This Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese is luxuriously rich and creamy, so comforting and quick and easy to make. The sauce is not starchy or cloying and is a good source of protein and fibre. It takes just 30 minutes to make and is gluten-free and nut-free optional, too!
I’ve experimented with so many different creamy vegan pasta sauce recipes, including this creamy pesto sauce and this creamy pumpkin one.
I used almond milk thickened with cornflour (cornstarch) as a base for the creamy pesto sauce, but I found that using just almond milk and cornflour for a mac and cheese-type sauce didn’t work as well because there wasn’t enough flavour and I wasn’t able to create a thick and creamy sauce without using a lot of cornflour, which, used in large quantities, can make the sauce kind of custard-like, which isn’t really what you want.
I also experimented with using blended vegetables like cauliflower, but couldn’t get rid of the cauliflower taste.
I also tried using blended potatoes and even mochi, but both of these were far too starchy.
I then tried blended white beans and it really hit the spot! Beans were happily one of the healthiest ingredients I experimented with and the taste and texture was perfect!
How to make this recipe
Full recipe at the bottom of the post.
- Cook the pasta.
- Fry the onion and garlic for around 10 minutes until softened.
- Add the almond milk, nutritional yeast, miso, vinegar, white beans, salt + pepper.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes.
Tip: Use a measuring jug to measure out the milk.
- Transfer to a food processor or blender.
- Whizz until completely smooth.
- Mix with the cooked pasta and enjoy immediately!
How long does this White Bean Mac and Cheese keep for?
Once you have mixed the sauce into the pasta, it’s best eaten immediately as the pasta will become mushy. However, the sauce itself can be kept covered in the fridge for up to a few days or can be frozen too. Reheat in a pan on the hob (stove), adding a little extra plant-based milk or water to thin it out if necessary.
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of pasta – brown rice pasta, quinoa pasta or green pea pasta are my favourite gluten-free ones.
- You can replace the white beans with chickpeas (but the texture will be slightly more ‘grainy’).
- You can replace the almond milk with cashew milk or oat milk for a nut-free version.
- You can add herbs to the sauce much as rosemary or sage.
- You can add any vegetables – I added green peas, but you could add spinach, broccoli, kale etc.
More vegan cheese recipes
- Vegan Stretchy Melty Grilled Cheese
- Vegan Stretchy Melty Cheese Nachos
- Vegan Queso
- Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Stretchy Melty Cheese Quesadillas
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make this recipe
Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 200 g (7 oz) pasta (gluten-free if necessary)
For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon oil (olive, rapeseed or vegetable)
- 1 onion , diced
- 1 garlic clove , roughly chopped
- 170 ml (¾ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or sub unsweetened oat milk if nut-free)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 heaped teaspoon miso (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar ensure gluten-free if necessary
- 400 g (14 oz) tin of white beans , drained and rinsed (haricot beans, cannellini beans or butter beans)
- Salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to instructions on packet.
- Heat up oil in a separate saucepan.
- Once hot, add onions and garlic and cook for around 10 minutes until soft.
- Add milk, nutritional yeast, miso, vinegar, white beans, salt + pepper.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Using a hand-held blender, blender or food processor, whizz the sauce until completely smooth. Add more milk or water to thin out if necessary.
- Mix with the cooked pasta, taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Enjoy immediately – best served alongside salad.
Video
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Ruth
I made this recipe for the first time tonight and it’s delicious. I love all the umami flavours. I used a combination of cannellini and butter beans, and the texture was very slightly grainy but I’m wondering if that was because I whizzed it using a hand-held blender stick, rather than putting it in a food processor? Should it be possible to make it completely smooth?
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so glad you liked it! Yes the texture should be completely smooth – some hand-held blenders aren’t powerful enough so I would recommend using a food processor or more powerful blender if possible!
Lisa
This is yummy! Loved it. I will make it again. Thank you
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!!
Lindsay
Hey! What could I substitute for the miso?
Rhian Williams
Extra salt!
Salvador
This was delicious!
The texture was more like a thick chowder than a cheese sauce, and it was somewhat grainy. That’s probably because my food processor is not actually a food processor at all, but a “mini chopper.” Also, I used Great Northern beans instead of the suggested butter or cannellini beans, which may have affected the texture as well.
The flavor was delicious, though! I added the flavorings (vinegar, miso, nutritional yeast) after removing from the stove to preserve the probiotics in the miso and avoid denaturing the B vitamins in the yeast. It did taste more like alfredo sauce than cheese sauce, but it was complex and tasty, so I wasn’t disappointed!
I hope to try this recipe again with proper kitchen equipment! It is so healthy and tasty!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much for the feedback! Yes, a high-speed food processor or blender is definitely necessary to make this sauce creamy. So glad you liked it!
Suzanna
What can we use instead of nutritional yeast?
Rhian Williams
You can leave it out!