This mac and cheese is 100% vegan and so healthy! The ‘cheese’ in this recipe is a combination of roasted sweet potato, mustard, and nutritional yeast. The result is a nostalgic mac and cheese with a grown up edge and a rich, creamy, and satisfying dish! This recipe utilizes gluten-free pasta, but if that’s not a concern for you, any whole-grain short chunky shaped pasta will work. Recipe and photos contributed by Sophia Zergiotis of Love and Lentils.
Roasted Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese
Author: Sophia Zergiotis
Recipe type: Vegan macaroni and cheese
Cuisine: Vegan / Healthy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6 to 8
Ingredients
For the mac and cheese
- 2 sweet potatoes, about 3 cups, cubed
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 16 ounces (about 500 grams) elbow macaroni, gluten-free if desired
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon tamari, or regular soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, and more for drizzling
- 1 teaspoon sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk, or other non-diary milk of your choice
- A handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped, for garnish
For the mushrooms
- 8 ounces mushrooms, washed and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Place sweet potato cubes onto lightly oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until tender, turning once half way through.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return pasta to the pot.
- In a medium bowl, combine lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder, chili flakes, nutritional yeast, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a small pan, sauté mushrooms and garlic in oil on medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Remove sweet potatoes from oven (don’t turn off the heat) and add sweet potatoes to the bowl with all your seasonings and almond milk. Mash well, combining all ingredients. Don’t worry if you have a few clumps. If the mixture is a little too thick, add another splash of almond milk.
- Add macaroni noodles to the bowl, and fold all ingredients together. Spoon all into a casserole dish, top with mushrooms and place in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle freshly chopped parsley over the top, and serve.
- Here are more hearty vegan pasta recipes
18 Comments
michelle
April 29, 2014 at 3:39 pmInstead of olive oil I’d use coconut oil as it doesn’t burn at high heat
Leo
May 6, 2014 at 1:36 pmI made this the other night, but it was a little bland tasting. Any ideas on how to make the sweet potato flavor pop or to make it taste just a little bit better? I’m new to this site and looking to change my eating habits to be more plant-based. Thank you.
Nava
May 6, 2014 at 10:20 pmHi Leo — this is a recipe contributed by another author, so I don’t want to overstep too much — my suggestion would be to add about 3/4 cup of grated vegan cheddar, like Daiya, to give it an extra cheesy flavor. If you like spice, you might also try a little mesquite or barbecue seasoning — you can get those in the spice section of supermarkets — those are with the grilling seasonings; they’ll add a nice smoky flavor. I hope that either or both of those suggestions will help, if you wish to revisit this dish!
scott rosenbaum
May 22, 2014 at 11:45 ammade this twice now. It is yummy!!!I’d say to the bland taste season it as you like, with your favorite seasonings. But it is great as is!!Love the mushroom garnish!
Sandra
November 6, 2014 at 7:22 amThis tasted delicious and very flavourful. I used coconut milk instead of almond milk and the whole thing came together beautifully. I skipped the chili flakes so it’s toddler friendly. My daughter loved it. Best vegan Mac n Cheese I’ve had. I recommend using coconut milk.
vivienne Derricutt
December 12, 2014 at 5:04 pmThis was the most delicious creation ever. My friend and I are already planning Christmas variations incorporating sprouts and chestnuts. Amazing!!!
Nava
December 12, 2014 at 5:07 pmThank you, Vivienne! Glad you enjoyed it.
ciara
December 14, 2014 at 10:41 pmto the dude looking for a little pop: my go to mac n chi sauce is olive oil& s+p roasted sweet potato, red pepper and cauliflower blended with nooch, dijon, tahini, lemon juice & almomd milk. onion powder, garlic powder and smoked paprika seal the deal. super secrt bonus : vegan parmesean. i LOVE go veggie:http://www.goveggiefoods.com/products/grated-topping/dairy-free/parmesan. yum!
Kris
January 2, 2015 at 5:07 pmThis is so good! It’s somewhat sweet, which is interesting. I skipped the parsley, and next time I think I’ll skip the mushrooms. They distract from the deliciousness of the mac and cheese.
Officer Hamhock
March 22, 2015 at 11:44 pmMy girlfriend made this for me & it was fantastic. I see that there is nutritional information but there is no serving size?
Nava
March 23, 2015 at 7:52 amHello, it does specify 6 or more servings. Since this uses a pound of pasta, these servings would be very generous. Glad you enjoyed it!
Louise
July 24, 2015 at 2:45 pmCan I freeze this?????
Claira Fincham
December 14, 2016 at 10:58 pmI found the missing ingredient! 2 teaspoons of marmite!
Pam
December 25, 2017 at 7:17 pmMy family and I enjoyed this dish. To add a little spice to the dish, I added a few tablespoons of red pepper flakes to the dish. I also used 3 potatoes to add a lil thickness.This is no sub for mac n cheese but still a good casserole.
Julie
March 9, 2018 at 7:44 pmHi; i
im making this dish and dont know where the soy sauce is supposed to go. I assumed with the other spices but it doesnt say.
Nava
March 9, 2018 at 8:08 pmHi Julie, sorry for the omission — yes, add it in the order of the ingredients listed. I just made the fix though it may take a bit of time to show up on the front end of the site. Thanks for the eagle eye!
Noël
March 15, 2018 at 8:26 pmDelicious! To make the whole process go faster I just chopped the sweet potato up into small cubes and then boiled them for about 10 minutes until they were soft. It was a big hit and it has definitely made it into my dinner arsenal!
Nava
March 15, 2018 at 8:35 pmThanks, Noël! Glad it was a hit with you, and thanks for the tip.