Vegan Mac And Cheese Taco Bake – Mac Taco Casserole

Vegan Mac and Cheese Taco Bake with Walnut Taco Meat and Vegan Cashew Queso combines two family favorites into one epic vegan casserole that comes together quickly! Make it tonight.

Vegan Taco Mac and Cheese Bake! Yes, we’re combining two family favorites, pasta and tacos, into one epic weeknight dinner casserole!  This easy vegan taco mac and cheese bake is sure to please any picky eater. Made with seasoned walnut taco meat, tomatoes and vegan queso made from cashews all tossed with elbow pasta.

Taco Mac Casserole is a very popular box recipe that you might have loved before going vegan. Trust me when I say it’s way better homemade and plant-based! So much more flavorful than anything that comes from a box!

I love serving this sprinkled with some crushed tortilla chips, some pickled jalapeños and tomatoes. This is an amazing vegan casserole dish for Taco Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo, or for whenever you are feeding a crowd. Easy to make with simple ingredients and the flavors are out of this world.

What’s not to love about two of your favorite classic dinners – Tacos and Macaroni and Cheese – mixed together to make a satisfying, hearty meal!

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Vegan Taco Mac and Cheese Bake

5 from 11 votes

By: Vegan Richa

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 45 minutes mins

Total: 55 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Tex Mex

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Vegan Mac and Cheese Taco Bake with Walnut Taco Meat and Vegan Cashew Queso combines two family favorites into one epic vegan casserole that comes together quickly! Make it tonight.

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Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the Walnut Chickpea Taco Meat:

• ▢ ½ cup raw walnuts
• ▢ ¾ cup cooked chickpeas
• ▢ 3 tbsp sundried tomato packed in olive oil, or 1 tbsp tomato paste
• ▢ ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ▢ 1 tsp ground cumin
• ▢ ½ tsp garlic powder
• ▢ ¼ tsp onion powder
• ▢ 2 tsp chili powder blend, I use chipotle powder chili blend, which a lot more flavor of the chipotle chili
• ▢ ½ jalapeno
• ▢ 1 pickled jalapeno
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ ½ tsp oregano

For the Cashew Queso:

• ▢ ¾ cup of raw cashews soaked in hot water for at least 15 minutes
• ▢ 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ▢ ¼ tsp cumin
• ▢ ½ tsp chili powder blend
• ▢ 1 small garlic clove
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ ½ tsp Chipotle pepper flakes or chipotle pepper powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp Miso
• ▢ ½ cup water

For the Mac Bake:

• ▢ 2 cups elbows or mac or other pasta, uncooked
• ▢ ½ cup chopped tomatoes or fresh salsa
• ▢ 2 cups water or stock
• ▢ ¼ tsp salt
• ▢ 1 - 2 tbsp Pickled Jalapeno
• ▢ 2 tbsp tortilla chips, crushed, optional

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Instructions 

To make the walnut chickpea taco meat:

• Add the walnuts to a food processor, and process until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until the mixture is homogeneously combined and there are no whole chickpeas remaining, but it still has texture.
• Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and taste and adjust flavor. If the mixture is too dry add in a tsp or so of oil, or lime juice, and mix in.

To make the Cashew Queso:

• Drain the cashews, and add to a blender along with half a cup of water and the rest of the ingredients until really really smooth and set aside.

To assemble:

• Grease a baking dish, about 8 by 10 inch baking dish, or similar size, really well. Add your pasta , and spread all over.
• Scoop the walnut taco meat mixture using a cookie scoop or spoon, and place it on top of the elbows.
• And some tomato or salsa, you can also add in the pickled Jalapenos if you like.
• Drizzle your cashew queso and sprinkle some salt all over. Then pour 2 cups of water. all of the mixture should be evenly covered.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
• Remove the dish. You can check at 40 minutes if the top is set, and that the pasta is cooked from the edge and remove it or continue to bake another five minutes.
• Sprinkle the top with some crushed tortilla chips, sliced up pickled jalapenos, and serve. You can also drizzle some thinned out vegan sour cream or reserve 1-2 tbsp queso and use that to garnish

Notes

For Glutenfree:, use Glutenfree pasta. 

For Nutfree: Use Silke. Tofu for the queso or use my flour based Nutfree queso

To sub walnuts, use other nuts like cashews or pecans or use pumpkin seeds instead of walnuts for no nut.  

• If you don't have miso paste, add more nutritional yeast

Nutrition

Calories: 612kcal, Carbohydrates: 81g, Protein: 21g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Sodium: 761mg, Potassium: 796mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 944IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 97mg, Iron: 6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!

Ingredients:

• the vegan taco meat is made from walnuts and chickpeas – blitzed in the food processor
• sun-dried tomatoes add some umami to the taco meat
• smoked paprika, cumin, garlic onion, and chili powder spice up your plant-based taco meat.
• the Mexican queso cheese sauce is made from soaked cashews
• nutritional yeast and miso paste add cheesiness and umami to the cheese sauce
• chili powder and pepper flakes for spiciness

• I use elbow pasta here – the obvious choice for all mac and cheese bakes.
• crushed tortilla chips, jalapenos and tomatoes are my favorite toppings.

Tips:

• When making the walnut taco meat, make sure to not overmix it. Over-processing will turn the mixture into a pate texture.
• You could add some chopped shiitake mushrooms to the taco meat instead of the sun-dried tomatoes. You might have to add some more salt.
• If you don’t have miso paste, add more nutritional yeast

How to make Vegan Taco Mac and Cheese Bake:

How to make Vegan Walnut Taco Meat:

Add the walnuts to a food processor, and process until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until the mixture is homogeneously combined and there are no whole chickpeas remaining, but it still has texture.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and taste and adjust flavor. If the mixture is too dry add in a tsp or so of oil, or lime juice, and mix in.

How to make Vegan Cashew Queso:

Drain the cashews, and add to a blender along with half a cup of water. Blend with the rest of the ingredients until really really smooth and set aside.

Assemble the Mac Taco Bake

Grease a baking dish, about 8 by 10-inch baking dish, or similar size, really well. Add your pasta, and spread all over.
Scoop the walnut taco meat mixture using a cookie scoop or spoon, and place it on top of the elbows.

And some tomato or salsa, you can also add in the pickled Jalapenos if you like.

Drizzle your cashew queso and sprinkle some salt all over. Then pour in 2 cups of water – it should all be evenly covered.

Cover the dish with foil and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
Remove the dish. You can check at 40 minutes if the top is set, and that the pasta is cooked from the edge and remove it or continue to bake another five minutes. Sprinkle the top with some crushed tortilla chips, sliced up pickled jalapenos, and serve.