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This vegan jalapeno popper mac and cheese is the ultimate creamy & delicious mac and cheese recipe. Made with a creamy cashew sauce and filled with bits of jalapeno pepper for an extra kick!
This post is in partnership with Carrington Farms.
Today is a special day. Because today is the day for vegan jalapeno popper mac and cheese. That’s right. We’re doing creamy cheesy cashew sauce loaded up with garlic, onion, jalapenos, tossed together with macaroni, topped off with coutrons and then broiled to perfection.
Drooling yet?
Vegan Mac and Cheese – Comfort and Health Food?
This is one of those recipes that falls under the category of ultimate comfort food. I’m talking bundle up in a big sweater, sit by the fireplace (or if you don’t have one like me, lighting a candle totally counts.) and eat a big bowl of mac and cheese. (Then when you’re done why not make a big bowl of vegan pumpkin alfredo? #carblife)
Although this is comfort food, this is one of those ‘sneaky’ comfort food recipes that is secretly still pretty healthy. The base of the sauce is made from raw cashews (healthy) and gets tossed up with garlic, onions and
A few notes on this recipe:
This vegan jalapeno popper mac and cheese starts off with a creamy cashew sauce and vegan cream cheese. If you can’t find vegan cream cheese at your local grocery shop, you can just omit it from the recipe entirely.
The sauce will be partially prepared in the blender, and then gets finished up in a pan. The sauce will be quite liquid after blending-don’t worry! It will thicken up a lot in the pan and become rich & creamy.
One of my favourite tricks to making any pasta recipe extra creamy is to reserve some pasta water to add back to the sauce. For this recipe, set aside 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining the pasta. (Trust me on this one!)
This mac and cheese
This vegan jalapeno popper mac and cheese is:
- Made with naturally & healthy ingredients
- Can be made gluten-free or whole-grain (whatever pasta you like!)
- Makes the ultimate healthy comfort food!
Vegan jalapeno popper mac and cheese
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Main
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: American
Description
Say hello to the ultimate comfort food! This mac and cheese is the best!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight then drained
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp avocado oil (or vegetable oil)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp vegan cream cheese
- 250 grams pasta of choice (I used gluten-free cavatappi)
- 1/2 cup of crounons or gluten-free croutons, crushed
Instructions
- Add the cashews, water, nutritional yeast, dijon mustard, salt and pepper to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
- Heat the avocado oil in a pan on medium-high heat, then add the onion and cook for 2 minutes.
- Next, add the garlic and jalapenos and cook for another minute.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the cream cheese and cashew sauce to the pan, stirring until everything is well incorporated.
- Add the pasta and 1/2 cup of pasta water to the pan and mix everything together, letting cook for 2-3 minutes until thick and creamy.
- Transfer the mac and cheese to a baking dish and top with the crushed croutons.
- Place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes (keep a close eye on it!) until browned.
- Remove and serve.
Notes
Salt your pasta water to give your pasta some extra flavour! If you can’t find vegan cream cheese you can just omit it from this recipe.
Nutrition
- Calories: 395
- Sugar: 4g
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 13g
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Sooo good!!
This was fantastic! I was worried that the sauce seemed very thin when I was blending it, but has luckily read the comments. Couldn’t believe how think and lovely if went once heated. Definitely will make again!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe Lucy 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight and quickly have added it to our rotation! Every single kid likes it!!!! Thank you
Thanks for the review Casi! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, SO thrilled it was a crowd pleaser! 🙂
If I make this recipe and keep in in a crockpot for the day will it keep the right consistency and taste?
The taste should remain the same, but I’m not sure about the consistency! The pasta may just be a little softer than normal. Let me know how it works out if you end up trying it in a crockpot!
We really enjoyed this dish. I was worried about the consistency of the blended cashew, but it turned out just fine. Excellent with some hot sauce on top!. This made our “repeats” list for sure!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Hope it continues to be a favorite 🙂
Looks great. Can I freeze this dish?
Hi Sarena, this recipe is best enjoyed fresh and doesn’t freeze well.
Easy and delicious! I was really impressed. I did add a little more crushed croutons and a sprinkle of vegan parm but I can tell it wasn’t necessary.
Thank you for the review Courtney! So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
I was worried at first that I did something wrong, as the sauce was funnier than I thought it would be in the blender. But by the time it was all cooked, it came out thick. Thank you for the recipe!
I just blended the sauce in the blender. I am surprised because it’s very watery. Is that normal? I am wondering if I should even continue with the recipe or if something is wrong.
Hi Amanda, yes the cashew cream isn’t a thick mixture. It cooks down quite a lot
Hey Jess, I love this recipe! So tasty and perfect amount of spice!
Did you have any suggestions for me to make it a little more creamy next time? ☺️
Thank you!
Thank you, Natalie! If you’d like to make it even more creamier add an extra 1/4 cup of cashews to the recipe. This will make it more rich and creamy!