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Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese

Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese

This Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese was inspired by a recipe on our sister site The Veg Life! called White Bean Fettucine Alfredo.  I decided to kick it up a notch this time around with a bit of vegan parmesan and vegan mozzarella shreds.

You could easily substitute the cheeses with whatever vegan alternatives you can find.  For instance, the parmesan could be substituted with nutritional yeast.

I chose to serve it with barbecue cauliflower and sauteed collard greens.  SO good!

Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese

I baked the mac and cheese but here’s the good news.  It is completely ready to go and if you’d prefer it creamier, you can stop at that point which you’ll see below.

Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese

The first step is to make the white bean sauce.  I began with cannellini beans, but any white bean will do, almond milk and vegan parmesan (or nutritional yeast).  Puree this in a food processor until it is as smooth as you can get it.

Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese

Honestly, I couldn’t stop eating it at this point.  I really loved it at this stage.  Who doesn’t remember eating the mac and cheese right out of the pan as a kid?  I know I did.  I still do!  But back in those days, it was probably mac and cheese made from a box mix 😉

Here’s the thing about vegan cheese shreds.  Not all of them melt well.  This takes some experimentation and of course, I know some of you are limited to what you have available in your area.  This mac and cheese is just as good without it.

Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese

As I mentioned, I baked mine with some bread crumbs on top.  This really thickened up the mac and cheese, so expect that.  I would add more almond milk in anticipation so that it retains that creaminess.

Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese

I served my mac and cheese with one of my all-time favorites, Barbecue Cauliflower.  If you are interested in learning how to make this, the full recipe + method are available at our sister site, The Veg Life!  In that recipe we used buffalo sauce, but you can just sub it out for barbecue sauce.

Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese

Don’t they look yummy?

Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese

Did you make this recipe for Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese?  Leave a comment below and let me know what you thought!

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Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese
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4 from 1 vote

Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

  • 4 oz Macaroni Shaped Pasta

FOR THE WHITE BEAN SAUCE:

  • 1 c Dried {OR} two 15 oz. Cans of Great Northern Beans (if using dried soak dried beans overnight)
  • 1 Garlic Clove minced
  • 1-1/2 c Almond Milk or more if needed
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice
  • 1/4 c Vegan Parmesan OR Nutritional Yeast
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp Parsley plus more for garnish
  • Shredded Vegan Mozzarella optional

FOR THE TOPPING:

  • Breadcrumbs if desired
  • 1 tbsp Vegan Margarine melted

Instructions

  • Prepare macaroni to package instructions.  Drain but do not rinse and return to the large pasta pot.
  • If using dried beans, soak over night. If using canned, drain and rinse well.
  • Add the drained beans, and vegan parmesan to the food processor along with the parsley.  Pulse a few times to get things started.
  • To that, also add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast and almond milk. Season with salt and pepper. Puree until absolutely smooth in texture.
  • Add the now processed mixture to a large saute pan to heat.  Add the vegan mozzarella shreds at this point if desired.  Season with salt and pepper.
  • Add the sauce to the macaroni and mix to combine.
  • You can enjoy it right now, OR you can add it to a greased baking dish and top with breadcrumbs that have been tossed with melted vegan margarine.  Bake at 350 degrees until golden and bubbly.

White Bean Mac & Cheese

5 comments

  1. Hi!! I really want to try making this for my boyfriend, but I’m confused by the amounts. Is this one serving? 2 cans of beans but only 4 oz of pasta seems unbalanced?

    1. Hi Rhi, the amount of beans works but I will say that when you are mixing the macaroni with the cheese and almond milk – adding more will help keep it creamier. I added breadcrumbs which absorbed some of the liquids. Also, if you wanted to reheat the mac & cheese, add a bit more almond milk beforehand. So if anything, add more almond milk – not beans 🙂 I hope that helps!


    2. Rhi: 4oz of DRY pasta,may make around 1 cup of pasta when cooked.(yes, way too little, for almost 2 cups of sauce)

      If it’s me making this, I’d halve the recipe & use 8 oz of DRY pasta (should make about 1.5-2 cups of cooked pasta), to get a finished ratio, of about 1 cup of sauce, to about 2 cups of pasta, that when divided into 2 servings, would make about 3/4th-1 cup of pasta, & about half a cup of sauce. This would make a reasonable ratio, for a modest meal.

      Boost the meal, by adding peas, or cooked broccoli in with the pasta. If you do add in a half cup of veggies, in with the pasta, then I’d make the full recipe, so the veggies, and pasta are fully covered in sauce.

      Serve with a fruity dessert, for a balanced meal.

      Protein=bean sauce
      Starch/carbs=pasta
      Veggies in the dish, or on the side
      Fruit as dessert

      If one wanted to skip the carbs, this could just be served over veggie noodles, or just broccoli and/or cauliflower.

      If you’re not skipping carbs, the sauce, could be served over baked or mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, or riced broccolli, or blend riced veggies together in the sauce, to make a sort of confetti “cream” dish.etc.

      1. Wow! Great ideas and you certainly put a lot of thought into it 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing!!


  2. Creative and amazing! I used parsley that I grew myself and it turned out divine!

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