This roasted carrot mac and cheese blends together fresh vegetables, spices, and almond milk into a thick and luxurious sauce. No cheese required for a creamy and decadent mac that the whole family will love!
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I’ve finally done it! I’ve made the PERFECT vegan mac and cheese! It is super saucy, thick and creamy, and actually 100% guilt free. The sauce is made entirely from vegetables, a little olive oil, spices, and some almond milk. Blend together and pour over your favorite pasta of choice. Yum!
So, not gunna lie, of all the foods in the world mac and cheese is my absolute favorite! I love good mac and cheese, bad mac and cheese, really any kind I can get my hands on. Vegan mac and cheese has always been difficult to perfect because vegan cheese doesn’t melt well… so making a creamy delicious sauce from scratch has been a major goal.
This Carrot Mac and Cheese Is:
- Thick
- Creamy
- Packed with Flavor: by roasting the veggies for 45 minutes, they caramelize in the pan and give the sauce an incredibly depth of flavor
- Nutritious
- Vegan, vegetarian, dairy free and 100% plant based.
- Versatile: if you don’t have all the veggies on hand you can use what you got
What’s In This Carrot Macaroni and Cheese?
- Carrots, Onion, Garlic, Zucchini – I get all the fresh produce for my recipes from my garden and from Misfits Market – they sell all organic produce at a super discounted price, and it’s purchased direct from the farmers. We get Misfit Market boxes every other week and love picking out our favorite seasonal produce for delivery. You can get $10 off your first $30 box by clicking here!
If you think organic produce is too expensive… think again, and give Misfits Market a look!
- Macaroni Noodles: to make this gluten free, these awesome GF macaroni pasta noodles work perfect in this recipe. If you aren’t gluten free, then you can use normal macaroni, whole wheat, or a veggie pasta.
- Mustard Powder: I love adding this mustard powder to any mac and cheese type dish – it adds a nice sharpness and bright yellow color.
- Smoked Paprika: give an additional depth of flavor to this dish.
- Turmeric – a staple in our spice cabinet! Aside from all the wonderful health benefits of turmeric (hello anti-inflammation!), the flavor is fantastic. I try to add a teaspoon of turmeric into soups, stews, and rice dishes too.
- Nutritional Yeast: not to be confused with bread baking yeast, nutritional yeast has a cheesy nutty umami flavor which is great in all kinds of dishes – I even sprinkle it on fresh popped pop corn and WOW! Also great in soups and sauces of all kinds.
- I used unsweetened Almond Milk for my version of this recipe. I prefer almond milk, which Silk has a shelf-stable version that lasts up to a year in the pantry!
Saucy Vegan Mac and Cheese for the WIN
Lets talk sauce! The sauce-to-noodle ratio of this carrot mac and cheese is out of control. The noodles are practically drowning in the sauce, which is how it should be. The sauce is so thick it sticks to every surface of the pasta, giving you maximum flavor in each bite. You can add more/less almond milk to the sauce to thin it out, totally up to you. I like a real saucy mac, so the recipe amount is perfect for me!
How Do I Make This Carrot Mac and Cheese?
- Preheat the oven to 425 Fahrenheit.
- Cook the macaroni noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- On a large Sheetpan, pour the olive oil and toss with the onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini, mustard powder, paprika, and salt. Toss well so all the veggies are coated in the spices and oil.
- Roast the vegetables for 40 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Add the vegetables to a blender. Pour in the nutritional yeast and almond milk. Blend on high for 2 to 3 minutes until sauce is thick. Add more milk for a thinner sauce.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
- Pour sauce over cooked macaroni noodles and enjoy!
I could eat mac and cheese every meal of the day and never get sick of it. And now I can! Since this sauce is made totally from vegetables, spices, and almond milk its totally guilt-free in my book. And unlike regular boxed mac and cheese, this isn’t loaded with sodium. You can control the amount of salt you use in the dish, not the other way around!
Dietary Modifications
This recipe is vegan, plant-based, vegetarian, and dairy free! The sauce is totally gluten-free to make sure you use a GF pasta if you avoid gluten. It’s also way more low sodium than regular boxed mac and cheese, so I’d recommend this version of mac & cheese if you are watching you salt intake.
If you aren’t vegan, you can use any kind of milk you’d like in the sauce. Just make sure it isn’t sweetened. To make this nut free, substitute almond milk for regular, soy, or rice milk. Coconut milk would also be totally amazing. I should probably test that one out… 🙂
A Few Other Favorite Vegan Pasta Recipes:
Creamy Vegan Mushroom Tetrazzini (Dairy Free, Vegetarian)
Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles (Vegan Pantry Staple Recipe, Gluten Free)
Sheet Pan Gnocchi Butternut Squash & Kale (Vegan, Dairy Free)
30 Minute Garlic Alfredo Pasta (Vegan, Gluten-Free, One Pot Recipe)
Vegan Mediterranean One Pot Pasta (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Get the Same Ingredients for this Carrot Mac & Cheese Recipe
I get all the fresh produce for my recipes from my garden and from Misfits Market – they sell all organic produce at a super discounted price, and it’s purchased direct from the farmers. We get Misfit Market boxes every other week and love picking out our favorite seasonal produce for delivery. You can get $10 off your first $30 box by clicking here!
If you think organic produce is too expensive… think again, and give Misfits Market a look!
As always, if you make this Roasted Carrot Mac & Cheese be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Let’s keep in touch – make sure to sign up for my newsletter to get fresh recipes weekly. And don’t forget to follow over on Pinterest, Instagram , & Twitter– I’d love to connect with you there!
Roasted Carrot Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 16 ounce box macaroni noodles gluten free
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 8 cloves garlic chopped
- 6 large carrots about 1.5 lbs chopped
- 1 zucchini sliced
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2.5 to 3 cups plain unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 Fahrenheit.
- Cook the macaroni noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- On a large Sheetpan, pour the olive oil and toss with the onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini, mustard powder, paprika, and salt. Toss well so all the veggies are coated in the spices and oil.
- Roast the vegetables for 40 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Add the vegetables to a blender. Pour in the nutritional yeast and almond milk. Blend on high for 2 to 3 minutes until sauce is thick. Add more milk for a thinner sauce.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
- Pour sauce over cooked macaroni noodles and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Herbeevore and our beehives!
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This is a delicious recipe! It does make a lot of sauce, so it seemed that we could have almost doubled the noodles, or have extra sauce for another meal. We also added the powder “cheese” from some vegan mac-n-cheese, and it took it to another level! Since we’re not exactly vegan, we just keep real cheese to a minimum, we added 2oz of cheddar to the sauce for extra flavor.
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Loved this!!! I used homemade hemp milk and adjusted the spice levels x3 for each and 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast for an over the top cheesy flavor. I also used an entire head of garlic and subbed in potatoes! Will be doing this again, with sauteed mushrooms next time! Thanks you!
Hi Kasey, wow that sounds fantastic! Love the garlic addition there… and so glad you loved this mac.
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Very tasty and easy to make.