This Vegan Mac and Cheese Tastes Better Than the Real Thing

If you’ve been searching the internet for a good vegan mac and cheese recipe, look no further because you’ve found the perfect one. Califia Farms and Chef Tom Walton have cooked up a delicious-sounding cauliflower mac and cheese recipe to keep you nice and toasty warm for the rest of winter.

Because mac and cheese dishes are usually made of, you guessed it, cheese, being able to find a good vegan mac and cheese recipe is so hard to do. Especially when you love the taste of the original so much. But according to Tom Walton, Califia Farm’s Original Oat milk is great as a non-diary substitute because it makes the sauce particularly smooth and creamy.

What more could you want from mac and cheese?

Okay, enough talking, let’s dive straight into the recipe.

Cauliflower mac and cheese recipe

Serves 4

What you’ll need for this vegan mac and cheese recipe:

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into 8 wedges
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, fresh ground black pepper
• 300g dried macaroni
• 1/3 cup dairy-free butter
• 1 small brown onion, finely diced
• ¼ cup plain flour
• 2 ½ cups Califia Farms Original Oat Milk
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 200 g dairy-free cheddar style cheese
• Handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Directions for this vegan mac and cheese recipe:

1. Preheat an oven to 220°C and bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
2. Place the cauliflower into a large shallow bowl, drizzle over the olive oil and season with salt and pepper, mix well to combine then place onto a line baking tray and roast for 25 minutes, until golden.
3. Cook the macaroni in the boiling water for 8 minutes then refresh under cold water and drain.
4. Place a shallow frying pan over medium/high heat and add the butter. Once melted add the onion and a good pinch of salt. Cook stirring often for 3 minutes then add the flour and cook that out, stirring, for 30 seconds before adding Califia’s Original Oat milk, a little at a time and stirring as you go to create a thick, smooth sauce.
5. Turn the heat down and allow the sauce to simmer, stirring often for 3 minutes then stir through the nutritional yeast and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat, grate half the cheese into the sauce and stir through to melt.
6. Add the pasta to the pan and stir through the sauce. Tip the macaroni and sauce into a baking dish and nestle in the cauliflower, spooning some sauce over them so it all fits nicely and the cauliflower is covered. Scatter the remaining cheese over the dish and return to the oven for 8 minutes, until bubbling and golden.
7. Serve mac and ‘cheese’ scattered with the parsley

And there you have it! A delicious, and completely vegan, mac and cheese recipe.

If reading this has made you hungry, here are some tasty soups that are perfect to close out the winter season with. And if you’re after a classic dairy-filled recipe for mac and cheese, we’ve got that ready for you here.

Happy cooking, folks!