Vegan Baked Mac N Cheese with Bacon Crumble
I’m not even sure where to start with this post because all I really want to say is, “GO make this Mac N Cheese!”
I have been playing around with Vegan Versions of Mac N Cheese’s for years now.
I’ve tried the whole food plant based version with potatoes & carrots, the oat version, the cashew version(I do have a cashew alfredo down pat though) and the classic roux version using 365 Whole Foods vegan cheese.
A couple were good/decent and a couple, not so much.
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I Have Recently Become A Huge Fan Of The Vegan Cheese Brand Violife
Is this recipe specific to Violife? …yes and no. You can easily make this with other cheeses but I have done the work for you to know that THIS recipe and the Violife Cheese works.
And it works REALLY well!!
Mr. VeggL’s first response was, “This is ridiculous! I’m about to eat the whole pan.” haha!
…and it’s BONUS approved by Mr. VeggL because the pasta I use is Banza Pasta which is a high protein chickpea pasta.
The Brands/Products I Recommend For This Recipe
- Banza Pasta
- Violife Cheddar Shreds
- Violife Mozzarella Shreds
- Lightlife Vegan Bacon
- Earth Balance Butter
- Original Unsweetened Soy Milk, any brand
You can use other brands if these are not available. The Lightlife Vegan Bacon, for instance, was chosen because in my opinion vegan cheeses have a slightly sweet taste to them. The saltiness of this bacon helps balance that out.
We did a Vegan Bacon Taste Test if you would like to check it out as well.
Baked Vegan Mac N Cheese with Bacon Crumble
Ingredients
- 8 oz Pasta; we used the high protein Banza Pasta
Cheese Sauce
- 2 tbsp vegan butter; we use Earth Balance
- 2 tbsp all purpose, unbleached flour
- 3/4 c vegan cheddar cheese; we suggest Violife
- 3/4 c vegan mozzarella cheese; we suggest Violife
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 1/4 c non-dairy milk, unsweetened; divided 1c & 1/4c
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Vegan Bacon Crumble Topping
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 strips vegan bacon, chopped up very small ; we suggest Lightlife
- 1/4 c breadcrumbs
Instructions
Oven & Pasta
- Preheat Oven 350 degrees.
- Cook pasta according to package directions; setting time to shortest amount recommended. Rinse well with cold water(to stop the cooking process). Set aside.
Vegan Bacon Crumble
- Use the same large skillet as what you will use for the cheese sauce to lessen dirty dishes.
- Melt butter over medium/high heat. Add vegan bacon crumbles. Sauté for 3 minutes. Remove from heat & pour in to a small bowl with the bread crumbs. Stir well. Set aside.
Vegan Cheese Sauce
- Melt butter over medium heat. Using a whisk, stir in flour. Continue to stir & cook for 2 minutes. Add nutritional yeast, salt & pepper. Whisk for another minute. Whisk in 1c non-dairy milk. Continue to cook; stirring constantly until cheese thickens up. Add the other 1/4c of non-dairy milk. Stir again & take off heat. Add the drained pasta and mix thoroughly.
Bake
- Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray. Transfer Macaroni and Cheese to the casserole dish and top with the prepared Vegan Bacon Crumble. Bake 20 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
and let us know how it turned out!
When Plating Your Mac N Cheese, You Can Eat It Alone Or Pair With:
- broccoli
- roasted tomatoes
- green onion
- salad
- green beans
- vegan burger
- vegan fried chicken
Or Make It A Feast & Have A BBQ…
- baked beans
- cornbread
- coleslaw <-We think our recipe is the BEST 😉
- vegan brats
- vegan hot dogs
- …and of course you need a dessert -> Chocolate Pudding Pie w/ Oreo Crust
I Am Making Myself Hungry!
However you choose to enjoy this recipe, please take pictures & tag us on social media. We’ll share them!
-Jen
Instagram@veggl_veganeats
Facebook@VeggL
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