Easy One Pot Vegan Mac and Cheese with Spinach

Easy vegan mac and cheese made in one pot with added spinach. No need to cook the pasta first, so less washing up.

On my days off work, I love to treat Graham (my husband) to a nice lunch, be that a tasty burrito, a homemade soup or a yummy sandwich.

This time I decided to make him some vegan macaroni cheese.

As it was lunchtime, I didn't want to be faffing about with lots of pots, so I made him an easy one-pot mac and cheese.

He declared it delicious, so I thought I should share it with you.

Jump to:

• 🍝 One pot pasta
• 🥘 What you need to make creamy one pot mac and cheese
• 🥬 Fresh or frozen spinach
• 🧀 Vegan Cathedral City cheddar
• 🥜 Vegan mac and cheese without cashews
• ⭐ Hit the heart (NEW)
• 📖 Variations
• 🥣 Storage
• 🥗 Pair the vegan mac and cheese with these recipes
• 🧀 More cheesy lunch recipes for vegans
• 👩🏻‍🍳 How to make one-pot vegan mac and cheese
• 📖 Recipe
• Comments

🍝 One pot pasta

Have you tried one-pot pasta yet?

I love them!

Just bung all the sauce ingredients in a large pot, with the pasta and any vegetables you want to add.

The sauce, vegetables, and pasta all cook at the same time. It's ingenious!

Then just leave it to cook, while you do other things.

Less washing up too as there is only one pot to wash.

Try one-pot mushroom & cherry tomato spaghetti; vegan one-pot sausage and broccoli pasta or one-pot vegan 'meatball' spaghetti bake which is baked in the oven.

🥘 What you need to make creamy one pot mac and cheese

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make this delicious non-dairy mac and cheese.

• macaroni pasta - either elbow or straight
• spinach - or kale
• oat milk - or your regular milk
• garlic powder - you could use fresh garlic, crushed
• nutritional yeast - also known as nooch
• vegan cheddar
• mustard
• chives - fresh or dried
• parsley - fresh or dried
• salt and pepper

See the printable recipe card below for quantities and method.

🥬 Fresh or frozen spinach

I often add spinach to pasta to add some greens.

Whether cooking the pasta the traditional way in a pot of boiling water or with this one-pot method, you can just add it with minimum fuss.

You can add fresh or frozen spinach.

On this occasion, I added frozen spinach, which I always have in the freezer.

🧀 Vegan Cathedral City cheddar

Just wanted to mention the vegan cheddar we use.

Violife used to be our brand of choice, but I have to say it's hard to beat this new plant-based cheddar from Cathedral City.

It tastes great and melts really well.

Do try it.

Also, try this easy homemade parmesan to sprinkle over your pasta.

🥜 Vegan mac and cheese without cashews

Many people make a fake cheese sauce with cashew nuts and nutritional yeast.

I'm sure it's good, but I prefer to make the cheese sauce for macaroni cheese the traditional way by making a roux (with vegan butter. oat milk, and flour) and adding vegan cheddar or the cheats way with cream or milk (vegan of course) with vegan cheese.

I tend to add some nooch (nutritional yeast) too, as it adds more of a cheesy flavour and a vitamin B12 boost.

If you love cheesy dishes, try my cheesy cauliflower steaks.

Want a quick pasta dish? Try quick and easy homemade arrabbiata pasta.

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📖 Variations

Here are a few ideas to tweak this lunchtime vegan cheesy pasta.

• Spicy - add chili pepper flakes for a bit of heat
• Greens - you could add kale instead of spinach or some frozen peas
• Topping - top with breadcrumbs tossed in a little olive oil and garlic, then fried or air fried until crisp

Want to make it ahead, check out this slow cooker mac and cheese on my other website Tinned Tomatoes!

Serve it with this quick garlic pizza bread.

🥣 Storage

Once cool, you can store this plant-based macaroni cheese in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.

To cool it quickly, remove it from the pot and leave it to cool in the tub you will be chilling it in.

Only add the lid once cool and you are read to put it in the fridge.

Reheat the macaroni cheese in a pot or in a bowl in the microwave.

🥗 Pair the vegan mac and cheese with these recipes

These are my favorite dishes to serve with this easy vegan mac and cheese.

🧀 More cheesy lunch recipes for vegans

Love cheesy recipes? Check these delicious recipes out next.

👩🏻‍🍳 How to make one-pot vegan mac and cheese

Step-by-step photos. Keep scrolling for the full printable recipe (with full ingredient list, calories and nutritional info).

Step 1 - Base ingredients

• In a large pot, add the macaroni, fresh or frozen spinach and milk.
• Next add the herbs.

Step 2 - The flavourings

• Now add all those yummy flavours that will give this a rich cheesy flavour. First add the garlic powder, nooch and mustard.
• Next add the grated vegan cheddar and season with salt and pepper, then mix well.

Step 3

• Cook the pasta in the sauce for 15 to 20 minutes over a low to medium heat until the pasta is al dente and the sauce has thickened.
• You can add a little more milk if you think it needs it.
• Taste to check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.
• Serve and enjoy!