How Long Does It Take For Vegan Mac And Cheese To Spoil

Pasta: Elbow-shaped noodles are the classic for mac and cheese, although small shells and cavatappi or corkscrew pastas are also good choices for this vegan variation. Check the ingredient list to ensure whatever shape you choose is egg-free. Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8–10 minutes. Drain well and set aside. Melt the butter over a medium heat in a saucepan slightly larger than that used.

For many, macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. Some people cook it from scratch, but just as many choose the dry mix or a frozen package you can find in your local supermarket.

And if you go with the store-bought variety, sooner or later you will ask yourself: does mac and cheese go bad?

Even if you cook it from raw ingredients, I’m pretty sure every now and then there are leftovers. Or maybe you thought about cooking 2-meals-worth of macaroni and cheese, so you can just come home and reheat it for dinner later this week.

In this article, we talk all about mac and cheese. Both the homemade variety and the one you can buy at the store. We cover storage, shelf life, going bad, and even touch upon freezing. If you have any questions or doubts related to these topics, this article is for you.

How To Store Mac And Cheese

Let’s start with the cooked homemade (or not) mac and cheese. Once you whip up a big portion of pasta with cheese sauce, it’s time to decide what you’re going to do with the leftovers.

If you plan on eating them within a few days, the fridge is where they should go. Let the food cool down a bit, so it’s not steaming anymore, and transfer it in an airtight container and refrigerate. For the meal to retain the quality for the longest, put it in the far corner of the fridge.

If you need more than a couple of days, freeze the prepared meal.

When it comes to a boxed dry mix of mac and cheese, the pantry is where you should store it. Make sure the area is cool and dry. Like other dry mixes, such as pancake mix, it’s about all it needs. If you want to store the mix for super-long, you can put it into the freezer.

For the sake of completeness, I want to mention that obviously, you should keep frozen mac and cheese in the freezer.

How To Freeze Mac and Cheese

If you don’t expect to eat the leftovers anytime soon, or would simply prefer some flexibility in that matter, freeze them. The method is exactly the same, except you should make sure you use a freezer-safe container.

In case you were wondering about freezing cooked macaroni noodles and the sauce separately, that’s not a good idea. That’s because pasta becomes mushy once thawed. But if you whipped up more sauce than you need, it should freeze perfectly fine on its own.

When it comes to thawing, as usual, the fridge is the best option. Alternatively, you can thaw and reheat the mac and cheese on the stove, but make sure you watch it closely, so it doesn’t burn.

How Long Does Mac And Cheese Last

Once again, let’s start with the meal already cooked. If you refrigerate it, it should keep for about 3 to 5 days. How well it keeps depends on the ingredients and recipe. So if you prepare it from scratch, feel free to do some experimenting to learn how long it stays in an okay condition in the fridge. For longer storage, freeze it.

How Long Does It Take For Vegan Mac And Cheese To Spoil People

When it comes to dry mixes of macaroni and cheese, they all come with a best-by date. Usually, the suggested shelf life is between a year or two, but if you keep the mix around for a few more months, the ready meal should still turn out okay. If for any reason, you need to store the mix for a lot longer, you can freeze it.

Last but not least, frozen mac and cheese also comes with a date on the label. And since frozen food degrades in quality very slowly, you can expect the quality of the cooked dish to still be quite alright even after a few months past that date.

Please note the periods above are estimates only.

How To Tell If Mac And Cheese Has Gone Bad

When it comes to dry mix of mac and cheese, as long as moisture didn’t get into the package, it should be fine. If everything looks and smells perfectly fine, it’s okay. If there are any signs of mold, big clumps, or anything else that shouldn’t be there, discard the package.

When it comes to cooked mac and cheese, you should be able to tell if it’s spoiled by smell and sight. First off, look for any signs of mold, especially if the dish sat in the fridge for 3+ days already. If it seems okay, the good old sniff test is next in line. If the dish doesn’t smell right, throw it out. While the mac and cheese isn’t necessarily spoiled, an off odor is a sure sign something is wrong with it.

When in doubt, throw it out.

Today we are making one of my favorite comfort food dishes growing up: Vegan Mac and Cheese. It’s dairy free, gluten free and the vegan cheese sauce has a secret ingredient that makes it extra creamy without adding any nuts... Cooked cauliflower!

You can sneak in as many veggies as you like but even if you didn’t have any extra vegetables with this mac and cheese, you would still get an entire head of cauliflower – fantastic, right? It’s the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving, and I love using it as a quick dinner recipe for busy weeknights too.

How long does it take for vegan mac and cheese to spoil people

Since I’m currently experimenting with a higher fat low carb ‘ketogenic’ way of eating (and we made this video a while ago), I’ve included several ‘keto pasta alternatives’ in the tips & tricks down below.

If you’d like me to create more ‘keto’ pasta recipes that are grain-free, low in carbohydrates and higher in healthy fats, definitely leave a comment down below. I’d love to hear what your favorite pasta dishes are!

How to make Vegan Mac and Cheese Low Carb Cauliflower Cheese Sauce (Keto, Paleo, Nut Free, Gluten Free)

DIRECTIONS:

Cauliflower Cheese Sauce

  1. Cook or steam the cauliflower florets until tender. Don’t pour away the cooking liquid, you’ll need some of it for the sauce.
  2. Put the cauliflower in the blender together with the almond milk, nutritional yeast, olive oil, mustard, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Blend until smooth.

How Long Does It Take For Vegan Mac And Cheese To Spoil 2

Vegan Mac and Cheese

  1. Pre-boiling the pasta is optional so you can skip this step if you prefer your pasta ‘al dente’. Boil some water in a medium cooking pot, add a generous sprinkle of sea salt and boil the pasta for 2 to 3 minutes (no longer or the pasta will become too soft in the oven).
  2. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
  3. I like to mix the pasta with the sauce in the cooking pot and then pour the whole thing into a baking dish. If you want to, you could add extra veggies like sweet peas, cherry tomatoes, shredded kale, broccoli florets, sliced mushrooms…
  4. Top with vegan cheese shreds if you like (totally optional) and/or a generous sprinkle of nut cheese crumble (a recipe from my cookbook ‘Vegan & Raw 2’).
  5. Pop the mac and cheese in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how soft you like your pasta.

JULIE’S TIPS & TRICKS:

  • This vegan mac and cheese will stay fresh for at least 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can store leftovers in the freezer too.
  • Want to pump up the flavor and nutrient content of this vegan mac and cheese? Add extra vegetables like sweet peas, cherry tomatoes, shredded kale, broccoli florets, sliced mushrooms…
  • Want to make this cauliflower cheese sauce completely grain free and ‘keto’ approved? Replace the oat milk with unsweetened almond or coconut milk.
  • There are so many gluten free pasta alternatives on the market, made from buckwheat, quinoa, lentils, chickpeas, beans… The lentil pasta I used in the video is grain free + higher in fiber and protein than regular pasta.
  • There are several ‘keto pasta alternatives’ too.
    • The first option: kelp noodles, which are made from seaweed. They’re a great source of iodine + they don’t taste like anything so they’re perfect to combine with the vegan cheese sauce.
    • The second option: konnyaku/shirataki based ‘miracle’ noodles, which are made from the Japanese Konjac root (also called White Yam). To make the noodles, the soluble fiber is extracted from the Konjac root and mixed with water and limewater. The result: zero carb and gluten free noodles that are 97% water and 3% fiber – basically zero calorie noodles which is why they’re called ‘miracle’ noodles. I haven’t tried them yet but I definitely want to order them soon! Will keep you updated on that If you’ve tried them before, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
    • The third option: spiralized zucchini noodles. I personally prefer to serve the noodles raw so they hold their shape and nutrients. If you want the ‘full mac and cheese option’, put the vegan cheese sauce in the oven with the vegan cheese shreds and allow these to melt and brown a bit. Then you can top the raw noodles with the ‘vegan cheese gratin’ and a sprinkle of nut cheese crumble if you wish

Now I would love to hear from you!

Were you a fan of mac and cheese as a child too? What’s your go-to pasta dish right now?

Would you like me to create more ‘keto’ pasta recipes that are grain-free, low in carbohydrates and higher in healthy fats?

Definitely let me know by leaving a comment down below.

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How Long Does It Take For Vegan Mac And Cheese To Spoil Meat

PS: you can find the first vlog of our California adventures right HERE.