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Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese is the ultimate comfort food! This easy, fall-forward recipe comes together in just 30 minutes!
During the fall season, pumpkin seems to find its way into everything, such as my vegan pumpkin waffles and pumpkin spice granola. But if you're not into sweet pumpkin recipes, this Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese is here to surprise you. It's cozy, creamy, and packed with cheesy goodness.
And if you're worried about pumpkin taking over the flavors in this dish, don't be! The star of the show is still the cheesiness. The pumpkin puree is more of a secret weapon, adding creaminess and a hint of earthy flavors without stealing the spotlight. It's fall comfort food at its finest!
Ingredients + Additional Notes
You don't need any fancy skills or hard-to-find ingredients-just a love for comfort food and about 30 minutes. Here's what you'll need with some additional notes:
- Pasta - I used medium-sized shells (conchiglie) because they are like little cups holding onto the thick, creamy sauce. However, any type will work, such as rigatoni, penne, farfalle, or elbow.
- Cashews - Creates a rich and creamy sauce. You can also use raw macadamia nuts. If you can't have nuts, you can use silken tofu, but note the sauce won't be as creamy.
- Pumpkin Puree - Ensure it's unsweetened puree, not pie filling.
- Nutritional Yeast - Adds a cheesy flavor and helps thicken the sauce. You can also use vegan parmesan cheese or vegan cream cheese.
- Soy Milk - I prefer it because it's richer and creamier, but you can use any non-dairy milk, such as cashew milk, almond, or oat milk.
- Miso Paste - Adds a wonderful umami flavor to the sauce and enhances the cheesiness, but it's optional. See the recipe below for more flavor amp-up ideas.
- Tapioca Starch - Thickens and creates a silkier, more cohesive sauce. You can replace it with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or omit the thickener since the sauce is thick on its own. I primarily use it for texture here.
How to make Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Making this dish is as easy as boiling pasta and blending the sauce. Here's how to do it:
- Cook the pasta until al dente (save some pasta water). Now add the cheese ingredients to a blender.
- Blend on high until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed and set aside.
- After draining the pasta, place the pot back on the stove over medium heat. Melt butter, then sauté the garlic for 30-60 seconds, just until fragrant.
- Pour in the cheese sauce and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently to thicken.
- Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce.
- Stir gently to combine and heat the pasta through. Add some pasta water if needed.
Breadcrumb Topping
This topping is optional, but it definitely takes the dish up a notch. It's so easy. Here's what you'll need and how to do it:
½ cup panko breadcrumbs, 1.5 tablespoons vegan butter, 2 cloves garlic, 1 heaped tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage (optional), sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 30-60 seconds until fragrant. Now add breadcrumbs, sage, salt, and pepper. Cook until lightly golden and fragrant. Stir often to prevent burning. Lower heat if necessary.
FAQs
Pumpkin mac and cheese stores beautifully in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container-just reheat it gently on the stove with a splash of broth or milk to refresh the sauce. Freezing isn't ideal as the sauce can separate, but if needed, freeze for up to a month.
Yes, omit the butter and use a small amount of water to sauté the garlic. You can also skip the garlic step entirely and just add ¼ teaspoon more granulated garlic to the sauce. Skip the olive oil on the pasta, too.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think by leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and sharing your feedback in the comment section below. It would make my day!
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Recipe
Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 ounces medium shell pasta (conchiglie) or any pasta (gluten-free if preferred)
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling on pasta (*optional)
- Fine sea salt for pasta water
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2-3 cloves garlic , minced
Cheese Sauce
- ½ cup raw cashews (*See note about softening)
- 1.5 cups soy milk , unsweetened (or any non-dairy milk)
- 1 cup vegetable broth , low-sodium
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice , fresh-squeezed - more to taste
- 1.5 tablespoons Dijon mustard , more to taste
- 1.5 tablespoons tapioca starch (*see note)
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste or yellow (optional - *see note)
- ¾ teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon sea salt , more to taste
- Fresh cracked pepper to taste
Recommended Equipment
- 1 Large Pot
- 1 Colander
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until just al dente (start checking 1-2 min before package time). Meanwhile, prepare the pumpkin cheese sauce.
- While the pasta is cooking, blend all the sauce ingredients on high until smooth (1-2 minutes). Taste and adjust flavors if needed. Set aside.
- When the pasta is done, reserve 1⁄2 cup of pasta water (you may not need it) and drain. Toss pasta with a drizzle of olive oil and set the colander aside.
- Return the pot to the stove, and melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté for 30-60 seconds, until fragrant.
- Pour in cheese sauce and cook for 4-5 minutes, until sauce thickens up. Stir often to prevent burning and lower heat if needed.
- Add the pasta to the cheese sauce and gently stir to combine and heat throughout (1-2 minutes). Thin with pasta water only if needed.
Notes
- Cashews - If you don't have a powerful blender (such as Blendtec/Vitamix), you'll need to soften the cashews or the sauce won't be smooth. Boil water in a small pot then remove from heat. Add cashews and cover for 20-30 minutes then drain and rinse (discard soaking water). Alternatively, you can soak the cashews in water for 2-3 hours or overnight in the fridge.
- Miso - This adds umami flavor to the sauce but is optional. You don't have to replace it with anything, but here are some other flavor amp-up ideas (choose 1-2): 1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 1-2 teaspoons tamari, 2 tablespoons vegan parmesan cheese (I like Violife), 1 tablespoon tomato paste (sauté right after the garlic for 30-60 seconds).
- Tapioca Starch - This makes the sauce thicker and silkier, but you can use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot or omit the thickener altogether (the sauce is fairly thick on its own). You can also use 2 tablespoons of vegan cream cheese or vegan parmesan cheese to thicken.
- Topping Ideas: Toasted breadcrumbs, crispy sage, vegan parmesan cheese, red chili flakes, hot sauce, fresh chopped thyme, sage, chives, or green onion (see post above for breadcrumb recipe).
Debra Perry
Simple to make and came out great! I made a double batch and brought it to a Thanksgiving potluck and it was one of the first things to go. I made as is and then put the topping on and baked it to brown. I was short a bit on panko but just added more nutritional yeast. Very flavorful and stayed creamy. There are lots of vegan pumpkin mac and cheese recipes out there but i likdd the flavor profile of this one best. I will be making this again soon just for us! Thanks, Melissa!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Debra, I'm so glad it worked out so well for your potluck. Nice to know that it bakes well too. Thank you for sharing wonderful feedback. 🙂
Regina
It's the middle of July but I had to try this one. The sauce was better than expected. So creamy!
Melissa Huggins
Ha! I love pumpkin recipes in July too! Thanks for trying it and sharing feedback. 🙂