Loaded Irish Vegan Mac and Cheese : Guinness Cheese Sauce
Looking for that perfect bowl of comfort food for St. Patrick’s Day…or any day? Then you need to try loaded Irish Vegan Mac and Cheese!
This loaded Irish vegan Mac and cheese is the ultimate bowl of comfort food that is LOADED with flavor. This Irish inspired recipe consists of shell pasta smothered in vegan Guinness cheese sauce with peas, topped with sauerkraut, chives, and crushed pumpernickel pretzels!
This loaded Irish vegan Mac and cheese recipe tastes indulgent, but it is actually a much lighter version than your typical bowl of Mac and Cheese! The vegan Guinness cheese sauce is made with silken tofu instead of heavy, calorie rich cream. There’s also a nice serving of peas, which add plenty of nutrients and help bulk up the meal and fill you up, without weighing you down. There is, of course, SOME melty, gooey vegan cheese to really drive home that delicious Mac and cheese flavor…so this recipe is still slightly indulgent…but it’s all about balance right?!
Jump to Recipe
Guinness Cheese Sauce for Loaded Irish Vegan Mac and cheese
What’s the most important part of Mac and cheese? These cheese sauce of course! Traditional Mac and cheese is typically loaded with cheese, dairy, butter, making it super indulgent, calorie rich, and not vegan. We all love to indulge on occasion, but we all know it’s better to keep it on the lighter side the majority of the time for health’s sake. Luckily there are ways to make delicious, vegan Mac and cheese, that tastes super indulgent, but won’t totally weigh you down and send you into a food coma!
This Guinness Mac and Cheese sauce is super easy to make and will make any beer and cheese love super happy! Serve this Irish inspired vegan recipe on St. Patty’s Day as a main course or as a side dish.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN “CHEESE” SAUCE TASTE LIKE CHEESE
To make vegan and non dairy cheese sauce, you cannot actually include cheese. So how do you create a cheesy flavor and a creamy consistency without actually using cheese? There are a few simple tricks to get you there!CREATING A CHEESY FLAVOR FOR VEGAN GUINNESS MAC AND CHEESE SAUCE
To create a cheese-like flavor, without actually using cheese, you will combine vegan cheese with nutritional yeast, soy sauce, ketchup and a blend of spices.
VEGAN SHREDDED CHEESE
For this recipe I went with Daiya’s shredded vegan cheddar cheese. This non dairy cheese alternative is stretchy, gooey, and has a nice cheesy flavor to it! Feel free to substitute your favorite vegan cheese if desired.
NUTRITIONAL YEAST
Nutritional yeast is another important ingredient to give this vegan Guinness Mac and cheese sauce its cheesy flavor.
Nutritional yeast, also known as nooch, is basically nature’s vegan cheese powder! Nutritional yeast is yeast made from living saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, which is the same yeast used to make bread. Nutritional yeast is powdery, with large flakes and has a mustard-like color.
Nutritional yeast has a unique, cheese-like flavor that can be described as savory and slightly nutty. This delicious, flavor boosting ingredient is very popular in vegan and dairy free cheese recipes and is often the key ingredient to create a dairy free, cheese-like flavor.
You can find nutritional yeast in most grocery store in the health food section or the spice aisle. You can also purchase nutritional yeast online!
OTHER INGREDIENTS TO HELP CREATE A CHEESY FLAVOR FOR VEGAN MAC AND CHEESE SAUCE
The addition of vegan cheese and nutritional yeast do a fantastic job of creating a very cheesy flavor all on their own. But adding a few extra ingredients can really help round out the flavor of this vegan Guinness Mac and cheese sauce.
To bring the flavor of this non dairy sauce to the next level, you will be adding a spice blend of garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika. You will also add turmeric powder, but that is more for color than taste…remember you eat with your eyes first.
You will also add ketchup (sweet and acidic), Dijon whole grain mustard (sharp kick), and soy sauce (savory, salty, umami) to give your Guinness vegan cheese sauce more flavor.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN GUINNESS MAC AND CHEESE SAUCE CREAMY WITHOUT DAIRY
How do you make vegan cheese sauce creamy without dairy? There are many methods to creating a creamy consistency for vegan beer cheese sauce, but for this recipe you will be using silken tofu.
SILKEN TOFU
Tofu is an AMAZING plant-based protein that is super popular in many cuisines around the world, especially in Thailand, Korea, Japan, China, and throughout Southeast Asia. If you follow a plant-based diet of any sort, chances are you have come across tofu as well. If you haven’t had the pleasure of consuming tofu or are unsure what it is exactly, here’s a little bit about it.
Tofu, also known as bean curd, is made from soy beans…more specifically, fresh soy milk. To transform soy milk into tofu, soy milk is curdled, pressed into a solid block, then cooled. This process results in a dense, yet soft block of tofu!
Silken Tofu is unprocessed and undrained tofu. When making silken tofu, the soy is not curdled. This results in a super soft, silky version of tofu.
USING SILKEN TOFU IN VEGAN GUINNESS CHEESE SAUCE
Using silken tofu in this Guinness vegan cheese sauce is key for creating a smooth, creamy consistency! It also adds extra protein to the sauce, which never hurts. It’s also much lower in calories and fat than heavy cream, nuts, or vegan butter, which is often used in cheese sauces, making this a healthier option.
Simply place silken tofu in the blender, along with the other flavor boosting ingredients, and in about 30 seconds you will have a beautifully smooth, creamy base for your plant-based cheese sauce!
Toppings for Loaded Irish Vegan Mac and Cheese
Now that we know how to create a perfect vegan Guinness cheese sauce for our Loaded Irish Mac and cheese…it’s time to talk about toppings!
Crushed Pumpernickel Pretzels
Have you tried these Pumpernickel pretzel sticks?! If not, you NEED to…they are delicious. When you crush up these babies they may a perfect addition to you loaded Irish Vegan Mac and Cheese!
You can find these Pumpernickel pretzel sticks in the chip and pretzel isle of most grocery stores.
Feel free to substitute any pretzel of your choice of course!
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is an excellent addition to any meal. It’s low in calories, rich in nutrients, and is a fermented foods, making it a good source of healthy bacteria! Sauerkraut is not only good for your health, but it also adds a lot of flavor to any dish. Adding sauerkraut to this loaded Irish vegan Mac and cheese helps add another level of complexity to the flavor of the dish.
What to serve with Loaded Irish Vegan Mac and cheese
This Loaded Irish vegan Mac and cheese is a satisfying meal on its own. But it also makes a perfect side dish! Serve this loaded Guinness Mac and cheese with Beyond Meat Beer Sloppy Joes or Guinness vegan steak sliders! If you want to keep the meal a bit lighter, serve this Loaded Irish vegan Mac and cheese with steamed vegetables.
This vegan Irish inspired recipe makes the perfect meal or side dish for St. Patricks day. It’s also a perfect game day recipe for Super Bowl Sunday!
Loaded Irish Vegan Mac and Cheese with Guinness Cheese Sauce
Equipment
- sauce pan
- pot for pasta
- blender
Ingredients
- 4 servings Shell pasta can substitute pasta of choice
- water to boil pasta
- 1 tsp salt used to season pasta water
Ingredients for Vegan Guinness Cheese sauce THAT GO IN THE BLENDER
- 1 container of silken or soft tofu
- 1 1/2 cups vegan cheese I used Daiya's vegan shredded cheddar. Add more for a cheesier flavor
- 1/2 cup non dairy milk soy milk, oat milk, and cashew milk work best
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp turmeric options, added for color
- 1 tsp Dijon whole grain mustartd
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Ingredients for Vegan Guinness Cheese sauce THAT DO NOT GO IN THE BLENDER
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped small
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil can substitute any neutral oil
- 1/2 cup Guinness beer I used Guinness Extra Stout for boxer flavor. Can substitute beer of choice
- 1 cup frozen peas
Toppings
- 2 tbsp chives, sliced
- 1/4 cup pumpernickel pretzels, crushed can substitute pretzel of your choice
- 1/2 cup sauerkraut
Instructions
Prepare the pasta
- Begin by preparing you pasta. Add 4 servings of dried pasta, water and salt to a pot. Follow instructions on pasta box for specific instructions on timing
- When pasta has finished cooking, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water to add to cheese sauce. Drain the rest of the water and set pasta aside.
- **while pasta is cooking, use your time wisely and move ahead to the cheese sauce
Prepare the vegan Guinness cheese sauce
- Begin by adding all of the ingredients list under "Ingredients for Vegan Guinness Cheese sauce that go in the blender" into a blender. Blend on high until smooth. This will take around 30 seconds. Set aside
- Next, add 1/2 tbsp olive oil and chopped garlic cloves to a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the ingredients that have been blended, along with 1/2 cup of Guinness beer. Stir until thoroughly mixed and bring heat down to low
- Allow sauce to cook for other 15 minutes. Stir often with a spatula so sauce does not stick to the pan and burn.
- When pasta has finished cooking, add 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the sauce and cup of frozen peas. Stir to incorporate. Allow peas cook until hot. Remove from heat
Prepare your toppings
- Crush pretzels by placing them in a plastic bag. Seal bag. Using a rolling pin crust the pretzels by rolling over them. Set aside
- Slice chives into small pieces. Set aside
Put it all together
- Add cooked pasta to pan of vegan cheese sauce. Stir until evenly mixed
- Now it's time to plate! Evenly distribute pasta and cheese sauce into four bowls (makes for servings).
- Top vegan Mac and cheese with crushed pretzels, sliced chives, and sauerkraut.
- Serve and enjoy!
More vegan Irish Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day
