This Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese is the ultimate comfort food—it’s warm, creamy, and cheesy. It’s a metaphorical hug in a bowl. And every time I eat it, I am transported back to my parent’s kitchen table, where my mom would serve us macaroni and cheese nearly every Saturday afternoon.
Sure, it was the boxed variety made with neon orange processed cheese powder, but it was made with love, and that’s what counts. Plus, this was the 90s, and nobody knew anything about nutrition.
If you’re skeptical about a macaroni and cheese recipe without actual cheese, rest assured, you won’t be disappointed. This vegan version is way better than any dairy-laced version I remember from my pre-vegan days. Even if you’re avoiding refined carbs like pasta (sad), I still recommend making this cheeze sauce because it’s outrageously delicious and versatile.
You can drizzle it over roasted veggies, or better yet, sweet potato fries for grain-free nachos. You can spread it on a crusty hunk of bread (there I go again with carbs) or toss it with spiralized veggie noodles for a light yet creamy dinner. Or, if you love pasta but are gluten-free, just toss it with your favorite gluten-free pasta.
Cooking Tips + Ingredient Rundown
Now that I’ve professed my love for this pumpkin cheese sauce, let’s talk ingredients. This vegan mac and cheese recipe starts with pumpkin, no surprise there. Or butternut squash. I’ve tried this recipe with both, and they work great. Red kuri squash would also be a great option.
While you can definitely use canned pumpkin purée if you’re in a hurry and want to devour some mac and cheese immediately (I get it, it happens), I really recommend using whole pumpkin or squash. The pumpkin/squash gives the sauce the most beautiful golden color and brings a rich earthiness.
For pumpkins, you’re looking for the smaller sugar pumpkins or pie pumpkins, not the huge pumpkins that kids use to carve creepy faces on Halloween. The sugar pumpkins have a lot more flavor than the carving pumpkins. I used a very small sugar pumpkin that weighed about 2 1/2 pounds, but if you can’t find such a tiny one, use whatever you can find and then measure out 1 1/2 cups of the purée.
Since you’re not serving the pumpkin whole and instead using it in a sauce, the flesh should be very soft and nearly falling apart. Once it’s fully cooked, you can easily scoop out the flesh and discard the skin. If you’re using butternut squash, follow the same procedure.
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, I recommend roasting the pumpkin or squash in the oven. Roasting vegetables adds maximal flavor and is ordinarily my go-to way to cook vegetables, but this sauce is already bursting with so much flavor so steaming/pressure cooking is totally sufficient here.
As for the rest of the ingredients, each ingredient is designed to impart the flavor and/or texture associated with traditional macaroni and cheese.
Regarding taste, the dry mustard powder, for instance, adds a nice sharp tanginess without being overwhelming. The nutritional yeast, of course, is the secret ingredient to vegan cheesy goodness, and as you can see, my recipe doesn’t skimp on it. A lot of vegan cheese recipes call for using just a few tablespoons, but to get maximal cheesiness, this recipe uses a half cup. Plus, those flakes are packed with B vitamins, including Vitamin B12, which is otherwise lacking in plant-based foods.
Then there’s the miso paste, which imparts that irresistible and indescribable savory flavor and mouthfeel, replicating the umami found in dairy-based cheese. I recommend a light flavored white or yellow miso pate, which won’t overpower the other ingredients. If you taste the sauce and find it needs a little more umami, add a bit more miso paste and blend away.
And I can’t complete this blog post without talking about this pumpkin cheese sauce’s creamy texture. Cashews bring the luscious, rich creaminess that characteristic of any good mac and cheese. If you forget to soak the cashews overnight, don’t fret—you can do a quick soak by submerging the cashews in boiling water for one hour.
The sauce gets more creaminess from canned lite coconut milk. I use the “lite” variety because the full-fat makes the sauce too thick. You can also use a carton-style plant-based milk, but I recommend something thicker than standard almond milk, such as cashew milk, soy milk, or oat milk. Be sure to buy unsweetened mylk because nobody wants a slightly sweet, vanilla-infused mac and cheese.
Once you’ve cooked the pumpkin or butternut squash and have all your cheese sauce ingredients ready, just whiz everything up in the blender. It really helps to have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Ninja to complely pulverize the cashes. If you don’t have one of these bad boys, be sure to blend your sauce for several minutes and check to make sure it’s completely smooth (no one wants to bite into a piece of cashew when eating mac and cheese).
Regarding the pasta, you can use any pasta you like, including traditional macaroni shells, but I prefer a bigger, heartier pasta like rigatoni.
More delicious pasta recipes
Ready for even more delicious pasta recipes?
- For another take on Mac and Cheese, try my Crispy Baked Mac and Cheese. Think less pumpkin, more crispy breadcrumb topping.
- This 10-Ingredient Pantry Pasta is creamy and indulgent and can be on the table in just 30 minutes.
- My 10-ingredient Roasted Eggplant Pasta is another weeknight crowdpleaser.
- And if it’s even more pumpkin pasta you’re after, give this One-Pot Pumpkin Pasta a look!
That’s all I have to say about this recipe, so I really hope you enjoy this Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese! And if you make it, be sure tag me on instagram!
Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 small sugar pumpkin (aka “pie pumpkin”), or 1 small butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds or 1 kg)*
- Olive oil or avocado oil, for roasting
- 1/2 cup (~60g) raw cashews, soaked in cool water overnight or for 1 hour in boiling water**
- 1/2 cup (40g) nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder (optional but adds a nice sharp tangy flavor)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (can substitute ground, but the flavor is much better with fresh)
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt + more to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon mellow white or yellow miso paste
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour or cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup (240mL) canned “lite” coconut milk***
- 10 ounces (280g) of rigatoni pasta, medium-sized macaroni shells, or pasta of your choice
Instructions
- To cook the pumpkin or butternut squash in the oven, use a very sharp knife to slice the pumpkin or butternut squash in half, then scoop out the seeds and stringy bits using a spoon. If the vegetable is too thick or hard to cut, pop it in the microwave for 60-90 seconds to soften. For roasting, follow step 2; for steaming, follow step 3.
- To roast the pumpkin or butternut squash in the oven, preheat the oven to 425°F (or 218°C). Drizzle the pumpkin or squash halves with a bit of olive oil or avocado and season with salt and pepper. Place the halves, flesh side down, on a parchment paper-lined or aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Roast in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until completely tender and lightly browned (pumpkin should take about 30 minutes; butternut squash closer to 40 minutes). Once the pumpkin or squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.
- To steam the pumpkin or butternut squash in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, pour 1 cup of water into the inner cooking pot and lower a compatible steamer rack or the trivet that comes with the Instant Pot into the inner pot. Place the pumpkin or squash halves in the basket or on top of the trivet, close the lid, and pressure cook at high pressure for 12-14 minutes. Once the timer is up, perform a quick pressure release by manually releasing the steam valve. Once the pumpkin or squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.
- While the squash is cooking, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and salt generously. Cook the pasta according to the box directions until al dente and drain in a colander.
- Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the roasted or steamed pumpkin or butternut squash flesh. Reserve the rest for another use, such as a curry, soup, or side dish.
- In a high-powered blender, add the 1 1/2 cups of the pumpkin or squash flesh. Add in the soaked and drained cashews, nutritional yeast, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, nutmeg, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, black pepper to taste, miso paste, tapioca flour or cornstarch, lemon juice, and lite coconut milk. Blend until the sauce is completely smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly, adding more salt as needed, more miso paste for more umami, or more lemon juice for more acidity.
- Return the cooked and drained pasta back to the saucepan and add the cheese sauce. Heat over medium heat until the sauce is well combined with the pasta and warmed through. Season the mac and cheese to taste.
Notes
Sounds yummy. Can a loooong time cook give you a suggestion? You can just roast the pumpkin whole and then cut it after it’s baked. Much safer than practically killing yourself with the knife!🤣😂 I roast all the squashes w hard shells this way and it is waaaay simpler!
This recipe is a perfection. I have never made a sauce like this before, ever, so I followed the measurements in detail. It came out just wonderful. And it is truly so very lovely in taste, texture and colour 😊 ..real treat for these Autumn snuggly days 🍂🍁🌰 Thank you so much 💛
Made this for dinner last night and it was just so comforting and delicious! Couldn’t keep my spoon off the sauce while cooking the pasta :) I let my boyfriend try the sauce without telling him about the ingredients and he really thought ist was cheese! Love this recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Oh my God, Nisha… I just made your gorgeous sauce, just dipped my spoon in it to taste and wanted to tell you straight away that I’m in heaven ! Xxx
Haha yay! That’s lovely to hear. While I love using it for mac and cheese, I think I love almost as much by the spoon. So happy you are in heaven :)
Same question about making this nut free (nut allergies here too). Do you think I could use 1.5 cups of coconut milk (maybe full-fat?) instead of the cashews and lite coconut milk? Willing to experiment, but interested in your thoughts. Thanks!
Hi Erin, I think that would definitely be a good start. But if you are interested, I recently shared a nut-free vegan cheese sauce as well! https://www.rainbowplantlife.com/blog/nut-free-vegan-cheese-sauce
Is there a way to make this nut-free? (Nut allergy)….Or will that ruin the whole sauce? I often find just “leaving it out” isn’t a great option.
Hi Amy! I haven’t tried omitting the nuts from this sauce, but I recently posted a nut-free vegan cheese sauce on my blog + youtube channel if you are interested!
https://www.rainbowplantlife.com/blog/nut-free-vegan-cheese-sauce
Really great recipe, thanks!
Thanks for your feedback, Zoe! Glad you enjoyed it!
OMG – needed to open a can of pumpkin purée and therefore needed to find a recipe for the rest of the can. I ran out of nutritional yeast so needed to omit. WOW, what a keeper! So good. Highly recommend. Chose this recipe over others for the excellent reviews.
Hi Nicole! So happy you found the opportunity to make this recipe. Great to know that it was still delicious even without the nutritional yeast. Thanks for stopping by!
Its too bad you are so famous.. you probably do not read the comments
Lol I am not famous and I do read the comments, sometimes I just get a little behind on getting to them.
Can I also add cheese and evaporated milk?
I would say yes. Not sure if the lemon juice will curdle the milk though :/
Hi Angela,
Sorry for the delay. I don’t really know, as I don’t cook with any dairy products. The "cheese" sauce is designed to be the cheese in this mac and cheese, so I think the cheese and evaporated milk would be unnecessary.
Does this sauce freeze well? Making tomorrow, wondering if I should make double?
Hi Rhyannon, I’ve never tried freezing the sauce (because I never have leftovers haha), but based on similar sauces I’ve made before, you should have no problem freezing it. Once defrosted, I’d heat it in the microwave and stir well, or heat it on the stove (if it’s too thick, add a drizzle of unsweetened nondairy milk to thin it out).
What temperature do you roast the pumpkin?
Oops thanks for pointing out that I didn’t include that – it’s 425°F (or 218°C). I’ve updated the instructions :)
This is by far the best vegan cheese sauce I’ve ever tried. It taste amazing! It reheats well and I’ve even tried freezing the sauce for later use and it came out great! This has now made my list for top 5 recipes.
Thank you so much for the rave review, Danielle! I really love this cheese sauce and so happy you enjoyed it! And YAY for leftovers!
I have made many versions of vegan mac and cheese but is hands down the best I have ever had. Thank you so much for sharing !
Hi Katt! That’s so awesome to hear! I am so thrilled it was the best vegan mac and cheese you’ve tried, thank you for letting me know!
Can we substitute canned pumpkin purée for this? If so, how much?
Hi there, yes you can! As I mention in the post, it won’t have quite as much flavor as whole roasted pumpkin but definitely an easy swap. You need 1 1/2 cups of the purée, which is slightly less than the amount contained in 1 (15 ounce) can.
Great, thanks! And sorry, I never read the long paragraphs in blogs, I always just go straight to the recipe! :D
This was absolutely amazing! Curious, what herbs you put on top in your picture?
I LOVE this recipe, omg omg omg. Thank you for the best vegan mac and cheese I’ve ever had. Best mac and cheese period. So creamy and flavorful and my whole family devoured it!
This is soooooo good! I’m going to be making this many more times this fall and winter!
Hey Kendra! SO glad to hear that you enjoyed it and will be making it again!
I am not vegan, but when this recipe passed through my Instagram feed, it looked irresistible. I was definitely lured in by your stunning photography and the overall ooziness of this dish. The ingredients were quite expensive ($40!), but now I am stocked of spices to make this again and again. I will be making it for the Thanksgiving gathering at my work. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to trying more from your site.
Hi Claudia! So glad you tried it! Once you have some vegan staples, the cost of ingredients should go down a bit :) So happy you enjoyed it and I love that you will bring it to your Thanksgiving gathering!
Oh my lawd, this is good! My husband and I have full and happy bellies after DEVOURING this delicious mac and cheese. He’s not vegan but couldn’t put the fork down. Thank you from both of us!
Aww that’s so nice to hear! Thank you for your lovely comment, Lynn! So good to hear that both you and your husband loved it!
Best vegan “cheese” sauce ever!
This looks so delicious Nisha! And stunning photography! xx
You’re too sweet. Thank you so much, Jess!