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Easy, cheesy, spicy, and creamy, these dairy-free mac and cheese cups are loaded with tangy bites of pickled jalapeño and vegan cheddar. They’re the perfect snack for your next tailgating party. Everyone gobbles them up in seconds!
Get ready for a whole lotta flavor, friends! These mac and cheese cups are dairy-free and meatless, made with gooey melty vegan cheese, Silk soy milk, and spicy pickled jalapeño slices. Best of all, they’re baked and bite-sized. I often make similar, classic mac and cheese cups for my kids for Meatless Monday. As soon as I started bringing these out as game day appetizers, though, they quickly became a favorite!
These Easy Mac and Cheese Cups Are…
- Vegan and dairy-free. With the option to make this recipe with dairy-based ingredients if you prefer.
- Made a little spicy. Pickled jalapeños and a touch of mustard add delicious heat and flavor to the sauce. Of course, you can replace the chilies with pickled sweet peppers or omit them altogether for a milder version.
- Perfect for game day. I make these all the time as a tailgate appetizer or party snack. These mac and cheese bites get gobbled up faster than you can say “Touchdown!”.
What You’ll Need For This Recipe
You’re only a few ingredients away from the best cheesy appetizer of all time! I’ve included notes on what you’ll need below. Scroll to the recipe card for the full, printable recipe followed by a step-by-step overview.
- Elbow Macaroni – The classic choice. Small pasta shapes work best here, since you want them to fit easily inside the wells of your muffin tin. Other good options are small shells, orecchiette, and ditalini pasta. Use vegan pasta if needed
- Butter – I make this recipe with vegan butter (the spread from Earth Balance is my favorite). You can swap this for regular butter if you’re not making this recipe dairy-free or vegan.
- Milk – Again, I use vegan-friendly Silk Soymilk. Any dairy, non-dairy, or plant-based milk will work here.
- Mustard Powder – If needed, substitute 1 tablespoon of prepared mustard per 1 teaspoon of mustard powder. In this recipe, that’s about 3 tablespoons of prepared mustard, either yellow or Dijon.
- Pickled Jalapeños – I use the slices. You can chop them up into smaller pieces if you’d prefer. Use fresh jalapeño peppers for a stronger flavor.
- Breadcrumbs – I like to use big Panko crumbs, but regular breadcrumbs (seasoned or unseasoned) also work for a crunchy topping.
- Parsley – Dried, for garnish.
Optional: Add an Egg
I include the option to add an egg to this recipe (if you’re not making vegan mac and cheese) to help bind the ingredients together. I’ve often skipped the egg, and the mac and cheese cups still turn out great without it. Just be sure to give the baked mac and cheese a chance to cool and set up before you remove the cups from the pan.
If you do use an egg, bring it to room temperature beforehand and whisk it continuously with the pasta until the cheese is fully melted. Otherwise, it risks cooking the egg, and you’ll end up with scrambled eggs in your mac and cheese!
Recipe Tips
- Season the pasta water. It’s worthwhile to add 1-2 heaping tablespoons of salt to the water you’ll use to cook the macaroni. Salted cooking water leads to more flavorful macaroni.
- Keep the pot over the heat. In classic mac and cheese recipes, I always recommend removing the pasta from the heat before adding the cheese and egg to avoid clumping and scrambling. However, vegan cheese takes longer to melt, so it does take a minute or two of stirring on the heat to get it fully melted in this recipe.
- Rest the cups before serving. Once these mac and cheese cups are out of the oven, leave them to cool on the counter for 5 minutes before serving. This ensures that the cheese isn’t piping hot, and it also helps the cups hold their shape.
What Can I Serve With Mac and Cheese Cups?
Serve these easy mac n cheese cups for dinner, make them as a game day snack, or meal prep them for lunches. You’re going to love how delicious and versatile they are! I love pairing them with vegetarian meatballs, wonton chips and salsa, and air fryer Buffalo cauliflower or mushroom fajitas on Football Sunday. They’re also great with a side of French fries or air fryer carrots for a kid-friendly vegetarian meal.
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Mac and Cheese Cups (Dairy-Free, Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter spread, (I use Earth Balance)
- 1½ cups shredded vegan cheddar cheese
- 1 cup Silk Soymilk
- 1 egg, beaten, (optional, omit if making these cups vegan)*
- 1 tablespoon ground mustard
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeño slices
- panko crumbs
- dried parsley
- extra virgin olive oil cooking spray
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook the pasta. Cook the macaroni according to the directions on the box. Remove the macaroni from the heat, drain, and return it to the pan over medium heat.
- Add the sauce ingredients. Add butter spread, cheese, soymilk, egg, ground mustard, salt, and pepper; mix and stir constantly until smooth, and cheese is melted.**
- Add the jalapeños. Remove from heat and stir in jalapeno slices.
- Fill the pan. Spoon macaroni mixture into the previously prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle tops of macaroni with panko crumbs and dried parsley. Spray tops of macaroni with cooking spray.
- Bake. Bake for 32 to 35 minutes, or until browned. Remove from oven and let stand in muffin tin for a few minutes to cool. This will also make it easier for them to hold their shape. Serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- The egg is used to hold the molds together, but I almost always make these without the eggs. Just give them a few minutes to cool, and they should hold up without a problem.
- *IF you decide to use the egg, please mix and stir continuously until cheese is melted. If you don’t stir, the eggs will cook, and you are going to end up with scrambled eggs in your mac ‘n cheese. Normally, this step isn’t done over heat as cheddar cheese will melt just from the hot macaroni, but because vegan cheese takes longer to melt, you will have to mix and stir above heat for a minute or two.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Mac and Cheese Cups
Baking mac and cheese in muffin cups is great for portioning! It makes it easy. Follow the steps below:
- Cook the macaroni. Get your pasta boiling according to the directions on the box. As mentioned earlier, I always add 1-2 tablespoons of salt to the water so the pasta comes out nicely seasoned. Afterward, drain off the water and place the strained pasta back over medium heat.
- Add the sauce ingredients. Now, add the (vegan) butter, cheese, soy milk, ground mustard, salt, pepper, and an egg if you’re using it. Stir the macaroni constantly until the cheese is fully melted and smooth. Take the pot off the heat and fold in the jalapeño slices.
- Fill the pan. Next, spoon the mac and cheese into the wells of a greased muffin tin. Sprinkle each mac and cheese cup with Panko and dried parsley. Lastly, give the tops a light spritz with olive oil cooking spray.
- Bake. Bake these jalapeño mac and cheese cups at 350ºF for 32-35 minutes. Allow them to cool for a few minutes afterward so the cheese can set up before serving.
Try These Mac n Cheese Variations
You can turn just about any mac and cheese recipe, vegan or not, into mac n cheese cups, vegan or not. If you feel like changing up the jalapeños in this recipe, try these other easy variation ideas.
- Buffalo mac and cheese: Add tangy Buffalo hot sauce and shredded chicken (or use your favorite plant- or soy-based “chicken” to keep it vegan).
- Pulled pork mac and cheese: Stir in leftover BBQ pulled pork.
- Keto mac and cheese: Make keto cauliflower mac and cheese cups instead.
- Macaroni and feta cheese: Swap shredded cheese for feta.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerate. Keep these mini mac and cheese bites in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. To reheat leftovers, I like to return the mac and cheese cups to a greased muffin tin and warm them in the oven that way, so they’ll keep their shape. You can also use the microwave, just make sure they don’t overheat and melt apart!
These totally look like my kind of game time snack! I love the addition of the jalapeno!
This is the most genius idea ever! I love jalapeno cheddar anything!
I love all the flavors in this mac and cheese, especially the jalapeno twist. Hhmm..Yummy!
Gahhh gimme ALL the mac ‘n’ cheese cups! I love how personal-sized these are! Not that that would stop me from eating, like 10…buuuuut that’s ok right??
Wow, I didn’t know mac and cheese could be made vegan but you certainly succeeded!