This Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Orzo Mac and Cheese is creamy, dreamy comfort food. The perfect amount of spice to kick up this classic recipe.
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This Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Orzo Mac and Cheese is making dreams come true one spoonful at a time. It is everything you could want in a cheezy pasta dish.
It is creamy...it is a tad spicy...and there's cauliflower thrown in for some extra texture (and to sneak in some veggies).
We all know my love for Buffalo Cauliflower is a little over the top. Here on TSV I've shared recipes for Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos, Buffalo Cauliflower Quesadillas, Baked Buffalo Cauliflower, Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza.
Ya, you could say I'm obsessed. But you know what I love about all of you??? You are also Buffalo Cauliflower obsessed. You all make me feel more secure with my obsession. 🙂
So, thank you for allowing me to live out my Buffalo Cauliflower dreams once again with this new recipe.
Now, if you've ever made my White Mac & Cheese recipe, then most of the ingredients for this mac are going to to look very familiar.
I have never been a big fan of vegan mac and cheese recipes that use a ton of nutritional yeast, potatoes and carrots to make the sauce. INSTEAD, I like to use a combo of vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, non-dairy milk and lots of spices. I just think it gives this a more realistic mac and cheese flavor. It may not be as healthy, but it sure tastes good.
TSV TIP: Here are my recommendations for specific brands to use in this recipe. I prefer Earth Balance Vegan Butter, Trader Joe's or Kite Hill Vegan Cream Cheese, unsweetened soy milk, Frank's Buffalo Sauce and Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base.
While this can be a spicy dish, it can also be super mild. Add buffalo sauce a little at a time until you get your desired spice level.
You also may notice that there is no salt listed in the ingredients. That is because you are getting plenty of salt from the buffalo sauce and bouillon. Be sure not to add salt unless you absolutely need it. We don't want over salted mac and cheese on our hands.
As with traditional mac and cheese, leftovers can become a little dry. Just add a little bit of non-dairy milk when reheating to bring the sauce back to life.
I hope (and am pretty sure) that you will all be as obsessed with this recipe as I am. Let the Buffalo Cauliflower obsession continue!
Need more recipe inspo? Check these out:
Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Orzo Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
FOR THE CAULIFLOWER
- ½ head cauliflower cut in bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ cup buffalo sauce
FOR THE MAC & CHEESE
- 16 oz orzo uncooked
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 1 cup non-dairy milk unsweetened
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base*
- buffalo sauce to taste
- cilantro optional, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread cauliflower out on the baking sheet and top with olive oil, garlic powder, chili powder and buffalo sauce. Toss to combine and place in the oven for 15 minutes. When done, remove from the oven and transfer to a bowl (including all of the sauce on the baking sheet).
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add orzo. Cook according to package instructions. When done, drain and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add milk and cream cheese. Whisk until smooth.
- Add the garlic powder, mustard powder, white pepper, black pepper and bouillon. Whisk until combined.
- Add the cooked orzo and half of the the cauliflower to the sauce and stir to combine. Taste and add buffalo sauce to taste.
- Serve immediately with the remaining cauliflower and cilantro.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Lauren
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was very tasty! A little time consuming, but not very involved; once the cauliflower and orzo are cooked, the rest of the recipe comes together very quickly.
I agree with the person who commented about disliking the white pepper. Maybe 1 tsp is just too much for the recipe, but I found the smell and taste to be very overwhelming. Next time, I think I'll try either omitting it or using less of it.
Cat
My husband eats to live. I rarely ever get a reaction or opinion on my cooking unless I ask. Tonight I heard a faint “mmmmmm” I almost fell out of my chair. I only needed 3/4 of the orzo & I topped it with Follow Your Heart blue cheese.
Rene
Bahahaha - that is hilarious and amazing! So glad it was a hit!
christina
I made this last night for dinner, having wanted to try it for AGES. Unfortunately, for me, the white pepper was incredibly overbearing, to the point where I couldn't eat it. After googling, it seems some people have a sensitivity to white pepper (makes it smell like manure or a barn or something), and apparently I am one of them.
My boyfriend was able to eat it just fine, although he did think there was a bit too much pepper in it, he did enjoy it.
Overall, the sauce was a really nice consistency and the cauli itself was good! I just would recommend maybe adding 1/4 tsp of white pepper to start to see what you think. If I make this again I'll probably omit the white pepper altogether. We used Kroger brand vegan cream cheese and almond milk, which worked perfectly! I also made it with elbow pasta instead, which worked fine. This is also a great base recipe for plain old mac and cheese if you want to omit the cauliflower! The sauce came together really quickly.
Rene
Hi Christina - OMG! That is crazy, I had no idea about white pepper sensitivity! I'm glad everything worked out well, but yes, definitely omit it next time!!!
Jenny
This is soooo good! I think next time I will add more cauliflower and make a little more sauce but the flavor was phenomenal.
Rene
I'll never say no to more sauce and veggies 😉
Patty
Absolutely delicious! I made it with the kite Hill plain cream cheese, Oat milk, Earth Balance and Frank's Hot Sauce. I'm not vegan but I am gluten free so I use gluten free pasta this is the best mock mac and cheese I've ever had it's worth trying!
Rene
Yay! So glad you liked it!!!
Hannah
How many people does this serve?
Rene
As a side I think this will serve 8. But as a main it will serve about 5.
Kelly
TO
DIE
FOR
Susan Quesada
Ahhhmazing! Comfort food to the max. Even my very picky son had a second serving. My daughter requested this for her birthday dinner. 🙂
Rene
Yay! I'm so glad it was a hit with the whole family! 🙂
Leah
I tried this tonight and loved it! I didn't have any of the No Chicken Base so I just omitted it but I'm looking forward to trying it again with that added 🙂 Thank you!
Rene
So glad you liked it without the bouillon, but definitely try it with - it adds lots of good flavor 🙂
Lauren
This one looks amazing can’t wait to try it!