save this recipe for those nights when you only want to dirty one pan and you want something comforting. this creamy vegan broccoli mac & cheese will be in your weekly rotation!
If you have never tried making one pan meals you have to! This one pan vegan broccoli mac and cheese is ready in about 20 minutes, so creamy, cheesy, and cozy. The broccoli is a great addition to get in some micronutrients!
You Only Need 8 Ingredients!
- Pasta: I prefer something small like elbows or conchiglie (shells). This allows it to cook up quicker and need less liquid. This works with gluten free pasta too!
- Vegan Cheddar Cheese: I really like the Whole Foods 365 Vegan Cheddar Cheese. Of course there are other great options like Violife, Follow Your Heart, Daiya, Vitalite, or you can even shred your own from a vegan block.
- Vegan Cream Cheese: My favorite is Kite Hill. This gives nice creaminess and a slight tang.
- Vegan Butter: you only need a little bit to make it creamy. I prefer Miyokos.
- Frozen Broccoli: you can use fresh or frozen I like frozen because I tend to have it on hand.
- Non-Dairy Milk: if you have ever watched my videos or seen my other blog posts you will know I am a big fan of Ripple pea protein milk. You can use any one you like though. Per a blog comment do not use coconut milk as it is not thick enough to create the right texture.
- Nutritional Yeast: it adds a bit of a umami and cheesiness, you can leave it out.
- Salt: well because…we need it.
How To Get Perfect Pasta
As an Italian, a one pan pasta is a bit against everything I was taught about pasta. However, I then thought about risotto which is cooked in one pan and made by slowly adding liquid and stirring. So, I took the idea of risotto cooking and applied it here. The pasta came out great. Not overly soft and not too hard, exactly what I needed it to be. So, you may need to babysit it a bit. Stir and cover, stir and cover but it is well worth it to get pasta that is cooked to your doneness preference.
More Easy Recipes
One Pot Broccoli Mac & Cheese FAQ
- Can this be reheated? Of course! It’s just a basic mac and cheese recipe.
- What else can I add to this? If you wanted to add some tofu or breadcrumbs on that top that would be delicious.
- Is this recipe gluten free? Yes, as long as you use gluten free pasta.
- Is this recipe nut free? Yes, as long as your non-dairy milk, vegan cheese, and vegan cream cheese are nut free. The Kite Hill vegan cream cheese is almond based.
- Is this recipe soy free? Yes.
- How long does this last? Up to 4 days in the fridge.
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One Pan Vegan Broccoli Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (227g) pasta, of choice *preferably something small
- 1 cup (240ml) non-dairy milk *see note
- ¾ cup (84g) vegan cheddar shreds
- 2 ounces (56g) vegan cream cheese
- ½ tablespoon vegan butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 cups (170g) broccoli florets, frozen or fresh
- 2 cups (480ml) water
Instructions
- In a large pan add in the pasta, ½ cup (120ml) non-dairy milk, 1 cups (240ml) water, vegan cheddar shreds, vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, nutritional yeast, and salt into the pan. Mix together over a medium, to medium-high heat.
- After mixing, cover with a lid, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes covered.
- Remove the lid and mix around. Taste the pasta to see how cooked it is. It should be softer but not fully cooked. Add in another ½ cup (120ml) water and mix again. Cover and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Depending on how cooked you like your pasta.
- Remove from the heat for a second, add in the broccoli, the final ½ cup of water and ½ cup non-dairy milk. you can also add in a little more vegan cheddar if you like. Mix together. Place back on the stove for another 3 minutes or until the broccoli is soft. The pasta should be soft as well, if you like it to be softer feel free to cook for longer.
- Taste and add any additional seasonings if you like. Enjoy.
Video
Notes
- This recipe is meant to be cooked to your desired pasta doneness. If you like it harder you can cook it for less time. You can add more non-dairy milk, vegan cream cheese, and vegan cheddar to make it creamier if desired.
- My preferred n0n-dairy milk is Ripple. Do not use coconut milk from the carton as it is too thin and will not create the right texture.
Tara
Came out great
plantifullybased
Hi Tara I am so glad you enjoyed it thank you for trying it!!
Diana Millerick
I used soy milk this time and it worked!
Easy!
plantifullybased
Hi Diana, yay I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for giving it a second chance!
Diana
I used SO Delicious unsweetened coconut milk. The recipe turned out very watery, more like a soup. Disappointed.
plantifullybased
Hi Diana, I am very sorry to hear this didn’t work out. I will make a note for people to not use coconut milk. Coconut milk when it is not canned is typically very thin and I am assuming that is what caused the issue. I hope you would be willing to give it another try with a different type of non-dairy milk as this is a great and easy recipe.
Diana Millerick
Thank you for your response. Will try again. I am on a low sodium diet for health reasons and discovered that Coconut Milk has the lowest sodium, but I will choose the next lowest non dairy milk.
plantifullybased
Ah I see! https://ripplefoods.com/products/ripple-refrigerated-unsweetened-original-milk?variant=48628136149287 well this is my favorite that I use for pretty much everything. It has 120mg of sodium per serving I am not sure if that is too high or not!