Vegan tom yum mac and cheese is the perfect balance of umami, sour, salty, spicy, and sweet flavors, with a nice crunch from the plant-based crispy pork and cilantro to balance out the soft, soothing texture of the macaroni and cheese sauce. I love regular vegan mac and cheese, but this combination takes it to another level!

(Note: I don’t measure things, so some measurements are not precise. Just go with your intuition.)

Ingredients

• 500 ml of unsweetened, ethically sourced coconut milk (The more fat content, the better the flavor. This goes for any Thai dish you make that contains coconut milk. I like Nature’s Charm Evaporated Coconut Milk.)
• 30 grams of vegan tom yum paste
• 500 grams of either small shell or elbow macaroni pasta
• 3-5 tablespoons of nutritional yeast (Depends on your preference, I like a lot of nooch.)
• 1-3 tablespoons of corn starch (You might need more or less, depending on what kind of coconut milk you use. A higher fat content means you need less corn starch. Start with 1 tablespoon and add more if you need a thicker sauce. Remember to give it a minute or so to cook because it might start out looking watery, but it will thicken up quickly once it’s heated more.)
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 4-5 small shallots, finely chopped (You want a small handful.)
• Enough extra virgin olive oil to coat the pan and sauté the onions, garlic, and vegan pork if you’re adding some.
• Freshly chopped cilantro for garnish
• 1 lime, cut into quarters (It has to be a lime. Lemons have a different flavor.)
• Optional: Crispy vegan pork (I hate calling it pork, but it’s what it’s called because it has a specific kind of texture and consistency) to sprinkle on top. There’s a plant-based brand called Meat Zero that sells it, but if you aren’t in Thailand, you can try this awesome recipe from erinphamvn2uk on TikTok. If you can’t make it or buy it, this dish is still awesome without it.

The tom yum paste is already packed with spice and flavor, so you don’t need any additional seasonings, not even salt, especially since the nutritional yeast will add a bit of saltiness as well as cheesiness to the dish. If you want to make it extra spicy, you can add freshly chopped Thai chilis or chili powder on top when you’re ready to serve it.

Directions:

1. If you’re adding vegan pork, cook it first. Make sure it’s crispy on all sides and cut into small squares.
2. Boil the pasta according to the directions on the package because it will take longer to cook than the sauce.
3. As the pasta is boiling, sauté the chopped shallots in a pan with olive oil until they’re mostly soft and a little translucent, then add in the chopped garlic and continue to sauté until everything is cooked.
4. Add the coconut milk, tom yum paste, juice from half a lime, and nutritional yeast. Stir until the tom yum paste has fully dissolved.
5. Cook for about 4 minutes, then add the cooked pasta and mix it. Cover the pan and cook for another 1 minute.
6. Serve and garnish with vegan pork, fresh cilantro, and two quartered limes. If you want extra crunchiness and have extra shallots leftover, you can add a little bit of raw chopped shallots on top, too.

This recipe makes 4-6 servings. I like to reheat it in the toaster oven since I would need to add more oil if I reheat it in the pan, and I like that parts of it get crispy in the oven. It won’t get fully crispy on top the way that other mac n cheese recipes will, but it still tastes good.

I spent only ฿255 ($8.20) to make this dish, not including the nooch or olive oil, since I had those ingredients already.

Let me know if you make this dish. It tastes incredible, and I love that I don’t need to blend anything or buy expensive vegan cheese to make it.

You can read about the lore behind this dish at The Future is Vegan.