Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese with Cashew Potato Sauce and Crispy Garlic Panko

Baked vegan mac and cheese with a silky cashew, potato and carrot cheese sauce, smoky paprika and a crunchy garlic panko top. Bubbling, golden and cozy.

VeganHigh ProteinHigh FiberIron-RichContains GlutenContains Tree NutsMeal Prep
Prep
15 min
Cook
45 min
Rest
5 min
Serves
6
Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese with Cashew Potato Sauce and Crispy Garlic Panko — Baked vegan mac and cheese with a silky cashew, potato and carrot cheese sauce, smoky paprika and a cr
Illustration generated by AI · SDXL

Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese with Cashew Potato Sauce and Crispy Garlic Panko is a vegan dinner recipe made with elbow macaroni or small shells, salt, Yukon Gold potatoes. It takes 60 minutes of hands-on time, plus 5 minutes resting, serves 6, and each serving has 622 calories, 21 g of protein and 7 g of fiber.

Cashews, potato and carrot simmer in one pot, then get blended into a sauce. The cashews make it rich, the potato starch makes it cling and stretch a little, and the carrot gives it the classic orange color. The sauce starts out looser than you'd expect because the slightly undercooked pasta soaks some of it up in the oven. Garlicky olive-oil panko bakes into a crisp golden lid over the creamy noodles.

A cooking method + sauce base (an oven-baked casserole with a creamy cashew, potato and carrot cheese sauce and a crispy garlic panko top, instead of a stovetop high-protein butternut squash and white bean sauce) take on our High-Protein Vegan Mac and Cheese with Butternut Squash and White Beans.

Ingredients

6 servings

Pasta

Cheese sauce

Garlic panko topping

Kit: large pot, medium saucepan, high-speed blender, 9x13-inch baking dish, colander

Cook mode · Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese with Cashew Potato Sauce and Crispy Garlic Panko

Tips

  • Undercooking the pasta is important. Fully cooked noodles go soft in the oven and absorb so much sauce that the bake turns dry.
  • If you don't have a high-speed blender, soak the cashews in boiling water for 15 minutes before simmering and blend longer so the sauce isn't grainy.
  • Starchy Yukon Gold or russet potatoes give the sauce its stretch. Waxy red potatoes make it thinner.

Swap ideas

Use sunflower seeds instead of cashews
Makes it nut-free. The sauce is slightly earthier and less sweet, and a little extra lemon helps balance it.
Use gluten-free pasta and gluten-free panko
Makes the dish gluten-free. Undercook GF pasta by 3 minutes because it softens faster in the oven.
Use 1 tbsp white miso instead of 1 tsp of the salt
Adds a deeper, aged-cheese savoriness.
Stir in 2 cups small broccoli florets with the pasta before baking
Adds green vegetables and some texture with no extra cooking step.

The numbers

622kcal per serving

Protein20.9 g
42% DV
Fiber6.9 g
25% DV
Carbs87.9 g
32% DV
Fat21.4 g
27% DV
Everything else · 6 servings per recipe
Saturated fat
3.4 g 17%
Sugars
6.6 g
Sodium
2001 mg 87%
Potassium
855 mg 18%
Calcium
114 mg 9%
Iron
6.2 mg 34%
Vitamin C
16 mg 18%
Vitamin B12
19.11 µg 796%

% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.

Sources: Pasta, dry, enriched, Salt, table, Potatoes, flesh and skin, raw, Carrots, raw, Nuts, cashew nuts, raw, Garlic, raw, Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Soymilk, original and vanilla, with added calcium, vitamins A and D, Nutritional Yeast Seasoning by BRAGG (fortified; legacy USDA Branded Foods entry as reproduced by NutritionValue.org), Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Mustard, prepared, yellow, Lemon juice, raw, Spices, garlic powder (SR Legacy), Spices, paprika, Spices, pepper, black, Bread, crumbs, dry, grated, plain (SR Legacy; used as proxy for panko, which is a lighter, airier crumb so the cup/tbsp weights are set lower than USDA's ~108 g/cup)

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt.

  2. Put the potatoes, carrot, cashews and 2 whole garlic cloves in a medium saucepan and cover with water by 1 inch. Simmer until a knife slides easily through the potato and carrot, 12–15 minutes. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water, then drain.

  3. While the vegetables simmer, boil the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package says, so it is still quite firm in the center. Drain it and return it to the pot.

  4. Put the drained vegetables and cashews in a blender with 1½ cups of the reserved cooking water, the soy milk, nutritional yeast, 2 tablespoons olive oil, Dijon, lemon juice, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Blend on high until completely smooth, 1–2 minutes. It should pour like heavy cream. If it's thicker than that, add more cooking water a splash at a time. Taste and adjust the salt.

  5. Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir until every piece is coated. It will look too saucy, but the pasta absorbs the extra as it bakes. Spread it evenly in the baking dish.

  6. In a small bowl, rub the panko with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the grated garlic, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika and a pinch of salt until all the crumbs are moistened. Scatter the crumbs evenly over the pasta.

  7. Bake uncovered until the sauce bubbles at the edges and the panko is deep golden, 20–25 minutes. If the top browns before the edges bubble, cover loosely with foil.

  8. Let it rest for 5 minutes so the sauce settles and thickens. Sprinkle with parsley if using, then serve hot.

Storage: Cool, then refrigerate covered for up to 4 days. Reheat portions with a splash of plant milk, covered, at 350°F for 15–20 minutes or in the microwave. The topping softens in the fridge, so top with freshly oiled panko before reheating in the oven if you want it crisp again. Freezing isn't recommended because the sauce turns grainy.

Questions

How much protein is in baked vegan mac and cheese with cashew potato sauce and crispy garlic panko?
Each of the 6 servings has 21 g of protein, 7 g of fiber and 622 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
Is baked vegan mac and cheese with cashew potato sauce and crispy garlic panko vegan?
Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
How long does baked vegan mac and cheese with cashew potato sauce and crispy garlic panko take to make?
15 minutes of prep and 45 minutes of cooking, so 60 minutes of hands-on time, plus 5 minutes of unattended resting.
Can you make baked vegan mac and cheese with cashew potato sauce and crispy garlic panko ahead?
Cool, then refrigerate covered for up to 4 days. Reheat portions with a splash of plant milk, covered, at 350°F for 15–20 minutes or in the microwave. The topping softens in the fridge, so top with freshly oiled panko before reheating in the oven if you want it crisp again. Freezing isn't recommended because the sauce turns grainy.
What can I substitute in baked vegan mac and cheese with cashew potato sauce and crispy garlic panko?
Use sunflower seeds instead of cashews — makes it nut-free. the sauce is slightly earthier and less sweet, and a little extra lemon helps balance it.. Use gluten-free pasta and gluten-free panko — makes the dish gluten-free. undercook gf pasta by 3 minutes because it softens faster in the oven.. Use 1 tbsp white miso instead of 1 tsp of the salt — adds a deeper, aged-cheese savoriness.. Stir in 2 cups small broccoli florets with the pasta before baking — adds green vegetables and some texture with no extra cooking step..
Does baked vegan mac and cheese with cashew potato sauce and crispy garlic panko contain gluten or tree nuts?
Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten and tree nuts, in some cases as an optional ingredient you can leave out. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.

Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.

Published October 5, 2026 ·American

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