The Freezer Meal Frenzy staff really can’t overstate our love for mac & cheese. We’ll eat this dish in any form, whether it’s gluten-free, baked in a pie, or completely free of a key ingredient like cheese. The Trader Joe’s Vegan Mac isn’t the first vegan mac & cheese dish we’ve tried, but we’re still excited to check this one out.
While we transferred our mac into a nice big bowl, this dish can actually be cooked in the little plastic container that it comes in. Take off the lid, pop a few holes in the plastic film, and you’re ready to rock! This does need to be stirred every minute or so that all of your pasta can be heated through.
We weren’t expecting a classic macaroni and cheese dish, but we were still surprised when we bit into this dish. The sauce isn’t exactly cheesy, but it’s incredibly creamy. We’d use the word “buttery” to describe it, but this vegan dish is butter-free (no, not the Pokémon).
The sauce is also much spicier than we expected. It’s nothing that will have you gasping for water, but there’s some heat to the dish. A quick look at the ingredients list reveals that the sauce is seasoned with cayenne pepper, which sounds right to us.
We were also surprised by just how filling this is. Usually, when Trader Joe’s claim that a small package of food contains two servings, we roll our eyes, but our reviewer was stuffed after eating about half the package. Even if you eat this vegan mac without any sides, you’ll have a pretty filling meal. Serve it as a side dish, and you could probably get three servings out of a single container.
The Trader Joe’s Vegan Mac is nothing like we expected, but it’s a pleasant surprise. This is a creamy, spicy pasta dish that doesn’t taste like it’s vegan at all. Even though it doesn’t really taste like a proper mac and cheese dish, we think it’s decadent enough to satisfy your cheesy cravings.
To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for this dish of vegan-friendly mac and cheese, check out our package photos below.
