MacAndCheeseV the Leyma

This classic vegan mac and cheese is ultra cheesy, saucy and creamy. Topped with breadcrumbs and baked until golden brown and crispy. Seriously satisfying.

For the Cheese Sauce

🍝 ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
🍝 6 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
🍝 5 cups Coconut Milk 3 cans (1200ml), Unsweetened*
🍝 1 cup Vegetable Stock (240ml)
🍝 3 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
🍝 1 cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes (60g)
🍝 3 teaspoons Onion Powder
🍝 3 teaspoons Garlic Powder
🍝 1 ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
🍝 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
🍝 1 ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

For the Macaroni

🧀 16 ounces Elbow Macaroni (450g)

For the Breadcrumb Topping

🧀 3 Thick Slices White Bread Toasted, or 1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
🧀 2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter Melted


🍝 1. Add the vegan butter to a pot and let it melt. When it's melted add in the all purpose flour and stir it vigorously with the melted butter.

🍝 2. Then pour in the cans of coconut milk and the vegetable stock. Use a hand whisk to whisk out the lumps. Keep whisking until it starts to boil and then keep whisking for a few minutes after it has boiled until it thickens. It will continue to thicken as it cools, so it doesn't have to be all the way there when you remove it from the heat, as long as it has thickened considerably from when you started.

🍝 3. Remove it from the heat and add in the dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and whisk in. Now your sauce is ready, you can prepare your macaroni.

🍝 4. Cook your macaroni according to the package directions and then rinse and drain.

🍝 5. Add the cooked macaroni into the pot of sauce and toss it up with the sauce. Then transfer the macaroni and sauce to a 9x13 baking dish and smooth down.

🍝 6. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

🍝 7. Prepare the crumb topping by breaking up the 3 thick slices of toasted white bread and placing into the blender. Pulse blend until you have crumbs. Then transfer to a mixing bowl, and add in the melted vegan butter and toss up the crumbs with the melted butter.

🍝 8. Place the breadcrumbs evenly over the top of the macaroni cheese.

🍝 9. Bake for 20 minutes until the topping is golden brown and crispy.


🧀 If you want to replace the coconut milk with a different non-dairy milk such as soy milk then you definitely can. We have tested this recipe with soy milk and it works great.

🧀 The coconut milk must be canned full fat unsweetened coconut milk. I would never use a sweetened coconut milk for any recipe and have never used it. Canned full fat unsweetened coconut milk is the way to go. There is a link to a good brand in the ingredients list. Alternatively, use soy milk (as per instructions above).

🧀 If you have someone to help you then you can work on the sauce and they can cook the macaroni at the same time. But the sauce is very 'hands-on' so if you're on your own it works best to just focus on the sauce and then do the macaroni. But if there are two of you it will save considerable time to do both at once.

🧀 You don't have to use macaroni, you can use a different pasta but of course it should be one that is suited to this kind of meal, like penne or shells and not something like spaghetti or linguine. If your package of macaroni comes in 18 ounce (500g) bags, then that's great, just use it all.

🧀 If you're using store-bought breadcrumbs then just eyeball it for the right amount to use so that it easily covers the top of your mac and cheese. In the case of panko breadcrumbs the amount to use is 1 cup.

🧀 Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 3-4 days. It's also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.



Thank you, RQ 🥰