Creamy Dairy Free Mac and Cheese

Creamy Dairy Free Mac and Cheese

Get your comfort food fix with this delicious and super creamy dairy free mac and cheese that's easy to make with ingredients you most likely have on hand!

Dairy free, gluten free, peanut free, vegan option

Course Main Dishes

Cuisine American

Keyword dairy free mac and cheese, gluten free mac and cheese

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings cups

Calories 419kcal

Author Sarah Jane Parker

Ingredients

8 ounces gluten free elbow/macaroni pasta (or regular macaroni pasta if you can have gluten)
1 ¾ cup canned coconut milk divided
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon chicken broth powder* (I used Orrington farms chicken broth powder)
1 teaspoon all purpose Cajun/Creole seasoning
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch**
8 ounces dairy free cheddar cheese shreds (I like Violife best)
Optional: Gluten-Free Bread or cracker crumbs

Instructions

Fill a 2 quart saucepan about ¾ full with water, add a few dashes of salt, and heat over medium heat until boiling for the pasta.
While you're waiting for the water to boil, make the cheese sauce in a separate saucepan: add 1 ½ cups canned coconut milk, whisk in the nutritional yeast, and the spices and seasonings. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Once the sauce is simmering, lower the heat to medium-low. Whisk the cornstarch into a small dish with the remaining ¼ cup of coconut milk to create a cornstarch slurry, and whisk this cornstarch mixture into the hot coconut milk.
Whisk regularly for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Once the water for the pasta is boiling, add the macaroni pasta (whichever kind you're using) and follow the package directions for cooking time.
While the pasta is cooking, keep the heat on medium-low for the sauce and add the package of dairy free cheese to the sauce and stir regularly until smooth and completely melted (this may take about 5 to 6 minutes to fully melt into the sauce).
Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken a bit more (it will thicken as it cools slightly).
Once the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta very well, add back to the pan, and add the sauce to the pasta and stir to coat thoroughly.
You can serve this immediately, or you can put it in a 9x13-inch casserole dish, top with additional cheese and bread crumbs, and bake at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes or until the top is golden.

Notes

*For vegan mac and cheese, use a vegetable broth powder instead of the chicken broth powder.

**1/2 Tablespoon = 1 1/2 teaspoons. So 1 1/2 tablespoons = 1 Tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons

Nutrition