April 25, 2020

The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese Pizza Recipe

Hot from the oven, it’s the best vegan mac and cheese pizza! Crispy crust, topped with a little hot sauce for zing, and a mountain of warm, gooey mac and cheese goodness. To finish off the carb trifecta, a crumbly, crunchy bread crumb topping makes it feel like the classic homemade baked mac and cheese. If anyone ever tells you that you can’t have it all, point them in the direction of this- pasta and pizza, all in the same meal. Who needs anything else?

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My Kind of Comfort Food

To me, comfort food are those not so healthy treats from childhood. I’m an east coast girl who grew up in the Boston area, and we’re all about pizza (maybe not as much as New Yorkers, but still). My parents cooked at home almost every night, but on the rare occasion we got takeout, it was very often pizza. And oh boy, do I love pizza! When I moved out to California for college, I was shocked to find that the best pizza in my area was Dominos (and really, Dominos pizza isn’t great). I found myself really missing good pizza, or even decent pizza. While pizza was the best of takeout, mac and cheese was the best of simple home dinners. At first just plain delicious mac and cheese, but later as my spice tolerance grew the mac and cheese was topped with hot sauce. It’s absolutely mind blowing to me that I can have both of these comfort food classics in one meal, let alone on one plate. And while this is a dish my mother neeeever would have given us, it still tastes like home.

Looking for Junk Food? Check out some Great Vegan Junk Food Recipes!

Making it Your Own

I love this recipe because it really brings some great staples together. On top we have my super basic mac and cheese recipe- you could totally just make this part, and have a delicious bowl of non-dairy mac and cheese! I also shared a simple method for making your own pizza crust, but you don’t have to put mac and cheese on it- you could try an alfredo pizza, a spaghetti pie, or even one with vegan mozzarella and tomato sauce. Alternatively, you can make this mac and cheese pizza with a crust you buy at the store, if you want to save yourself a little time. If you don’t want to make your own mac and cheese, you could try it out with a boxed variety (although I’m just going to say it, ours will be better). You can also play around with adding other toppings or dipping sauces. I haven’t tried it, but I have the feeling this pizza would be amazing with some pickled onions on top! Stick to the recipe, or make it your own, but let us know how you liked it!

Making The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese Pizza

Making this vegan mac and cheese pizza can be a little bit of a process, but these days I have nothing but time on my hands and love the chance to make more involved recipes. If you want to save a little time, you can get a pre-made pizza dough or make your dough the night before. But if you have the time to wait an hour while the dough rises, making your own is cheap and easy. We pre-baked the crust in the oven for just 5 minutes to give it a nice crispness, before adding the toppings. Speaking of the toppings, it’s all about that mac and cheese. This one is cashew-based, and is deliciously cheesy and gooey. Just blend up all the ingredients, and add it to some fresh pasta. We used a hot sauce underneath the noodles, but that’s optional. Just make sure if you do use one it’s not too hot, and it’s something you like! Spread the mac and cheese over the crust, and for that perfect baked homemade mac and cheese goodness, top with some breadcrumbs. Then its in the oven, and cook until done. I love to eat mine with extra hot sauce, or chili flakes, and vegan parmesan.

The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese Pizza Recipe

Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: 1 12-inch pizza

The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese Pizza Recipe

Ingredients

For the Crust (alternatively, use one store-bought crust)

2/3 cup warm water
2 tsp. sugar
1 ½ tsp. instant yeast
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. olive oil

For the Mac and Cheese

1 cup raw cashews
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. tapioca starch
1 tsp. white miso paste
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. whole grain mustard
¼ tsp. smoked paprika
¼ tsp. turmeric
¾ cup water
Salt, to taste
½ lb. dried macaroni noodles

Other ingredients:

2 tbsp. hot sauce (something like Franks or Sriracha)
3 tbsp. breadcrumbs
1 tbsp. melted vegan butter

Instructions

Start with the dough. Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water, stir and set aside for 5 minutes. Combine the flour and salt and whisk together. Add the olive oil and yeast-mixture, and combine. On a clean, well-floured surface, kneed your dough for 3-4 minutes until it is soft and not sticky, and when poked the dough slowly rises up again. Lightly oil a bowl, and place the dough inside in a warm location for about an hour.
While the dough rises, start the mac and cheese. Begin by placing the cashews in a pot of water, and boiling for 10+ minutes to soften. Drain the liquid, and add all the other ingredients (not including the noodles!) for the sauce to a blender. Blend until smooth, and then set aside. Place a pot of water to boil, and cook the pasta as directed on the box. While the pasta cooks, move on to step three.
Once the dough has risen, punch it down. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Prepare a 12-14 inch round tray with a silicone mat, parchment paper, or cornmeal, and stretch the dough to cover. Once the oven is preheated, bake the crust for 5 minutes and remove, leaving the oven on.
Once the pasta is fully cooked, drain the liquid and place the cheese sauce in the pot and on medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until it has thickened (3-4 minutes), and then add the pasta, stirring to coat every noodle. Take the pasta off the heat. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and breadcrumbs.
Assemble the pizza by brushing the hot sauce on the partially baked crust. Add the mac and cheese on top, spreading it out to cover the entire crust. Finally, sprinkle the breadcrumb topping over the top and place in the oven. Bake for around 15 minutes, until the top is crispy and the crust is slightly browned, remove from the oven and serve.

Notes

Serve with hot sauce, vegan parmesan, or any of your favorite pizza or mac and cheese toppings!