Creamy, smoky vegan mac and cheese topped with cheesy-crunchy breadcrumbs is an easy, delicious side dish. Just cook the pasta, mix the sauce ingredients in the baking dish, mix in pasta, top with breadcrumb topping, bake and done! I give you lots of options for this Baked Mac to make it your own!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 6
  • Category: Side, Side Dish
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces macaroni (or other pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained and rinsed in cold water)

For the Sauce

  • 1/2 cup non-dairy sour cream (or yogurt or cream cheese)
  • 1 teaspoon yellow miso, (use chickpea miso for Soyfree)
  • 2 teaspoons ketchup (or tomato paste)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 3/4 cup warm non-dairy milk
  • 1/4 cup vegan cheese (like a mix of cheddar and mozzarella or cheddar and vegan Parmesan)

For the Breadcrumb Topping

  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup vegan cheese, (such as a mix of cheddar and vegan Parmesan)
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (depending on how smoky you want the topping)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 400° F (205° C) and cook your pasta according to instructions on the package, if you haven't already. (Add the pasta to a large pot of boiling water, and mix and cook until the pasta is a bit more than al dente.) Drain and rinse with room temperature water, and set aside. (I usually cook the pasta when ready to bake as it reduces the bake time)

Make the sauce.

  1. In a 9x11” or similar-sized baking dish, add the non-dairy sour cream, miso, and ketchup, half of the non dairy milk, and mix really well. Be sure to mix the miso in to the mixture well, because otherwise later it will just be a blob in the entire sauce.
  2. Mix in all of the spices, salt, and the flour and mix in.
  3. Add in the remaining non-dairy milk, vegan cheese and mix. Add your cooked pasta, and toss well to a coat. If the sauce is too thick or not feeling like enough sauce for your pasta, add in 1/4 cup more non-dairy milk and mix. Then even out the top of the casserole with the spatula and make the topping.

Make the breadcrumb topping and bake.

  1. In a small bowl, add all of the topping ingredients, except the olive oil, and mix really well. Then, drizzle the olive oil onto the mixture and mix in.
  2. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the baking dish, and even out the top of with a spatula
  3. Bake for 14-17 minutes, until the top is golden and the sauce is starting to get nice and bubbly. You might need more or less cooking time, based on your baking dish and your oven.
  4. Remove the baking dish from the oven, and garnish with fresh herbs and optional pepper flakes. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.