This gluten-free dairy-free mac and cheese recipe is rich, creamy and delicious. Made with only 6 ingredients (not including the 3 plant-based cheeses) Baked to ooey gooey perfection just like your Grandma’s. You're going to love this is a gluten free & vegan twist on an irresistible comfort food classic. And is perfect for a cozy Sunday dinner or at your holiday dinner.
Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. However you can find important tips in the post.
Trust us, everyone that tries this old fashioned southern style mac n cheese recipe will be licking their plates, it's so delicious.
We just wanted mac and cheese like we grew up on, no cauliflower, no cashews, no nutritional yeast.
So, Shad and I took all of the guess work out of this recipe for you and have links to the exact products we used (not sponsored)
Why You’ll Love These
Super creamy, non-dairy, nut-free cheesiness. This macaroni and cheese taste just like the southern classic your grandma made.
Gluten Free Pasta, is a crumbly mess...
Rice, Cauliflower, Pea Protein and Lentils. If it's a plant based pasta we've tried it or it's on our list to be tried. The biggest problem that we run into is the pasta losing its firmness and becoming grainy. In some cases out right falling apart on the plate.
After what felt like a million trial and errors, we found that the Gluten Free line of products from Barilla give us the best results. Their GF pasta is made from corn flour and rice flour. It absorbs the water just enough and doesn't fall apart or really stick together.
Vegan Cheese Doesn’t Melt...
Shad likes cheese more than I do and in the 20 years that he's been a vegan. He has been searching for a good dairy-free cheese. Taste, texture and of course melting.
So many plant based cheeses don't have the proper fat content to get them to melt just right. Even at high temperature.
There are two brands of plant based cheese that we used in this recipe. Daiya Cheddar shreds and Mozzarella shreds melty, gooey-cheese-stretch goodness. And Follow Your Heart brand Parmesan shreds for the little kick of salty.
Both brands are absolutely wonderful and melt just right, so at last you can get the stretchy bit hanging from your fork and mouth.
Ingredients
- Gluten-Free pasta - we used Barilla Gluten-free pasta for this dish.
- Diary-Free Vegan Cheese - we used cheddar, parmesan and mozzarella cheese
- Plant-Based Milk- we like to use a oat milk to get that extra creamy flavor in our mac and cheese
- Paprika - for that smoky flavor
Variations
- Stove Top - a good prepackaged convenience brand is the Daiya Deluxe Cheddar mac and cheese which is also gluten-free
- Easy Stove Top Cauliflower Mac & Cheese recipe
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°.
Oil a 9x13 baking dish with olive oil and bring a pot of water to boil (add a little olive oil to the water).
Prepare gluten-free pasta according to package instructions.
Mix together the cheeses into one dish an set aside.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, sprinkle in flour and stir to combine for about 1 minute.
Slowly pour in 2 cups of milk stirring, until smooth. Stir in the remaining milk. continue to stir until mixture is thick and smooth.
Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in paprika, salt and pepper.
Add 1 ½ cups mixed cheese, as it melts mix in another 1 ½ cups until smooth.
In a large mixing bowl add the drained pasta with the cheese sauce, mixing lightly.
Pour the pasta/sauce mixture into the baking dish, add the remaining cheese mixture across the top.
Place in the oven for 35 minutes until bubbling.
STORAGE & REHEATING
To Store. Place leftovers in a container with an air-tight lid. You can keep leftovers in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
To Reheat. To reheat microwave on medium power for a few minutes until heat all the way thru.
Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Mac And Cheese
Equipment
- 1 baking dish - 9x13
Ingredients
- 1 Box Gluten-Free Elbow Pasta
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Plant-based butter
- 1/2 cup All Purpose Gluten-Free flour
- 2 ½ Cups Oat Milk
- 2 Cups Shredded plant based cheddar cheese
- 2 cups Shredded plant based mozzarella cheese
- ½ Cup Shredded plant based parmesan cheese
- ½ Tablespoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Black pepper
- ¼ Teaspoon Paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°
- Oil a 9x13 baking dish with olive oil and bring a pot of water to boil (add a little olive oil to the water)
- Prepare gluten-free pasta according to package instructions
- Mix together the cheeses into one dish an set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, sprinkle in flour and stir to combine for about 1 minute
- Slowly pour in 2 cups of milk stirring, until smooth. Stir in the remaining milk. continue to stir until mixture is thick and smooth.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in paprika, salt and pepper
- Add 1 ½ cups mixed cheese, as it melts mix in another 1 ½ cups until smooth
- In a large mixing bowl add the drained pasta with the cheese sauce, mixing lightly
- Pour the pasta/sauce mixture into the baking dish, add the remaining cheese mixture across the top
- Place in the oven for 35 minutes until bubbling
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
These nutritional figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe.
What questions do you have? Leave us your questions/comments below or on Instagram at #thevgnway.
If you give this gluten free vegan mac n cheese recipe a try recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, or take a picture and tag and us on Instagram at #thevgnway.
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The Vgn Way
Kelly Brimbore
okay! i want to try this for thanksgiving. my little sister made it over the summer and told me about this site. what kind of cheese do you recommend? she said Chao or Violife? are these good?