Roasted Carrot Mac and Cheese Recipe (Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

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?

1. Preheat the oven to 425 Fahrenheit.
2. Cook the macaroni noodles according to package instructions.  Drain and set aside.
3. 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.
4. Roast the vegetables for 40 minutes, flipping halfway.
5. 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.
6. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
7. 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)

Roasted Carrot Mac and Cheese

Kelly Jensen

This roasted carrot mac and cheese blends together fresh vegetables, spices, and almond milk into a thick and luxurious sauce.  No cheese required!

5 from 12 votes

Print Recipe Pin Share Tweet

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Pasta

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 333 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 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

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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

Save Money on Organic Produce!

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 box by clicking here! 

If you think organic produce is too expensive... think again, and give Misfits Market a look!

Nutrition

Calories: 333kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 282mgPotassium: 283mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 7702IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 122mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Carrot Mac and Cheese, Carrot Macaroni and Cheese, mac and cheese with carrots, macaroni and cheese with carrots, Roasted Vegetable Mac and Cheese, Vegan Mac and Cheese, Vegan Macaroni no Cheese

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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!