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Vegan Instant Mac & Cheese

ByThee Burger Dude January 8, 2023April 10, 2024

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This Vegan Instant Mac & Cheese is a terrific classic Blue Box copycat, but made vegan with your favorite cheese sauce.

Mac n’ Cheese is probably in my top 10 (maybe 5) favorite dishes of all time! Like a lot of folks in the US, I grew up on the Kraft Blue Box. And what’s cool is there’s actually quite a few vegan options available.

But growing up, I ate the heck out of this stuff. I can’t remember if I’ve already told this story on one of my other Mac n’ Cheese posts (I have a few) but when I was 10 I asked my mom to have this like 2 or 3 nights in a row. She couldn’t believe that I wanted to eat it every night. So she told me she was just going to make Mac n’ Cheese every night until I got sick of it. I happily obliged.

I think after 10 nights she finally gave in and made something else. But I often wonder when I would’ve gotten sick of it! Who knows!

why you’ll love vegan instant mac n’ cheese

Even though there’s a decent amount of options out there for instant vegan mac n’ cheese, they can sometimes be pricey. And I almost always gotta add a bunch of seasonings to ’em since they are usually kinda bland.

So why not make some of our own Mac n’ Cheese Powder to have whenever we get a hankering and wanna make some in an INSTANT!

And one of the reasons I love this recipe so much is just like the boxed stuff, it’s SUPER CONVENIENT! No soaking cashews, boiling carrots, and you don’t need to worry about buying any vegan cheese at the store!

ingredients for vegan instant mac n’ cheese

Nutritional Yeast – Not a surprise if you’ve been vegan for more than 1 week! This is the backbone of this powder and it’s pretty mandatory.
Mushroom Seasoning – I use this stuff in a lot of my recipes, and for good reason! It packs a good umami punch in just about anything. If you can’t get your hands on some you can use more nutritional yeast.
Onion and Garlic Powder – These also help out with the savory flavor. But don’t add too much as they can overpower the powder very easily!
Lactic Acid – Another ingredient that might not be super common. But if you are making vegan cheese on a semi-regular basis, it should be a staple! It just adds a superior cheesy tang that I haven’t found a substitute for. Some people have said they use citric acid in its place, but I haven’t tried that yet.
Sazon or MSG – These are optional, but they do help out if you can get ’em!
Tapioca Starch – This is going to thicken the sauce and give it a bit of a stretch! I’m not sure you can substitute this, cornstarch might work, but I’d be worried it would come out gummy.

how to make vegan instant mac n’ cheese

The recipe we got here is good for about 1 pound of dry pasta. I would honestly say to double it since the powder will last a good long while and it’s nice to have this handy whenever you want.

To make the powder, you just need to whisk everything together.

I highly suggest blending it if you can. This seems to intensify the flavor!

Then just store it until needed!

To actually put this to use, it’s basically the same process as the non-vegan stuff. Cook 8 oz. of macaroni according to package instructions. Then add unsweetened plant milk and vegan butter.

Then add 4-6 Tbsp of the powder.

Stir to combine, taste and adjust for seasoning and you’re done!

Here’s a HANDY DANDY VIDEO!

Storage

Store in a jar and use within a year. But honestly I don’t know how this stuff would last more than a few weeks, it’s too good!!

other recipes you might like!

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Yield: 4-6 Servings