegan baked mac and cheese is the answer for that table and every other one: elbow pasta in a creamy cashew sauce, a crisp breadcrumb top, about 30 minutes from the first pot of water to the first scoop. It does not pretend to be cheese. It just turns up looking so good that few people think to ask, and we will not tell.

Cashews and nutritional yeast, a blender, and no cheese in sight.

The sauce is the whole idea. A cup of cashews, a cup of water and half a cup of nutritional yeast go into the blender with salt and pepper, and about 5 minutes later you have something pale gold and creamy enough to coat 12 ounces of pasta. Tossed together, topped with breadcrumbs, and baked at 375°F for 20 minutes, it comes out bubbling at the edges and golden on top.

How to make it

1. Cook the 12 oz elbow pasta according to package directions, then drain and set aside.
2. Blend the 1 cup cashews with 1 cup water, the 0.5 cups nutritional yeast, salt, and black pepper into a creamy sauce. This takes about 5 minutes.
3. Toss the drained pasta with the sauce in a large bowl.
4. Pour the mixture into a baking dish and top with the 0.5 cups breadcrumbs.
5. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes until the top is golden.
6. Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS. Cover the dish and keep it cold.

The sauce thickens as it sits, so leftover mac is firmer than fresh, and a splash of water or plant milk stirred in as you reheat brings it back toward creamy. Day two is a little less crisp on top but still tastes good. This mac can be frozen, though the texture of the pasta will be softer after thawing, so it is a better candidate for a quick weeknight reheat than a showpiece.

Cook the pasta by the package directions, and consider pulling it on the earlier side of the range. It goes back into the oven for another 20 minutes, and pasta that is already soft will not get firmer.

The method calls for about 5 minutes in the blender, so put the pasta water on first and let the two overlap. While the blender runs, nothing else in the kitchen needs you, which makes it the closest thing this recipe has to a break.

Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving. The sauce is thickest as it cools slightly, and the first scoop holds its shape instead of sliding off the spoon.

On SwipeCart this is an easy swipe right, because the agent can put the cashews and the nutritional yeast in the cart, which saves you hunting the baking aisle for the one jar you never remember.

If you are cooking for a mixed table, set the dish down without commentary and let people help themselves. The dairy-free eater gets a scoop of something that looks like everyone else's dinner, which is half the point of this recipe, and the rest of the table finds out it is vegan only when somebody mentions it. You are allowed to look smug. We would.

The breadcrumb top is more than decoration. It is the only thing in the dish that crunches, so spread it evenly to the edges instead of piling it in the middle, and every scoop gets some.

Swaps that actually work

The cashews are the point of a cheesy vegan baked mac and cheese. They are what turn into the creamy base, and few pantry staples do the same job. If someone at the table has a nut allergy, this dish is not the place for improvisation, and a sauce built around a different base is a different recipe.

If your blender is not high-powered, soak the cashews in hot water for a while first, then drain them. They will blend smoother, and the rest of the method stays the same.

Breadcrumbs can be panko for a crunchier top. Check the label if you want the dish to be fully vegan, since some breadcrumbs contain milk or egg, and the same goes for the pasta.

Elbow pasta can be shells or cavatappi, anything with a hollow that holds sauce. Salt and pepper are the only seasoning in the method, so anything you add is your call: a little garlic powder, a squeeze of lemon, or a spoonful of mustard in the blender all push the flavor toward sharp cheddar.

The swap that costs you the dish is cutting the nutritional yeast. It supplies the savory, cheesy flavor, and without it you have a bland cashew cream on pasta.

If it goes wrong

The sauce is gritty. The cashews did not blend long enough, or the blender is not strong. Keep blending, scrape the sides, and add a splash of water if it is too thick to move.

It is dry or stiff. The sauce soaked into the pasta while it baked. Stir in a splash of water or plant milk before you serve, and next time stop the pasta a minute early so it drinks less.

It tastes flat. Usually salt. Taste the sauce before it goes on the pasta, and make it taste slightly too salty, since the pasta will dilute it.

The topping is pale. The breadcrumbs were not toasted enough in the oven. Give it a few more minutes, or put it under the broiler for a minute, watching it closely.

What to serve with it

The default beside cheesy vegan baked mac and cheese is a green vegetable, and the plainest one is the best: steamed broccoli or green beans with lemon. On SwipeCart, the greens are the plus-one you bring so the table does not read as all beige.

The better version is a crisp salad with a bright, acidic dressing, because the sauce is rich and the contrast does a lot of work.

The thing in the fridge that lifts it is hot sauce or a handful of chopped chives on top. Both add the sharpness that cheese usually brings.

It makes a good lunch the next day, microwaved with a splash of liquid and a lid.

Why this one earns its place

Comfort food after a bad day should not be complicated, and it should not leave anyone at the table out. Cheesy vegan baked mac and cheese is for the evenings when you want the warm, creamy, bubbling thing and you want everyone to be able to eat it.

Swipe it into the week and the agent can shop the pasta, cashews, nutritional yeast and breadcrumbs for you. If you want to keep going in the same direction, butternut squash soup is another cozy dinner, cheesy spinach artichoke stuffed shells is the cheese-forward cousin, and the food Tinder app explains the swiping idea behind it all.

More like this: all American recipes in Crave Corner.