Simple, practical, and full of everyday flavour, Vegan Black Pepper Mac and Cheese with Potato Carrot Cheese Sauce is a vegan, vegetarian American pasta made with water, medium potato, and chopped carrots in about 55 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 35 minutes
  • Total time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Pasta
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups water
  • 1 medium potato (about 1 cup or use 3/4 cup mashed potatoes)
  • 1/3 cup chopped carrots
  • 4 garlic cloves (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
  • 2 tbsp chopped onion (or use 1/2 tsp onion powder)
  • 1/2 green chili (optional)
  • 1/2 medium tomato (chopped)
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp prepared mustard
  • 2 tsp soy sauce (or liquid aminos)
  • 3 to 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 2 to 3 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (omit to make oil free)
  • 1/3 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp sriracha (optional)
  • 3/4 tsp or more salt
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper
  • 3/4 to 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (divided)
  • 6 to 8 oz elbows pasta (cooked to preference)
  • 1 cup broccoli chopped small

Method

  1. In a skillet, add water, potato, carrots, garlic, onion, chili and tomato. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 17 to 19 minutes or until the potato is very tender and breaks easily. (add 2 Tbsp cashews for creamier sauce). Cool slightly.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta to aldente. (in parallel with the above step if you like).
  3. Add the potato carrot mixture to a blender with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. taste and adjust salt and spice.
  4. Transfer to the pan over medium heat. Add salt, white pepper, 1/3 tsp black pepper. Mix in. Bring to a boil. Carefully taste and adjust salt, cheesiness (add more nutritional yeast if needed).
  5. Add the cooked pasta and broccoli or other veggies. Mix in. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the sauce comes to a good boil and thickens.
  6. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Mix in the rest of the freshly ground black pepper (1/2 to 2/3 tsp). Sprinkle more pepper if you wish and serve/

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.