Dairy-Free Baked Mac and Cheese
Dairy-free baked mac and cheese with a sharp cheddar-style sauce, tender elbow macaroni, and a crisp buttery breadcrumb topping that actually browns.
Recipe by Andrew Tibbs, the Non Dairy Dude in Dairy-Free Dinner Recipes and Dairy-Free Pasta Recipes
Published
Featured in Dairy-Free 4th of July, Dairy-Free Summer Cookout
Stovetop mac and cheese is fast, but baked is the one I make when I want the top to do something. The breadcrumbs go on with melted dairy-free butter and a hit of nutritional yeast and smoked paprika, then they sit under the broiler until they're dark in spots. If you've already made my dairy-free stovetop mac and cheese, this is that sauce taken further: thinned out a little more before it hits the oven so it doesn't dry out while baking.
The sauce itself took me a few tries to get right. Oat milk alone tasted thin and a little flat, so I added a splash of full-fat coconut milk for body. You can't taste coconut in the finished dish, the miso and Dijon and mustard powder cover it completely and push the flavor toward sharp cheddar instead. Nutritional yeast does a lot of the heavy lifting here too, the same way it does in my dairy-free queso sauce.
This is a side dish that can easily be the main event. I'll make a big pan of it next to roasted chicken or alongside a bowl of dairy-free broccoli cheddar soup when I want two cheesy things in one meal and don't feel like apologizing for it.
Ingredients
Pasta
- 12 ozElbow macaroni
- 1 tbspFine salt, for pasta water
Topping
- 2 tbspDairy-free butter
- ¾ cupDairy-free panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tspNutritional yeast
- ¼ tspSmoked paprika
- ⅛ tspFine salt
Sauce
- 4 tbspDairy-free butter
- ¼ cupAll-purpose flour
- 2¾ cupsUnsweetened oat milk
- 1 cupFull-fat canned coconut milk, well shaken
- 1 tbspWhite miso paste
- 2 tspDijon mustard
- 2 tbspNutritional yeast
- 1 tspGarlic powder
- 1 tspOnion powder
- ½ tspDry mustard powder
- ½ tspSmoked paprika
- ⅛ tspGround turmeric, optional for color
- 1¼ tspFine salt
- ½ tspFreshly ground black pepper
- 2½ cupsDairy-free cheddar shreds
- ¾ cupDairy-free mozzarella shreds
Finish
- 1 tbspFresh lemon juice
- 1 tspHot sauce, optional
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- 2
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season it with 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook the macaroni for 2 minutes less than the package's al dente time. The pasta should still have a firm bite because it will keep cooking in the oven. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.
- 3
While the pasta cooks, make the topping. Melt the 2 tablespoons dairy-free butter for the topping in a small skillet or microwave-safe bowl. Stir in the panko, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, and 1/8 teaspoon salt until the crumbs are evenly coated. Set aside.
- 4
In the now-empty pasta pot, melt the 4 tablespoons dairy-free butter for the sauce over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture looks smooth and smells lightly toasty but has not browned.
- 5
Slowly whisk in the oat milk and coconut milk. Keep whisking until the roux is fully dissolved and the sauce starts to thicken, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- 6
Scoop about 1/2 cup of the warm sauce into a small bowl and whisk in the white miso until smooth, then pour it back into the pot. Add the Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, dry mustard, smoked paprika, turmeric if using, salt, and black pepper.
- 7
Reduce the heat to low. Add the dairy-free cheddar and mozzarella shreds a handful at a time, stirring until mostly melted before adding more. Keep the heat gentle; boiling dairy-free shreds can make the sauce tighten or turn gluey.
- 8
Stir in the lemon juice and hot sauce if using. The sauce should taste a little sharper and saltier than you want the finished dish to taste, and it should look slightly looser than stovetop mac and cheese. If it seems thick already, whisk in reserved pasta water 2 tablespoons at a time.
- 9
Fold the drained macaroni into the sauce until every piece is coated. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer. If any sauce remains in the pot, scrape it over the top.
- 10
Sprinkle the breadcrumb topping evenly over the pasta. Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- 11
Remove the foil and bake for 8 to 10 minutes more, until the edges are bubbling and the topping is golden. For a deeper brown topping, broil for 1 to 2 minutes, watching closely.
- 12
Let the baked mac and cheese rest for 8 to 10 minutes before serving. This short rest helps the sauce settle while keeping the center creamy.
How we make it dairy-free
- Butter and roux → Dairy-free butter whisked with flour builds the same base roux as the classic version. It thickens the same way, so the method doesn't change.
- Milk and cream → Unsweetened oat milk handles most of the liquid for a neutral, creamy base. A small amount of full-fat canned coconut milk adds richness without tasting like coconut once the other seasonings are in.
- Sharp cheddar flavor → Nutritional yeast, white miso, Dijon, and dry mustard powder stand in for the tang and depth you'd normally get from aged cheddar. None of them taste like cheese alone, but together they get close.
- Melting cheese → Dairy-free cheddar and mozzarella shreds melt into the sauce for body and stretch, plus a final layer of cheddar shreds on top before baking.
A squeeze of lemon juice at the end brightens the whole sauce, so don't skip it even though it sounds odd in mac and cheese.
Tips & Variations
Keep the sauce loose: Baked mac and cheese absorbs more sauce than stovetop mac. If the sauce looks perfect before baking, it is probably too thick. Loosen it with reserved pasta water until it looks just a little saucier than you think it should.
Undercook the pasta: Pull the macaroni about 2 minutes before al dente. Fully cooked pasta will soften too much during baking.
Choose the right shreds: Dairy-free cheese brands vary a lot. Use shreds you already like melted. If your brand melts slowly, keep the sauce on low heat and cover the pot for a minute before stirring again.
Why miso works: White miso adds savory depth and a little fermented sharpness, which helps replace the flavor of aged cheddar without making the sauce taste like miso soup.
Avoid overbaking: The filling is already cooked before it goes into the oven. Baking is mostly for setting the casserole and browning the topping, so stop once the edges bubble.
Make ahead: For the creamiest texture, assemble the pasta and sauce without the crumb topping, cool, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Add the topping right before baking and add 5 to 10 minutes to the covered bake time.
Gluten-free option: Use gluten-free elbows, a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend for the roux, and gluten-free dairy-free panko.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a different dairy-free milk instead of oat milk?⌄
Unsweetened soy milk works fine and adds a bit more protein to the sauce. I'd avoid almond or rice milk here, they're thinner and the sauce won't get as creamy. Whatever you use, make sure it's unsweetened and unflavored.
Can I make this ahead of time?⌄
Yes. Assemble the whole thing in the baking dish, cover, and refrigerate up to a day ahead without the breadcrumb topping. Add the breadcrumbs right before it goes in the oven so they stay crisp instead of going soggy in the fridge.
How do I store and reheat leftovers?⌄
Leftovers keep in the fridge for about 4 days in a covered container. Reheat in the oven at 350°F with foil over the top so the sauce loosens back up, or microwave individual portions with a splash of oat milk stirred in to bring the creaminess back.
Is this recipe nut-free?⌄
As written, yes, there's no nut milk or nut-based dairy-free cheese involved. Just double-check the specific brands of dairy-free butter and cheese shreds you're using, since some brands process on shared lines with tree nuts.
What should I serve with baked mac and cheese?⌄
It holds its own as a main dish with a simple green salad, or works as a side next to roasted or grilled chicken. I've also served it alongside a bowl of soup on a cold night when one cheesy dish wasn't going to cut it.
Dairy-Free Baked Mac and Cheese · https://nondairydude.com/recipes/dairy-free-baked-mac-and-cheese
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