This sweet potato vegan mac and cheese has an incredibly creamy, rich, and cheesy texture. It is healthy, delicious, and so easy to make. It comes together in just 20 mins and is so comforting.
The recipe is plant-based, oil-free, dairy-free, can be made gluten-free. This Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese is the perfect healthy family lunch or dinner.
A sprinkle of our Quick Dairy-free Parmesan will take the meal even to another level. Yummy!
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Simple whole food ingredients
This Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese recipe is super healthy as it is vegan. And it is made with several whole food plant ingredients. Here is what you will need:
- Sweet potato – you’re gonna need one medium sweet potato
- Onion – you can use white or yellow onion
- Garlic – adds great flavor and aroma
- Cashews – use plain raw cashews with no added salt, sugar, or oil. If you avoid nuts you can use one of these alternatives – sunflower seeds, silken tofu, white beans, like cannellini or navy beans, or coconut milk.
- Soy sauce – you can use tamari for a gluten-free sauce
- Spices – all you need is nutritional yeast, paprika, thyme, basil, and salt
- Pasta – the recipe works with any short pasta, like macaroni, fusilli, penne, shells, etc.(use gluten-free if needed). You can also use whole-wheat pasta as it is higher in fiber and micronutrients.
For the full ingredients list, measurements, and instructions, please find the recipe card below.
How to make sweet potato vegan mac and cheese
This Sweet Potato Mac And Cheese is quick and easy to make. It is ready in just 20 mins and is so delicious. We really love it in my family and make it quite often. It requires only 4 simple steps.
Step 1: Chop the sweet potato into 3 large pieces. Put them in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for about 15 mins. (Make sure to reserve the water from the cooking as it will be used to make the sauce)
Step 2: Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to package instructions.
Step 3: In a blender combine all ingredients for the sauce (boiled sweet potato, onion, garlic, cashews, water from the cooked sweet potato, soy sauce, and seasoning). Blend for several minutes until creamy.
Step 4: Drain your pasta. Place it in a casserole dish and pour the sweet potato sauce on top. Stir everything well.
Optional: You can bake the Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese at 400°F (200°C) for 8 mins. It will thicken even more.
Serve immediately as it is or sprinkle with some Quick Dairy-free Parmesan and enjoy! You may also like my Creamy Pumpkin Pasta as its silky creamy sauce is similarly thick, cheesy and delicious although there is no cheese in it.
Useful tips
- If you are gluten-free, make this Sweet Potato Mac And Cheese using gluten-free pasta.
- Cashew substitutions: sunflower seeds, silken tofu, white beans, like cannellini or navy beans, or coconut milk.
- The sauce thickens when it cools. However, you can easily fix it by adding little warm water and stirring it.
- If you have leftovers or you make it ahead of time you may need a splash of veggie broth or water to make it nice and creamy again.
This Sweet Potato Mac and cheese is
- Plant-based (vegan)
- Whole food
- Oil-free
- Dairy-free
- Cheesy
- Rich in beta carotene
- Easy and quick to make
- Ready in just 20 mins
- With simple wholesome ingredients
- Rich and creamy!
How to store
It is best to serve this Sweet Potato Mac And Cheese immediately. However, if you have any leftovers keep them in the fridge covered for up to 3 days.
Note that the sauce will thicken when it cools. You can easily fix it by adding a little warm water when you reheat it. Thus it will become nice and creamy again.
More easy, creamy vegan recipes
- Easy Creamy Vegan Zucchini Dip
- Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
- Easy Broccolli-rich Casserole
- Creamy Vegan Chickpea Curry
- Creamy Zucchini Soup
- Quick Universal Cashew Sauce
If you try this creamy Sweet Potato Mac And Cheese let us know! Please leave a comment and recipe rating below. Also share a photo with us on Instagram or Facebook and tag us with @wellnessdove and #wellnessdove. I would love to see your remakes!
Sweet potato mac and cheese
Ingredients
- 1 (320 g) sweet potato, peeled
- ½ small (40 g) onion
- ½ cup (70 g) raw cashews
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cups water, from the cooked sweet potato
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp basil
- 1¼ tsp salt
- 10,5 oz (300 g) pasta, use gluten-free if needed
Instructions
- Chop the sweet potato into 3 large pieces. Put them in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for about 15 mins. (Make sure to reserve the water from the cooking as it will be used to make the sauce)
- Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to package instructions.
- In a blender combine all ingredients for the sauce (boiled sweet potato, onion, garlic, cashews, water from the cooked sweet potato, soy sauce, and seasoning). Blend for several minutes until creamy.
- Drain your pasta. Place it in a casserole dish and pour the sweet potato sauce on top. Stir everything well.
- Optional: You can bake the sweet potato mac and cheese at 400°F (200°C) for 8 mins. It will thicken even more.
- Serve immediately as it is or sprinkle with some Quick Dairy-free Parmesan and enjoy!
You can find detailed instructions with photos in the post above.
Notes
- If you are gluten-free, make this Sweet Potato Mac And Cheese using gluten-free pasta.
- Cashew substitutions: sunflower seeds, silken tofu, white beans, like cannellini or navy beans, or coconut milk.
- The sauce thickens with time so you can easily fix it by adding a little warm water and stirring it. You can reheat it this way and it will be perfect.
My non vegan family members actually enjoyed this meal.
I love these so much! They are so easy and I love making a big batch of the sauce and then use it for a couple of meals!