Vegan Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Seasoned Bread Crumbs

This Vegan Instant Pot Mac and Cheese offers all the comfort of traditional mac and cheese with none of the cholesterol, and you can have it on the table in just 30 minutes. To reheat any leftovers, preheat the oven to 350°F. Add a little water or unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk and stir to loosen the noodles. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and bake 20 minutes. 

Tip: To release the pressure manually, place a kitchen towel over the steam release valve; flip valve to open position. The towel will help capture and contain the hot steam. Be careful, as the towel will get hot. Wait until the float valve drops before opening the Instant Pot lid.

No Instant Pot? Find stovetop vegan mac and cheese recipes here.

By Darshana Thacker Wendel,

Ingredients

  • 4 cups uncooked whole wheat macaroni pasta (16 oz.)
  • 1½ cups unsweetened, unflavored plant milk
  • ¼ cup purchased roasted red bell pepper, drained
  • ⅔ cup + 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • ⅓ cup potato flour
  • 2 tablespoons oat flour
  • 1½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1½ teaspoons mustard
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • ⅓ cup whole grain bread crumbs (preferably coarse)
  • 1 teaspoon white miso paste

Instructions

  • In an Instant Pot combine pasta and 6 cups water. Cook on “Manual” setting (low heat) with vent closed for 5 minutes.
  • For sauce, in a blender combine milk, bell pepper, ⅔ cup of the nutritional yeast, the flours, vinegar, mustard, and garlic powder. Blend until smooth; season with salt and pepper.
  • Release the pressure on the Instant Pot and carefully open lid (see tip in recipe intro). Add the sauce and stir gently to coat. Cook on “Sauté” setting (low heat) for about 2 minutes more or sauce thickens to desired consistency.
  • For topping, in a small bowl combine bread crumbs, miso, and the reserved 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast. Massage to a crumbly texture.
  • To serve, divide the pasta between bowls and sprinkle with seasoned crumb topping.

Comments (11)

(4 from 8 votes)

Recipe Rating

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forallweknow

Has a very good (not great) flavor. A little different from what the picture looks like. Love the crumb topping.

Terri

Can the miso paste be left out? My husband is allergic to soybeans.

Maryanne

you add the sauce to the opened instapot - with pasta and 6 cups of water in it? please clarify

Heidi

Is there a sun for “potato flour”? Is that the same as potato starch or could you use corn starch or tapioca flour?

Teri of NC

Do you drain the pasta before adding the sauce to the Instant Pot?

Bruce W.

Sadly this recipe just didn’t do it for me. The vegan cheese sauce had a very unpleasant taste that I couldn’t figure out how to tweak to make more palatable. Fortunately I tasted it before I mixed it with the pasta and was able to call an audible before I served it to my guests.

AH

How many servings does this make?

Jbphdelaney

This sauce was a TOTAL FAIL. It seems like the photo is for a different recipe. It was nothing like cheese sauce. I naively thought maybe the cooking of it would make it taste better, but ended up rinsing off the pasta and making a completely different sauce.

Alicia

can I make this mac and cheese on stove? Sounds delicious

Anne Obika

Is the potato flour necessary? Can I use rice flour?

aram

mac and cheese without breadcrumbs is a tragedy!

About the Author

Headshot of Darshana Thacker

About the Author

Darshana Thacker Wendel

Darshana Thacker Wendel is a whole-food, plant-based chef and former culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she is the author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! She created the recipes for Forks Over Knives Family and was a lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan. Her recipes have been published in The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook, Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, and LA Yoga magazine online. Visit DarshanasKitchen.com and follow her on Instagram for more.
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