Vegan Mac and Cheese

Vegan Mac and Cheese

I stumbled across this recipe a few months ago and I am really happy I did.  The recipe is for a dry cheese sauce mix you make in your blender or food processor and you store the mix in your refrigerator so it’s ready when you want to make a vegan version of Mac and Cheese.  To make the Mac and Cheese, you add 1/3 cup of the dry mix to 1 cup of plant-based milk and you warm it in a skillet.  Once thickened, you add in cooked pasta and stir it all to combine.  It’s a super easy recipe and I think it’s just delicious.  The recipe claims to be like boxed Mac and Cheese that many of us grew up having, but I don’t really think that is true.  But I really enjoy this dish.  I like to top my Mac and Cheese with hemp hearts and vegan Parmesan cheese.  I’ll post the vegan Parmesan cheese recipe below as well.  When I make this recipe, I always make up some mixed vegetables that I almost always have in the freezer.

As always, I tweak recipes a bit based upon ingredients I have or don’t have.  The cheese sauce mix recipe calls for tapioca flour but I substitute an equal amount of arrowroot powder.  Also, the cheese sauce mix calls for oat flour and I used an equal amount of instant/quick cooking oats.  Below you will see instructions for how to make the cheese sauce into Mac and Cheese.  The recipe calls for 1 cup of pasta.  I think I use slightly more than that (I make three servings of pasta which is about 165 grams of pasta and I use 1/3 cup of the Cheese Sauce Mix and 1 cup of almond milk).

Here is the link for the Cheese Sauce Mix.

https://www.vegkitchen.com/well-crafted-vegan-macaroni-and-cheese-mix/

Mac and Cheese Sauce Mix Recipe

Here's a healthy vegan alternative to the kind of mac and cheese mix that comes in a box. This one's based on cashews, nutritional yeast, and seasonings.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cashews
• ¾ cup nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup oat flour
• ¼ cup tapioca flour
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon organic sugar
• 2 teaspoons powdered mustard
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons onion powder

Instructions

1. Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and process until a powder is formed. There should not be any discernible chunks or large granules of cashews, so this may take 3 to 4 minutes of processing.
2. Store this in a jar or portion out into 1⁄3-cup increments and put in ziplock bags and store in the pantry for a month or two or in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

How to use this mix
Cook 1 cup of dry macaroni according to package instructions and drain. Combine 1⁄3 cup mix with 1 cup water or unsweetened nondairy milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk well and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute, then toss with hot cooked macaroni.

This mix is also a great answer for turning yesterday’s leftovers into a quick casserole. Just combine leftover pasta, potatoes, or grains, some veggies, and any other odd scraps you think might be a good fit and mix it in a casserole dish with some of the cheese mix and water.

You can add additional spices and herbs if you wish. Then bake it all up into creamy goodness. You can also use the mix to make quick sauces for veggies or add it to soups for extra cheesy flavor and richness—it’s quite versatile.

Here is the link for the Vegan Parmesan Cheese

 https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-parmesan-cheese/

Vegan Parmesan Cheese Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup (150g) Raw Cashews*
• 1/4 cup (15g) Nutritional Yeast Flakes
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 3/4 tsp Sea Salt

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add the ingredients to the food processor and pulse it on the S blade until it reaches a fine consistency.
2. Keep it in a sealable jar in the refrigerator where it will keep for weeks!
3. Sprinkle it on pastas, pizzas, casseroles, salads and anywhere else you can possibly think of!