Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipes

One of America's favorite comfort foods, Macaroni & Cheese, has its own National holiday today (Thursday, July 14th). To celebrate, we curated a list of seven dairy-free recipes made with healthier-for-you ingredients that perfectly mimic the gooey, saucy indulgence we all love.

Each mac and cheese recipe is different and calls for a variety of ingredients to make dairy-free cheese taste the same, if not better, than dairy cheese. The first three recipes are celebrity favorites: Jessica Seinfeld shared her milky mac and cheese with a buttery bread crumb topping, one of our most popular recipes on The Beet. The second recipe is Mayim Bialik's mouth-watering mac and cheese she claims children go crazy for. And the third recipe was shared by Fantasia Taylor's chef, Chef Joya, who whipped up Taylor's secret baked mac and cheese recipe on special occasions like Taylor's baby shower.

The next four recipes are created by plant-based chefs who add their own spin on the traditional dish, such as taco mac and cheese by JD Raymundo. This seasoned dish includes all your favorite taco toppings served over macaroni with a homemade dairy-free cheese sauce. If you're looking for a classic vegan cheese sauce to spread over your favorite noodles or add to your own recipe, try this vegan recipe made with nutritional yeast.

1. Jessica Seinfeld’s Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

"I have served this many times to non-vegans and they always go for seconds. I use cashew or almond milk for its mild flavor, but you can always experiment with other plant-based milk." – Jessica Seinfeld

Recipe: Jessica Seinfeld's Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe from Vegan at Time

2. Mayim Bialik's Mouth-Watering Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

“People often ask vegan children if they miss macaroni and cheese. With this recipe, your kids don’t have to miss out on the creamy comfort food many kids think comes from a box. It’s an exceptionally yummy and satisfying dish you’ll find yourself making when you crave comfort food in a jiffy.” – Mayim Bialik

Recipe:��Mayim Bialik's Mouth-Watering Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

3. Fantasia Taylor's Secret Baked Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese Recipe

When American Idol alumn Fantasia Taylor was vegan for a couple of years, her personal cook Chef Joya shared some of her favorite dairy-and-meat-free recipes, which included this vegan baked mac and cheese – a comfort food favorite.

Recipe: Fantasia Taylor's Baked Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese Recipe

4. Vegan and Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese with Sage

Gluten-free Marconi and dairy-free cheese get together to create the ultimate allergy-friendly, healthier-for-you comfort dish with hints of fresh sage. Some may consider this a holiday special, but this dish will be highly-rated during any season.

Recipe: Vegan and Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese with Sage

5. The Creamiest Vegan Shell Mac and Cheese

Think Velveta with all-natural ingredients, and completely dairy-free. This Vegan Shell Mac and Cheese recipe is made with carrots, potatoes, miso paste, nutritional yeast, and plant-based milk. Now that's the ultimate goey, saucy, cheesy experience.

Recipe: The Creamiest Vegan Shell Mac and Cheese

6. Vegan Taco Mac and Cheese

Turn taco night into a mac and cheese dish with the same ingredients you'd stuff a tortilla. This goey delight is made with two kinds of vegan cheese, tempeh, taco seasoning, tomatoes, tofu crumbles, sour cream onions, and more.

Recipe: Vegan Taco Mac and Cheese

7. Stovetop Vegan Mac and Cheese

Chef Linda Soper-Kolton from the Compassionate Cuisine program at Catskill Animal Sanctuary knows how to make one of the healthiest dairy-free mac and cheese recipes with whole foods and superfood spices like ground turmeric, for a unique touch.

Recipe: Vegan Stovetop Mac and Cheese

For more great recipes that are dairy-free, check out The Beet's recipe library of more than 1,000 vegan or plant-based recipes.