Love everything bagels? You need everything bagel mac in your life! Creamy, dairy-free mac and cheese is topped with crispy panko breadcrumbs and everything bagel seasonings to make this indulgent vegan dinner.
I’ve been craving an everything bagel with cream cheese for about 10 years now. That’s about how long it’s been since I actually had one! It’s one of those foods that I dream about and always say I’m going to treat myself to for breakfast, but never actually do.
I even made my own vegan cream cheese so I could make it happen. But when it comes down to it, I just never feel like I can handle a big cheesy bagel (even a vegan one) first thing in the morning.
Dinner, however is another story. I got to thinking about how I could translate my favorite everything bagel flavors into a dinner recipe…and of course how I could pair them up with some cheesy, carby goodness. I could add a salad to balance things out. This sounded pretty doable.
That’s where this mac and cheese was born! Everything bagel seasonings are the perfect accompaniment to some crispy panko breadcrumb topping for vegan mac and cheese.
How to Make Vegan Everything Bagel Mac & Cheese
Start by mixing up your everything bagel breadcrumb topping. You’ll need some panko breadcrumbs, vegan butter, and each of the seasonings you’d find in an everything bagel: dried garlic, dried onion, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and salt.
Next boil your pasta and blend your cheese. For the cheese you’ll need some soaked raw cashews, non-dairy milk, salt, lemon juice and miso paste. Since an everything bagel gets slathered in cream cheese, I went for a cream cheese-ish flavor in this mix. If you want your cheese to tastes a bit more like cheddar, try adding some nutritional yeast and a few dashes of hot sauce.
You’ll also be including tapioca starch in the mix. This is your thickener, which will give your sauce a rich and creamy cheesy consistency.
Blend everything up until smooth.
Next, start heating up some additional non-dairy milk on the stove. Once it starts to simmer, whisk in your cashew mixture. Continue whisking while the mixture cooks for a few minutes. The tapioca starch will cause it to thicken up.
Once you’ve got a consistency like that of cheese sauce (think Velveeta), stir in your pasta. I used an oven safe skillet, so I simply transferred my pasta to the skillet. If you used a non-oven safe piece of cookware, just transfer the sauce and the cheese to a baking dish. Sprinkle everything with your everything bagel panko mixture.
Pop it under the broiler and let it sit until the topping becomes golden and crisp.
Tips for Making Amazing Everything Bagel Mac & Cheese
- Did you forget to soak your cashews? Try boiling them for 15 minutes instead!
- Can I use roasted cashews instead of raw? Nope! Roasting brings out the nutty flavor of cashews, so your cheese sauce will taste like nut butter. Raw cashews on the other hand have a much more neutral flavor and blend up super creamy. They’re perfect for making dairy substitutes.
- Look for miso paste in the international foods section of your supermarket, or try an Asian market. If all else fails, buy it online.
- Trader Joe’s sells everything bagel seasoning. If you want to use theirs instead of buying each of the ingredients individually (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, granulated garlic, granulated onion, and salt), go for it! You’ll need about 3 tablespoons.
- Vegan butter is available at most regular supermarkets. Look for brands like Earth Balance or Melt.
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Vegan Everything Bagel Mac & Cheese
Love everything bagels? You need everything bagel mac in your life! Creamy, dairy-free mac and cheese is topped with crispy panko breadcrumbs and everything bagel seasonings to make this indulgent vegan dinner.
- 10 ounces small dried pasta ((such as shells or elbow macaroni))
For the Topping
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter, (melted)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews, (soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed)
- 3 cups unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk, (divided)
- 3 tablespoons white miso paste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- Salt to taste
For Serving
- Chopped scallions or chives
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
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Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions, then drain it into a colander, return it to the pot, and toss it with a dash of oil to prevent sticking.
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While the pasta cooks, stir all of the topping ingredients together in a small bowl.
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Place the cashews into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade, along with 1/4 cup of the milk, the miso paste, lemon juice, tapioca starch, and white pepper.
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Blend the mixture to a smooth paste, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Preheat your broiler.
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Once the pasta has cooked and the cashew mixture is blended, place the remaining 2 3/4 cup of milk into a medium saucepan or large oven-safe skillet, then place the pot over medium heat.
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Heat the milk, stirring frequently, until it comes to a simmer.
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Add the cashew mixture to the pot, whisking vigorously until fully blended with the milk.
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Continue to cook the mixture for about 2 minutes, whisking frequently, until it thickens up to the consistency of cheese sauce.
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Stir in the pasta until uniformly coated with the sauce.
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Taste-test and season with salt if needed.
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If you’ve been using a saucepan, transfer your mixture to a casserole or baking dish. If you’ve been using an oven-safe skillet, leave it in there. In either case, smooth out the top with a spatula.
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Sprinkle the topping evenly over the pasta.
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Place the skillet or baking dish under the broiler and broil just until the topping begins to brown, 1-2 minutes. Watch it closely to avoid burning.
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Divide the macaroni onto plates and top with scallions or chives.
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Serve.
Loosely adapted from Everything Bagel Mac and Cheese from My Name is Yeh.
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