You can watch the YouTube version of this Tabitha Brown Vegan Mac recipe here:
Hi loves! Awhile back, I came across Tabitha Brown‘s charming Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe that she shared on YouTube. I first found out about this through Goodful, which is a great YouTube Channel I love which features a lot of vegan recipes. In the original video I watched, which was a showdown for the best Vegan Mac, Tabitha won hands down. I had already heard of Tabitha through her soothing viral videos on Facebook and TikTok, so I was not surprised that she won.
I love Vegan Mac, and even though I’m pescatarian, I’m also slightly lactose-intolerant and I’ve never really been a fan of the taste of cheese. But I love comfort food and that makes me a huge fan of vegan mac, with all of the spices used to imitate cheese as well! I’m on the hunt to try as many recipes as I can!
Now Tabitha doesn’t include measurements in her video, so there was a bit of guesswork involved. Her dish was amazing so I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a good vegan mac! Here’s her recipe, converted from the measurements I used.
Tabitha Brown’s Vegan Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Peeler
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1 Yukon or Russet potato, diced
- 4-6 oz vegan butter
- garlic powder & herbs, to taste
- 1 lb of shell or macaroni pasta
- 1 tsp Himalayan sea salt
- 4-6 oz plain vegan almond or coconut milk yogurt
- 4 oz Daiya Vegan Cheddar Shreds
- 4 oz Daiya Vegan Mozzarella Shreds
- 1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- paprika, optional or to taste
Instructions
- Peel and dice your butternut squash and potato. Once the vegetables are diced, add them to a Dutch oven or stockpot with water and simmer on medium heat for about 20-25 minutes.
- Towards the end of the 20 minutes, boil your pasta based off the package directions. Use a teaspoon of pink Himalayan sea salt to season.
- Strain the squash and potato, it should be soft enough to be mashed with a fork. Then put them back into the Dutch oven with 4-6 ounces of vegan butter.
- Sprinkle garlic powder and herbs (I used oregano) to your liking. Then add 4-6 ounces of vegan yogurt and half a package (4 ounces) of vegan cheddar and mozzarella shreds.
- Add nutritional yeast and veggie broth. Stir it all together and simmer for 10-20 minutes until the mixture is smooth. Use a wooden ladle or spatula to crush any pieces of potato or squash or use an immersion blender to smooth the mixture.
- Take your strained pasta and mix it in with the sauce.
- Optional: You can also bake it for the "baked mac and cheese" taste. I skip this step.
- Sprinkle with paprika.
Video
The Butternut Squash
So funny story, I was scared of using butternut squash after an incident involving a cheap Dutch oven that got too hot and broke on the stove. The first time I made this, I wanted to make sure my squash softened correctly, so I opted to bake it for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. I skip this step now, as it will get soft enough if you simmer it long enough.
By the way, you can also use packaged butternut squash to save yourself the hacking of that tough root vegetable. I also tried frozen packaged butternut squash from Target, but the 12oz bag is far too small. You’ll need double that amount, or 24 ounces if you want to go with pre-cut squash. The good news is that you won’t have to simmer your squash for nearly as long.
The Cheese!
By the way, have you ever tried Daiya vegan cheese shreds? You don’t need the exact brand, as Follow Your Heart also makes great mozzarella shreds. But Daiya is the preferred brand because so much of us love how it melts similar to real cheese. I use it in a recipe I make myself for a nice afternoon snack, cheesy Grillers Crumbles quesadillas. You can make them with the cheese you have left over!
If you don’t have access to vegan cheese shreds, or don’t like vegan cheese, it still tastes delicious without. In fact, I imagine some non-cheese fans would like it even more. I’m not a big cheese fan myself, so sometimes even realistic vegan cheese can be overpowering. It’s okay to leave it out.
There’s Yogurt, Too?
When in doubt, coconut yogurt is the way to go as a vegan option, and if you’re not vegan, plain unsweetened regular yogurt should work as well. Don’t do sweetened or vanilla yogurt, however. It’ll completely ruin the taste and you’ll have to start over. You have been warned.
I’m a bad vegan, (well, I’m not vegan actually. Don’t tell Tabitha!) so I often used Greek Yogurt instead of plant-based yogurt. However, once I tried coconut yogurt, I was sold forever. It gives the cheese a much milder taste, which I quite like! Admittedly, I haven’t been successful in finding almond milk yogurt before. My local stores do carry cashew & macadamia yogurt however.
In the end, this recipe compares well to my other favorite Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe, by Detox Inista. Detox’s recipe, while delicious, is much drier. That said, it is much easier to prepare than Tabitha’s recipe, which involves hacking up a squash. Tabitha’s recipe feels more like a luxurious “special occasion” mac while Detox Inista’s recipe is more everyday. With the price of vegan cheese & yogurt versus cashews, the Detox recipe is a little cheaper as well. I also made my own spicy version of Detox’s recipe, which you can try here. It’s been my recent pride and joy!
If you’re curious in the other Vegan Mac recipe, you can see me making it here too!
Overall, both recipes are great, albeit very different. The Spicy Serrano Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe is now one of my most popular recipes after this one, and I’m glad that this recipe’s spicy cousin is getting so much love!
What do you think? Let me know if you have a favorite vegan mac recipe as well!
Did you like this article? Please give it rating if you give it a try, and if you like it, make sure to check out Tabitha Brown‘s social media channels and website, and also check out some of the other interpreted or original recipes on this blog. Enjoy, and stay cheesy and healthy!
I enjoyed trying out the Tabitha Brown mac ‘n cheese recipe. I’ve always wanted to try out new recipes especially vegan friendly ones. The instructions were easy to follow and you get a super creamy sauce that at first glance you wouldn’t even be able to tell it wasn’t real cheese. I also liked the addition of garlic and herbs.
Next time, I want to try the Detox version. I’ve always seen folks use cashew nuts as a dairy substitute and its looks really interesting.
For the Tabitha Brown recipe, I give it 5/5 stars. Its a really good replacement for folks that can’t have dairy but want a nice comfort food.
Just tried this tonight. My husband LOVED it. I didn’t have whole, fresh, butternut squash at my local supermarket, so I purchased cubed, frozen, butternut squash from the grocer’s freezer. It worked like a charm. I boiled the potato, and then when the potato was about 5 minutes from being done- I added the frozen squash.
Super happy to hear that! Yes, packaged butternut squash works too! 🙂 I’ll be trying that myself since I’ve been tired of cutting the squash recently but craving this dish!