June 5th 2013 was the day that I finally took the plunge and switched from vegetarian to vegan. I’d been vegetarian for 20-ish years and had tried a couple of times to go fully vegan, but the draw of cheese was just too much. Five years ago I finally said to hell with it and embraced the vegan alternatives. Guess what? They taste just like the real thing!!! If you haven’t tried the Daiya Vegan Mac and Cheese you need to fix that asap. Because you’ll soon realize that animals don’t have to be harmed for us to eat tasty foods. *Disclosure: link in this post may be affiliate links. Meaning that I earn a small commision on purchases made through those links.
Daiya Vegan Mac and Cheese
There are two styles of Daiya vegan mac and cheese: deluxe alfredo and deluxe cheddar. You know how it is. Sometimes you want the subtle creamy white sauce, and sometimes you just gotta go full on rich cheddar flavor. Both are super easy to make and equally delicious. Plus they are vegan and allergy friendly! No gluten, dairy free, egg free, and no soy or nuts!
Each 10.6oz package has three servings. Nutritionally they have 300 calories per serving, 9g fat, and 5g protein. Plus each serving packs 20% of your recommended daily allowance of Calcium. As the macaroni pasta is gluten free it cooks REALLY quickly. Just add the sauce packet, and serve! My kind of cooking!
Alfredo Style Vegan Mac and Cheese
I am a huge pasta lover so the texture of the macaroni is important to me and this Daiya macaroni is great! Doesn’t have the grainy texture of some other gluten free pastas. As for the Alfredo sauce, oh the sauce! It’s amazing. Creamy, but not greasy. It’s rich, and flavorful. So much flavor that you can just pile in on a plate of greens and call it dinner. Or have it as a side for BBQ’s.
Cheddar Style Vegan Mac and Cheese
Of the two flavors I most eager to try the cheddar style. American cheddar IMO tends to be… flavorless. As vegetarians we searched for years to find a good sharp American cheddar but all the ones we could find were Irish/English. Since going vegan a sharp cheddar was something I missed. The Daiya cheddar style vegan mac and cheese isn’t super sharp but it definitely has that tangy flavor I’d been yearning for.
Cheddar style mac and cheese was never something that was popular in England when I was growing up (alfredo yes!). So cheddar sauce on pasta was a new experience when we moved to the states. I like it! It wasn’t my favorite of the two. I prefer the alfredo, which surprised me. In my opinion this one is definitely better as a side dish. It has a lot of flavor and needs other things to balance it out.
Daiya Vegan Cheese Sauce
When we first tried the Daiya Vegan Mac and Cheese Bob commented that the cheesy sauce would be great for making other foods. The great news is that Daiya obviously got a lot of the same feedback and they now sell just the cheese sauce packets! We’ve used them in a couple of recipes that I’ll be sharing soon so I definitely advise stocking up on those because they are so freaking tasty. Honestly we haven’t had a bad Daiya product yet so if you’re looking for some vegan cheese alternatives then definitely check out their products.
Questions
If you had to choose one: Cheddar or Alfredo?
How addicted are you to cheese?
What’s your favorite comfort food?
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Ttrockwood
I actually became lactose intolerant not long after becoming vegetarian- which was several decades ago now (!) so dairy hasn’t been something i miss because I wasn’t able to rely on it as a vegetarian- and that was like back in the dark days when soymilk tasted like beans and the original gardenburger was The Only semi-common meatless option.
The cheese sauce sounds fantastic, i think i would like that as a dip for roasted broccoli or to make a baked pasta dish
Di Hickman
one word – nachos! trust me. We use the TJ tortilla chips, black beans, pico de Gallo, guacamole, and add the cheddar sauce. OMG!!!! I need to post about this..lol
Becca Wilson
This pasta looks like it would be amazing! I have never heard of it before but looks so delicious.
Di Hickman
It’s really good! Perfect for July 4th!
David Allen Elliott
It does look pretty delicious. I don’t think I could ever do vegan for much of the same reasons you had a hard time: cheese. I love it too much. But that’s great they have a good alternative.
Di Hickman
When I tried to go vegan before there was none of the great alternatives they have now. Since going vegan fully 5 years ago I haven’t yearned for “real” cheese once!
Ananda
i love vegan cheeses and recipes! these look so delicious!
Di Hickman
It was so delicious!
Holly
Yummy! This looks perfect. I am hungry just reading your post! Definitely going to try this out!
Di Hickman
Hahah well then I guess the photo’s did it justice!
Tonya Michelle
I think I prefer cheedar! But both look fantastic. My favorite comfort food is grilled cheese
Di Hickman
Ooooh grilled cheese! Will try that with the Daiya slices!
Angela Tolsma
I have been staring at the chedder daiya one for months now! I might have to make the plunge and try it! Cheese is one of my favorite go to snacks and I want to cut back!
Di Hickman
Definitely love the Daiya. Worth a try for sure. Especially cooked. Not so great on sandwiches though.
Rachel
I work with a number of people who are vegan so I will make sure to share this with them. It sounds like a good option!
Di Hickman
It really is, good for packed lunch
Stephanie
I may just have to try this. It looks sooo good!
Di Hickman
Definitely worth trying!
Michelle
I have recently gone dairy free, so I am so excited to try this! I love me some mac n cheese.
Di Hickman
Yay! Of all the ones we’ve tried this is the best!