With the holidays right around the corner, I knew I needed to give you all the easiest side dish ever. This easy no boil vegan southern macaroni and cheese is so simple, you can just throw it in the oven at the last minute. I get overly excited about cooking for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah. Then towards the end, when I am almost done, I start to feel exhausted. This perfect mac and cheese can be an after thought, but no one will know. They will think it is the star of the show!
What You Need For This One Pot Mac and Cheese:
- Macaroni: I used shells, but elbows work well too.
- Vegan Cheeses: To give this a southern style taste, I used cheddar style, mozzarella style and cream cheese.
- Non-dairy Milk and Cream: I used oat milk and Country Crock Plant Cream.
- Mustard, Cayenne, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Smoked Paprika: These give the mac and wonderful flavor.
- Potato Chips: Crushed and mixed with spices to make the topping.
This super easy, no boil, vegan southern macaroni and cheese is shockingly good! The first time I made it, I was so surprised by how freaking good it is. It might be my current favorite mac and cheese. I seriously can’t believe how tasty it is without having to do any work. You dump everything into a baking dish. Let bake for about 20 minutes. Stir, top with more vegan cheese and crushed spiced potato chips. Bake for another 20 minutes or so and boom. It’s like something my southern grandma and her sisters would make!
Why Should You Make This Dump and Bake Side Dish?
- It is so easy a child could do it!
- This makes the perfect hands off side dish for when you are working on a million other things.
- Kids and adults will absolutely love it.
- The chip topping is beyond yummy!
- You would never know this is a dump and bake, it is the best southern mac and cheese.
Easy No Boil Vegan Southern Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 Ounces Pasta, shells or elbow
- 1 1/2 Cups Vegan cheddar style shreds, I used Violife(divided)
- 1 1/2 Cups Vegan Mozzarella style shreds, I used Violife(divided)
- 8 Ounces Vegan cream cheese, I used Tofutti
- 3 Cups Non-dairy milk
- 1/2 Cup Vegan heavy cream, I used Country Crock Plant Cream, or more milk
- 1/3 Cup Water
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon Mustard, dry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Topping
- 1 1/2 Cups Potato chips, I used ruffles, Crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Smoked paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees(F).
- Take a 13x 9 inch baking dish. Pour the dry pasta into the baking dish.
- Then sprinkle 3/4 cup of vegan cheddar and 3/4 cup of vegan mozzarella over the pasta.
- Scoop the vegan cream cheese on top of the pasta. Then pour in the non-dairy milk, vegan cream, water and all the spices, including a generous few pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper, over the pasta.
- Stir everything as best you can, kind of pressing the cream cheese into the mixture. Then smooth everything out into the baking dish evenly.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- While the pasta bakes, make the topping. In a small bowl, toss together the crushed chips and the spices. Set aside.
- After the pasta has baked for 20 minutes, remove it from the oven. Stir thoroughly. It will be pretty liquidy at this point and all the cheese should have melted. Push the pasta down into the liquid now as best you can.
- Smooth the pasta out evenly. Then top with the remaining 3/4 cup of cheddar and 3/4 cup of mozzarella evenly. Then sprinkle the chip topping evenly over the top as well.
- Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the pasta is tender and the sauce is thick.
- Let cool for a few minutes, then serve!
Video
Nutrition
Holy crap! Excuse my French, but this is the most delicious Mac and cheese I’ve ever had. And…..the easiest!!!
This was the best vegan Mac n cheese I’ve ever made! We used gf noodles since we are trying our daughter on gf as well. Question, would this recipe work in a crock pot? Probably not? Because of the chips?
Very delicious and my entire family loved it!! Thank you!
Oh. My. Gawd. To be totally honest, I was really suspicious. I have made every approach to vegan Mac & Cheese on the internet and they are all just ok. This recipe is AH-MAZING. And so freaking easy. The Wolf in my family woofed it down! This will be a staple in our house when we need some serious comfy food. Thank you Lauren.! 🐇
This was SOOOOO good!!! Looking at the uncooked pasta and clumps of cream cheese when I put it in to the oven, I was skeptical but magic definitely happens as it bakes. It came out so rich and tender and gooey. This is the best mac and cheese ever!
I used unsweetened plain oatmilk for the milk and in place of the cream (our store doesn’t carry the Country Crock plant cream). I used Daiya cheddar and mozz shreds, and Oatly brand plain cream cheese.
This looks awesome but can it be made the day before and reheated?
I have not tried to make the day before and reheat, but I do think it will work!
Can this recipe be doubled? It was so good, that it is a staple now in our house, but going to a party and want to take this dish, but need to double it.
I have not tested a double recipe, so I certainly don’t want to steer you in the wrong direction! I think it would work out fine, my only concern would be the pasta not cooking. I would probably do 2 separate baking dishes, and just bake them at the same time. I think that would solve any problems that might arise. I hope that is helpful! And I’m so happy you like this recipe!
Whoa!! This is hands down the best Mac and Cheese I’ve had ever!! I also love how easy it is to make. This will be on heavy rotation.
This has become one of our family’s FAVORITE recipes! We love it soooo much! I use 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs instead of 1.5 cups of chips. Also, Iistead of the milk, heavy cream, & water i simplify and just do 4 cups of oatmilk. Thank you for this recipe, we love it SO MUCH!!