I am a big, big, dare I say huge fan of cheesy pastas. Any vegan macaroni and cheese, alfredo sauced pasta, cacio e pepe, and the list goes on and on. Welp, this vegan Greek macaroni and cheese is freaking killer! It has recently been added to my list of favorite cheesy pastas. This “cheese” sauce is so creamy, cheesy, flavorful and wonderful. The addition of roasted tomatoes, spinach, olives, red onion and garlic make this vegan macaroni and cheese next level. It’s like on a different planet.
The “cheese” sauce is so easy, it’s very simply made with a roux and plant-based milk. Then whisked with nutritional yeast and vegan Parmesan. Just a pinch of salt and pepper, and this sauce will knock your socks off. This vegan macaroni and cheese has all the good stuff. Roasting the tomatoes make them sweet, so its got this sweet element. The Kalamata olives are nice and salty so its got that going for it. Then some yummy spinach to top it off.
Crumble some vegan feta on top if it floats your boat and gear up for the most unique and delicious vegan macaroni and cheese you’ve ever had. I think if someone is working on going vegan, and having a hard time finding a “cheese” sauce that tastes like the real deal. This is it. Thick, creamy, cheesy, nutty, well balanced. I love it so much!
This vegan Greek macaroni and cheese is health-ish, comforting, so yummy, unique and absolutely to die for! It comes together really fast and is such a crowd pleaser. This recipe uses a lot of pantry ingredients, so it is easy to keep everything you need on hand to throw together when you really need some food love. Frozen spinach, jarred olives, pasta, nutritional yeast, vegan Parmesan, plant milk, and you only need a few fresh veggies to finish it off!
Vegan Greek Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 Pound(16oz.) Grape tomatoes
- 1 Tablespoon +2 teaspoons Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 12 Ounces Macaroni, regular or gluten free
- 1/2 a Red onion, diced
- 6 Cloves Garlic, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons Vegan butter, I used Earth Balance
- 3 Tablespoons All purpose flour
- 2 1/2 Cups Non dairy milk, I used soy milk
- 3 Tablespoons Nutritional yeast
- 1/4 Cup Vegan Parmesan, I used Follow Your Heart
- 1 Cup Frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 Cup Kalamata olives, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh lemon juice(optional)
- Vegan feta, I used Violife (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees(F).
- Cut the grape tomatoes in half then put them on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss together to coat the tomatoes.
- Roast the tomatoes for 15-17 minutes or until juicy and a bit brown.
- In the meantime, cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Now, make the cheese sauce. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium high.
- Add the red onion and garlic. Saute for about 3-5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
- Then add the vegan butter to the skillet. Stir it into the garlic and onions. Once it's melted, add the flour and stir together to make a roux. Simmer for another 1-2 minutes.
- Next, pour the non-dairy milk into the skillet and whisk to combine and make sure there are no lumps. Then whisk in the nutritional yeast, vegan Parmesan and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer the sauce, whisking frequently until it is nice and thick. 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the thawed, drained spinach to the sauce and stir to combine and simmer for another minute to heat up the spinach. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- When the pasta and tomatoes are done, drain the pasta and add it back to the pot, then pour in the roasted tomatoes, the "cheese" sauce and the olives. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add some fresh lemon juice if desired.
- Serve with vegan feta on top if you wish!
Nutrition
Oh my gosh this was amazing!!! I followed the instructions pretty much exactly and it was so creamy and satisfying. The flavors are perfect. I recently discovered your blog and am obsessed. Your recipes are so flavorful, healthy, and unique. Thank you for sharing and please keep up the great creativity!
I’ve made a number of recipes from your website and this is probably my favorite. It’s pretty easy to make and so creamy and delicious.
This was so good! The only changes I made were that I used fresh chopped spinach instead of frozen (it’s what I had on hand) and used homemade vegan parm (@decadent.vegan’s recipe). Its so creamy and delicious! The violife feta sets it over the edge. The recipe made enough sauce so that I was able to reheat it for lunch this week and not have dry pasta. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Love this recipe! I made it with VioLife parmesan & left out the feta (love VioLife feta, but it definitely tastes great without it!). VioLife parmesan takes ages to melt, so I left the sauce thicken for quite awhile.
The sauce is soooo good (and nut-free!)! The leftovers reheat super well, which is unusual with mac & cheese. I’ll definitely be making this again and forwarding the recipe around.
Thanks for an another awesome recipe, Lauren!
This was absolutely amazing! I’ve made many of your macaroni and cheese recipes and this one was definitely my favorite so far! YUMMY!
This feels like a funny question, but I’m curious about whether you measure the cup of spinach while it’s still frozen, or do you thaw and drain a bunch and then measure?
I thaw and drain and then measure!
Made this tonight for dinner and It. Was. Delicious! Definitely adding to our meal rotation. Even meat and potatoes hubby raved about it. Too good.
Made this last night for my parents who are not vegan and we all LOVED It! My dad even went back for seconds, which is a big deal 🙂
I didn’t have vegan parmesan so I left that out and it was still fantastic!
I have to say, every receipt I’ve made from your site and your Souther Vegan cookbook has been a winner in our household.
Made this last night and it was scrumptious. We will definitely cook it again when we need some good comfort food.
I’m soooo hungry…
Can I use fresh spinach instead? If so, would I still use one cup?
Yes, you can! You definitely need a lot more fresh spinach to get as much as the frozen. I usually use a whole bag that is 4-5 cups of fresh spinach.
Hi Lauren! Is the macaroni measurement dry or cooked? Thanks! 😃
Dry!
This has become a family favorite! I omit the olives, double the spinach, and add basil & oregano. So delicious!
Hi, if gluten free could I substitute the flour for almond or any other flour for this recipe ??
I guess this is an older reccipe, but it just popped up for me. I made it tonight and it was fabulous! I followed the recipe exactlym except I didn’t have the feta. But the squeeze of lemon, and a handful of pine nuts was a perfect finish. A+