Baked Cauliflower Mac n’ Cheese, Vegan+ Gluten-Free
I’m in vegan, gluten-free heaven. Vegan, gluten-free mac n’ cheese heaven to be specific, and I have cauliflower to thank for it.
Originally I set out to use a leftover head of cauliflower to make a cheese sauce to pour over broccoli. It turned out surprisingly thick and creamy and I realized it would be the perfect sauce for mac n’ cheese. Today’s Baked Cauliflower Mac n’ Cheese really hits the comfort food spot- but is totally good for you! If you can’t wait to get your macaroni on you can simply stir the sauce into pasta and enjoy, but my favorite part of this dish is how crispy the top gets after it’s baked in the oven. Mmmm.
I used quinoa shells in the photos but feel free to use your favorite pasta of choice. I ended up only using about 3/4 of the cheese sauce that the recipe made which was perfect because I got to serve the rest over broccoli as originally intended- which was so good, I highly recommend trying it.
- 3 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp miso paste
- 2 tbs tamari
- 2 tbs vegan cream cheese (I used Daiya)
- 1 tbs dijon mustard
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast+ extra for sprinkling
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 servings pasta of your choice
- pinch of paprika
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Bring medium pot of water to boil. Add cauliflower and boil for 15 minutes or until tender.
- Prepare pasta according to directions on package.
- Drain cauliflower. Prepare cheese sauce by combing cauliflower in blender with all ingredients (except pasta and paprika). Blend until completely smooth.
- When pasta is finished cooking, stir in as much cheese sauce as needed (I used ¾ of batch).
- Transfer to baking dish. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and paprika. Bake for 15 minutes, until edges are golden. Serve warm.
This looks delicious, Ilene! I love healthy mac & cheese recipes. 🙂 I’ve seen mac & cheese with miso, and mac & cheese with dijon, but never one with both of them. I’m excited to try this!
I made this for dinner last night. Delicious!
YAY!! 🙂
I tried to make this tonight and it came out good! I didn’t have all of the ingredients you listed so I improvised. 🙂 I’ll have to go out and get miso paste, tamari, and dijon mustard for next time. Fellow B-Schooler here. cheers!
I’m glad you tried it and improvised! The miso and dijon are really what gives it a cheesy kick but I’m happy it turned out with your substitutions! 🙂
Omg, this is so delicious!! This is definitely one of my favorite go-to recipes! I craves the flavor of this dish all. the.time.
I sometimes add some cashews to take this to the next level of creaminess. And this recipe works not baked, if I’m short on time.
Oooh I bet the cashews make it extra, extra creamy! I’ll have to try that next time. Glad you love it as much as I do!
Do you have any tips for a cream cheese replacement?! I was so excited to make this I didn’t check if I even had everything ????
Hmm..I haven’t made it without the cream cheese, but I do have a few other mac and cheese recipes on my site that don’t call for it! http://thecolorfulkitchen.com/2015/04/01/sweet-potato-and-kale-mac-n-cheese-vegan-gluten-free/
I love that recipe too! Ok well thank you!
I never ever EVER leave comments for anyone. But I had to come on here and say I’m new to plant based meals and my kids devoured their plates and ate seconds. I couldn’t find the miso paste so I just used 1 extra tablespooon of soy sauce. I’m so glad I found this site. Thank you.!!!
YAY! This makes me so happy!!