Easy One Pot Vegan Mac-and-Cheese with Sweet Potato
Today we are making One Pot Easy Vegan Mac and Cheese using sweet potatoes! Vegan macaroni is the ultimate comfort food! The simple ingredients of cheese and pasta, this combination can never go wrong. Got a bad grade? It’s there to cheer you up. Rainy day? Some cheese in the belly never hurt anyone. Need an escape from reality? Delve into the cheesy depths of macaroni and its beloved pairing of cheeeeeese. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who didn’t like Mac N’ Cheese! This recipe is one pot as well. A one-pot meal is also great because it can be made in a large batch and stored for a busy weeknight ahead!
Sweet Potatoes to the Rescue
In traditional macaroni and cheese recipes (or even boxed Kraft Dinner), the downside is the fatty content that goes into it. Either it’s full of dairy, or it’s full of processed ingredients (even vegan cheese – and not all vegan cheese is super processed, but some of them are). I wondered whether there was a healthier and cheaper option to make it at home using common vegan cooking ingredients (because having vegan cheese flavors handy isn’t as common for most people as one would think. Also, it’s expensive and “gourmet,” so not as accessible to every area or household).
Behold, sweet potatoes singing in the background. This root vegetable is there for all sorts of fun stuff and is a staple in a plant-based lifestyle. It’s a great way to add creaminess to milkshakes, use in ice creams, vegan cheeses … and on the topic of vegan cheese, may I add that this vegan recipe gets its creaminess from sweet potatoes as well?
Why You’ll Love This One Pot Vegan Mac and Cheese
One Pot: This recipe comes together in about 20-25 minutes with some pantry staples, if you can multitask and allow the macaroni to boil while you stir fry and blend the rest of the ingredients in a hand blender or high-speed blender.
It doesn’t require super high functioning multitasking or anything, but you do have to keep an eye on the pasta to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot (and it has enough water in there). The main steps are listed in the recipe card below, but they include:
Boil: The sweet potatoes, until the peel easily comes off and a fork can easily poke through them. Also, boil the macaroni until al dente.
Cut Up: Onions and garlic.
Sautee: Onions, garlic and sweet potato in oil.
Blend: Everything except the macaroni.
Mix: Cheese sauce into cooked and drained macaroni.
That’s all! Sauteeing the vegetables (especially with onions and garlic) brings out the flavor rather than blending them raw. Then adding the milk and sweet potatoes keeps it creamy, nutritional yeast adds the cheesy flavour and the lemon juice gives it a bit of tanginess.
Substitutions
Olive Oil: I used extra virgin olive oil, but regular olive oil, avocado oil, vegan butter or refined coconut oil (it shouldn’t smell like coconuts) can be used as a base oil.
Sweet Potato: The sweet potato adds vitamins, hidden vegetables and creaminess to make a luscious sauce! The closest substitute is butternut squash.
Cashew Milk: Try unsweetened oat milk or another plant-based milk, such as almond milk. To make it higher in protein, try soy milk. You can even try a bit of full-fat canned coconut milk for an extra-creamy flavor! It may have a slight coconut taste in the finished product, but I love the taste of coconut milk in pastas anyways. Use your milk of choice.
Nutritional Yeast: Commonly known as “nooch,” this vitamin-B packed powder gives the vegan cheese sauce its flavor and should not be replaced. It can be found in health food stores, or in the natural/vegan section of large grocery stores. The combination of nutritional yeast with the creamy sweet potato, spices of black pepper, paprika and turmeric with milk makes for the best vegan cheese sauce here.
Lemon Juice: A substitute can be apple cider vinegar because of the tangy flavor.
Elbow Macaroni: To make it high protein and/or gluten free, substitute gluten-free pastas such as chickpea macaroni (I like Banza brand), brown rice pasta or other.
One Pot Vegan Mac N Cheese Recipe Notes
- For extra flavor, cook the macaroni in vegetable broth instead of plain water.
- Add a bit of vegan cream cheese, keep some of the pasta water or in grate vegan cheese shreds for even more creaminess mixed in while cooking the pasta. Some vegan cheese tastes way off as compared to the real thing, but some brands are really great. I love Violife brand!
- Other vegan mac n’ cheese recipes may also use some white miso paste for a cheesy and salty flavor. Feel free to add a little bit of this, or some garlic powder or onion powder.
- Serve this recipe with a side salad full of greens or roasted vegetables (such as brussels sprouts) for more servings of veggies!
- For best results with this recipe, cook the macaroni until it’s al dente. Read the instructions on the box of the your macaroni box to see how long this will take.
More Great Recipes You’ll Love
Ginger Coconut Infused Eggplant & Squash
If you make this One Pot Vegan Mac and Cheese, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
One Pot Vegan Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- Hand Blender
- Stovetop Pan
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1 cup boiled sweet potato peeled
- 1 cup cashew milk
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast (nooch)
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- Pinch ground turmeric
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni, cooked to al dente
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Place a stovetop pan on medium high heat.
- Add the oil, then when it's hot add the garlic and onions. Stir these around for a few minutes, until the onions are becoming soft. When you taste a piece, the bitterness should be gone from the onion.
- Once this is ready, add in the boiled sweet potato and stir it around for another minute.
- Using a hand blender, add all ingredients into the pan (except the macaroni) and blend until a sauce forms.
- Turn the heat to medium-low. Add the cooked macaroni to the original pan and stir to coat.
- Once the macaroni is covered in sauce, serve hot!
Notes
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Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
