Serves 4
Total time: 30 minutes || Active time: 15 minutes
Chipotle Mac & Cheese! Okay? I probably don’t need to say anything else, you’re already rummaging through your pantry for a can of chipotles and some cashews to soak. Mac & Cheese is, after all, the ultimate comfort food. A box of macaroni might as well come with sweatpants, a cozy blanket and an entire season of Mad Men DVDs.
This version is creamy, of course, but also spicy and smoky. But what really sets it apart is how EASY it is. That’s ALL CAPS and throw in an italic EASY.
1) Boil some macaroni 2) Throw some stuff into the blender 3) Put it all together. 4) There you go. I roasted some brussel sprouts, too (as I do), but you can add any manner of veggie; steamed kale, grilled asparagus, sauteed zucchini…you get the picture. I do highly recommend the brussels, though, because they roast away effortlessly, and you are free to prepare everything else. Oh, and of course, they’re also super delicious.
The only thing that’s a little fussy is getting the seeds out of the chipotle. But follow my notes below and you shouldn’t have any problems.
Happy macking, everyone!
Notes
~ The reason we’re removing the seeds, in case you’re wondering, is that seeds are really spicy. With the seeds removed, you can use more chipotles, thus getting more smoky flavor without all the heat.
~ Update! If you’d like to make this was blanched, slivered or sliced almonds, go for it! People have been reporting back that it works well.
~ For a non-spicy version, try one roasted red pepper (homemade or from a jar) in place of the 4 chipotles.
~ I love a milder miso here. I used chickpea, but mellow white would be nice, too. The kind of miso you use will determine the saltiness, and so I suggest salting to taste before and after adding it to the macaroni.
Ingredients
1 lb brussels, quartered
1 tablespoon olive oilFor the sauce:
1 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours
4 chipotles, seeded (see note)
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons miso (I used chickpea miso)
Salt to taste
Directions
To make the sauce: Drain the cashews and place all sauce ingredients in a blender and blend away until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides with a spatula to make sure you get everything. Depending on the strength of your blender this could take from one to five minutes.
When the macaroni is tender, drain it in a colander. Immediately place it back in the pot you boiled it in and stir in the sauce. Place pot on low heat and stir for 3 minutes or so, until the sauce is thickened a bit and everything is deliciously creamy. Taste for salt, toss in the brussel sprouts and serve!
(In the pic I put some extra chipotles in, but that was just for show. Unless you like things REALLY spicy you can skip that.)
Wow!!!! This was great and it couldn’t be easier to prepare. I generally “fly by the seat of my pants” in the kitchen and I enjoyed making this mac. Thanks Isa!
Just made it and this was amazing! I used a jarred red pepper and it was the fastest vegan Mac I’ve ever made. This is going on heavy rotation in our house.
Yay! I am housesitting and prepping this right now. I love chipotles, but wish I could find them organic. Any suggestions for subbing the nooch? I know nothing is a real substitute, but wondering what your thoughts are. Thanks!
WAITROSE NOW STOCK CANNED CHIPOTLE!!!!!! Yay!!!! All rejoice in the UK (or just me but either way YAY!)
This has to be made an eaten, thank you Isa you utter star x
This was fantastic! I used 4 chipotles and yikes, this was spicey. This particular can of chipotles was much hotter than the last can I used. Next time I will check the sauce after adding 2 or 3 peppers. Still, it was so, so good!
This looks so delicious! Do you think mellow white miso from Miso Master would work well in this recipe. That’s the only one available in my local grocery market.
Loved this mac and cheese and my husband did too. Not too spicy but nice and smoky. I did add a bit of vegan sour cream at the end as it needed some creaminess, was a bit dry after warming the sauce with the pasta. Will definitely make again.
I made this last night and it is AMAZING! My non-vegan husband even loved it. The sauce would be great on nachos or other Mexican dishes. I will definitely be making this again.
Wow! This sounds amazing!
Made this tonight and it was soooo good. It was pretty spicy though, and i’m not a spice wimp (honest). My 4-yr old wouldn’t eat it. So if you are a spice wimp, or cooking for kids, maybe take it down to 2 chipotles.
Hi!! I have pals who I know will easily Glutenify this for themselves, friends, and families, thanks!!
Made this with red peppers instead of chipotle. It was incredible. Thanks for sharing.
Best Mac and cheese ever!
I made this tonight and loved it. My sauce was a bit too spicy for me, so I left the sprouts on the side to be able to alternate bites with something cooling. It was perfect that way. I can’t believe how fast this was to make!
Made this again it was so good. I added a 1/2 tsp of turmeric and it gave it that fake Kraft dinner mac ‘n’ cheese orange colour! Very good recipe and probably much better for you!
I found this sauce “goes a long way” I used a 500g box of macaroni and it was still quite saucy. Good value for money that you can get a lot of meals out of this too.
The hardest part about reading this recipe is being in a condo without all my stuff (frozen raw cashews, nosh, etc)…this sounds so good and all I have is the Brussels sprouts! But it’s on my list when I am home, with gratitude for the recipe (BTW: Jade T made me laugh; I of course carried Buffalo Chipathingy sauce with us on this trip!)
My mouth. It is full of wonderful…
Amazing! I just made the cheese sauce and put it over steamed broccoli. yUM!
Just made this tonight – it was amazing!! Used only one seeded chipotle which gave it a great warm flavor, without being spicy. Didn’t have any miso so just used some tahini instead. This was my first experience with brussels sprouts (can you believe it?) and I loved them! I will definitely be making this on a regular basis! Thanks Isa!
Yes, another brussel convert!
my daughter made this for me for my b-day this past weekend. it was delicious!! thanks!
My wee vegan isn’t fond of hot. So, I subbed in some smoked paprika for the chipotle and she LOVED it. Thank you for such an awesome and quick mac!!
THIS. IS. AMAZING!! A revelation!!
Just made this and since I have 4 little kids who can’t tolerate spicy and I didn’t have any roasted red peppers i used a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste…perfect!!! LOVE this recipe!!!!! You are the best, I have an easy mac and cheese recipe now with NO margarine or oil that tastes so yummy. Thanks Isa!
Just as easy and delicious as advertised! To make it even easier I replaced with 2 whole (not seeded) leftover chipotles from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce that were in the freezer, and instead of roasted brussel sprouts, I served with reheated frozen broccoli. WILL MAKE AGAIN!
I used half the amount of chipotles which was just right for me. This was delicious, quick and easy. Thanks Isa for another great recipe!
Ahh! Thank you so much for this! My sister and I made it tonight, and even though I couldn’t blend the cashews quite enough to make them creamy (probably should’ve boiled them longer?), it was still one of the most delicious things I’ve ever cooked.
They were absolute AMAZEBALLS. Even my non veggie friends were like: Smells like Mac’n’cheese…looks like it…tastes like it. Very good.
Could I use some amount of soy sauce in place of the miso? I imagine if I buy miso it will sit there forever except for making this recipe again if my family likes it. I’d rather substitute if possible.
I’d use 1 T and then salt to taste. But miso is an AWESOME ingredient, so consider making it a pantry staple.
Substituted macadamia nut butter for the cashews and proceeded to down 2 of those 4 servings in 1 sitting. Previously suspicious of that nutritional yeast business, consider me now officially converted. Thanks for the recipe!
Hee “that nutritional yeast business”. Welcome to the club!
I’ve made this twice in the past 48 hours! Super good. All 3 of my kids liked it, except the brussel sprouts weren’t my son’s fave – lol!! I left out the chipotles and added Sriracha afterwards to my bowl. One thing I will add next time is a teaspoon of turmeric in an attempt to ‘orange-ify’ the color a bit. Very tasty and most triumphant vegan food!
Having cooked my way through at least a couple dozen PPK/Veganomicon dishes, I know that you will never steer me wrong. So the only modification I made to this recipe was to double it. This was a completely terrible idea. I should have quadrupled it!
Looks like great comfort food! I can’t wait to try it!
Just made this for dinner for my husband and I and WOW! It was pretty amazing. Love the texture of the brussels in there. Great recipe! Will definitely be making this again. It’s hard to stop eating.
Isa, I have made this twice in the past week. I’m freaking addicted. I’ll never look at mac and cheese the same way again!
Yeah, this was delish. Now I just have to find another recipe for the rest of the can of chipotles this week! For those who are concerned with the spice level, I noticed the hottness became toned down upon reheating leftovers (that is if you have any!)
OMG, Brussels are my favorite veggie and I am a hot and spicy freak too. I just made this and am wolfing it down right now. This dish is fab. I didn’t have any fresh chipotles so I subbed a tablespoon of chiptle powder and it has a really nice bite.
Since going vegan, I think this is the best cheese sauce recipe I have had so I will be using it elsewhere in my cooking. Thanks much 🙂
This was great!! Used penne whole wheat pasta instead of macaroni. But it still tasted awesome. Also, I am currently living in Copenhagen where brussel sprouts aren’t available other than frozen…but they still worked just fine!
The best mac and cheese ever! 6 out of 6 kids and one husband agreed, and that never happens in my home. Even though a blender malfunction left the sauce not quite as creamy and smooth as yours, it was still delicious. I doubled the recipe and had no issues…I was a little concerned about that many chipotles, but it was warm, not spicy. Thank you, Isa!!!!
This looked so darn tasty that I had to give it try. I’m not a vegan, but more dishes like this could get me to eat that way more often. I did this sans Brussel Sprouts and think it turned out well. I like the heat so blended in four full chipotle peppers, seeds included. Wow! Love the smoky kick! Thanks for posting this recipe. Very excited to check out your books now.
I just made this last night and it ruled! I used dried chipotles because I can’t find fresh ones in Greenpoint to save my life. Definitely harder to scrap the seeds out that way, and lots more kick. I also mixed the sprouts into the sauce coating. Great recipe!
I can’t believe I never noticed this recipe before. I need this in my life!
I just cooked this recipe (replacing chipotle with jalapeno because chipotles aren’t sold in many places in my country) and it is amazing!!! Never have I ever enjoyed mac’n’cheeze more! I will definitely be trying out more of your recipes in the future!!! Thanks!!!
I realized when half the ingredients were measured into the blender and the pasta water was boiling that I had neither canned chipotles nor roasted red peppers. So I used raw red peppers (3 of the little mini ones, and yes, I do realize I could have roasted them, but I’m lazy so I threw them in raw) instead. It worked out well, but I missed that chipotle kick, so I added liquid smoke and hot sauce. I kind of expected it to be a disaster. It isn’t!! Still delicious! This recipe is absolutely foolproof!!
I just finished making a batch of this, sans any veggies and with only one chipotle pepper. I am eating it straight from the pan. Super addictive and yummy. Hope there is enough left to share for supper (we are also having quarter pounder beet burgers). Oh, and as I’ve been cooking supper, smoky tomato lentil soup has been simmering (I make that soup constantly, to eat throughout the week for lunch). So, three of your recipes in one day…an intervention may be in order…