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Mac' and Cheeze

8/23/2013

30 Comments

 

VEGAN MAC' AND CHEEZE

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I scream, you scream, we all scream for MAC' N CHEEZE!
Especially those of us with food allergies, dietary preferences, or just a healthy appreciation for health. 
It can be hard to find meals as satisfying as the ones you used to remember eating. You know, like when you were six and ate tacos for breakfast and waffles for dinner. (Okay, I'm exaggerating: I'm almost 23 and I still do that.)
But seriously- I MISS MAC' N CHEESE. Like, the super gross kind you could heat up in the plastic cups in the microwave (cancer, anyone?). But since I can't justify that awful snack, I decided to create a slightly spicy, flavorful, much healthier recreation of the old favorite. 
Loaded with secret ingredient goodies like nutritional yeast, tahini, and turmeric, its worth more than you'd expect, too. The cheezy sauce is chock full of B vitamins and anti-inflammatory power just waiting to be gobbled up!
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This dish makes me forget why I ever ate cheese in the first place. With alternatives this good, what  was I waiting for? 
The cheeze sauce is a little tangy, with just enough spice added to give you a few extra layers of flavor. Whenever I make this dish, we finish the whole pot in a day. Never any leftovers, here. 
And sometimes-maybe its the B vitamins, or maybe its that cheesy flavor- I just crave a spoonful of nutritional yeast. And though I certainly don't mind just going for it, it can be a little dry. 
This is a way better alternative.
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Did I mention this was a two step recipe? Blend, stir. Enjoy.
Seriously though, you're gonna love me for this. You're only fifteen minutes from a big, warm bowl of childhood memories...ready, GO!
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Ingredients:
12 ounces gluten-free pasta elbows
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup unsweetened milk substitute of choice (we've used hemp, almond, and walnut-all delicious!)
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons tahini
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
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Instructions:
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Gluten-free pasta, especially when brown rice based, tends to absorb more water than normal, so be sure to add extra water to the pot before boiling; it usually takes a few extra minutes for GF pasta to reach the al dente stage, too. And be sure to add a little salt to the water before boiling- it flavors the pasta.
As pasta cooks, combine the raw cashews and nut milk in a blender or food processor. I never soak mine before hand- I prefer the slightly thicker sauce that results from not soaking them in this recipe.
Once combined, add the rest of the ingredients. Yup, all of 'em. 
(Told you this recipe was easy!)
Blend until combined. Set aside.
Once pasta is al dente (literally meaning "to the bite"; leave a little texture in that pasta! Don't boil it into mushy submission.), strain, rinse, and put it back into the pot. Pour in the cheeze sauce, using a wooden spoon to gently toss and coat the pasta.
Turn the burner back onto low and continue to cook the pasta and cheeze sauce together about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens to the noodles.
Serve with a garnish of fresh basil or cilantro, avocado, or a little hot sauce for the best grown-up vegan mac' n cheeze you can imagine.
To reheat, simply warm the pasta in a pan with a little non-dairy milk, stirring 'til creamy.
Saves well in a refrigerated space for about a week.
print recipe
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30 Comments
Rob Brownson
8/26/2013 07:29:56 am

Reply
Rob Brownson Rob@InsightOptions link
8/26/2013 07:33:04 am

Any suggestion for an alternative to cashews? I am tree nut sensitive.

Reply
Amber link
8/29/2013 10:12:12 am

Hi Rob! Try using hemp seeds, sunflower seeds (without shell) or even steamed cauliflower. All should work interchangeably, though with the veggie option you may want a little less milk. Let me know how it works out with your substitution!

Bernie
4/21/2015 11:56:27 pm

Don't rinse your pasta - ideally you should use a straining spoon to scoop it directly into your sauce. By rinsing the pasta after cooking you are washing off starch that can further thicken your sauce and cooling off your pasta so it doesn't absorb any of your yummy sauce. Check out Lydia Bastianich for technique (she's not vegan).

Reply
Jennifer
9/8/2013 11:44:01 pm

I found this recipe on finding vegan, and it's one of the first I've seen that doesn't use mustard (I'm sensitive to it). I'll have to try this soon.

Reply
Natalie link
9/10/2013 12:49:31 pm

Mine turned out really super dry- like, not creamy but more, chunky. Could I have added some more almond milk to the mixture to help it?

Reply
AMber link
9/10/2013 09:56:33 pm

Hi Natalie! Thats weird. When exactly did it turn chunky? If the sauce was well blended and creamy, then I suspect you just need to add more milk, yes. If the sauce was chunky at all, it wasn't blended well enough. If the chunkiness happened after you stirred the sauce into the pasta, I would add to make sure that you didn't overcook it once the cheeze sauce was added- just a minute to thicken it up. Hope that helps!

Reply
Rob Brownson
9/23/2013 11:53:38 pm

I used raw sunflower seeds as an alternative to cashews and it was great. The children said they would most definitely have this again.

Reply
Flash Gordonette link
10/3/2013 04:53:52 am

Oh my goodness, just had this for my tea and it was AMAZING!!!! I had some breadcrumbs leftover from some vegan fishcakes that I made, so I sprinkled them over the top of my serving and grilled it before chowing down with some broccoli and cauli on the side. Feeling very full and content right now :D THANK YOU! (I may just have to mention this recipe on my blog - it would be rude not to share the cheezy love♥)

Reply
Amber link
10/11/2013 05:26:01 am

Your add ins sound DELICIOUS! I'm so happy you've enjoyed the recipe, and please share-just link back to us, please! :)

Reply
Flash Gordonette link
11/20/2013 03:46:30 pm

http://flash-gordonette.com/2013/10/03/3-vegan-mac-and-cheeze.aspx

:)

Sid
2/15/2014 04:18:46 am

Just chowing down a couple of big bowls of this... it's fantastic!

Reply
Courtney
3/6/2014 07:34:23 am

Wow, thanks for another great recipe Amber!! My husband, who loves the icky kind of mac & cheese, really liked it too! I particularly liked the addition of the smoked paprika- I even sprinkled a little more on top of mine. :) I love it! Yum!

Reply
Kerri
3/19/2014 08:35:24 am

OK, so I am fairly new to the whole vegan recipes thing but this was a disaster for me! The smell of the sauce alone made my kids gag, and my daughter will eat almost anything. It was bland and had a "burnt" taste to it. This was my first time using nutritional yeast...is it supposed to smell so awful? Help! I'm never get my kids to eat plant based if I can't make them things that taste as good as their usual favorites...

Reply
Amber link
3/20/2014 01:23:12 am

Hi Kerri! So obviously, this is alarming. My greatest concern is that you may have used BREWERS YEAST instead of NUTRITIONAL YEAST. They are similar in color, texture, and form- but NOT flavor. While nutritional yeast has a mild, cheesy flavor, brewers yeast has a bitter, almost rancid flavor that a lot of people can't stomach. If you DID however use nutritional yeast when making the recipe, then I guess I can only surmise that either your nutritional yeast had gone bad (which has never, ever happened to me- and I've had one jar for two years) or that maybe your family just hates the flavor. However, this recipe is usually really well received, so I want to make sure we figure it out. Check the label on your yeast and if it is nutritional yeast, shoot me an email at amber@fettlevegan.com and we'll see if we can figure out the issue. I want your kids to have an enjoyable transition to a plant-based diet, too!

Reply
Kerri
3/20/2014 02:39:53 am

Thanks for the reply...definitely nutritional yeast. I purchased it from the bulk bins at my brand new Publix. I was totally excited that they had it and I didn't have to make an extra trip to Whole Foods. The smell of it was really strong...strong enough to stink up my entire kitchen until I put it in a sealed container vs. Just the plastic baggie...it's the first time I've purchased it so I have no experience with it but it definitely didn't go over well...I'm going to try again with some from Whole Foods. I really need a mac n cheese option and a pizza option that my kids will actually eat!

Amber link
3/20/2014 01:39:22 pm

I hate to doubt the store where you purchased because it may very well be that this recipe is not for you, HOWEVER- it concerns me that the yeast was that stinky. Nutritional yeast (which I'll call nooch from now on) is very, very mild and not a strong smelling yeast. Brewers yeast looks almost identical and smells strongly of sourness or like stinky cheese. I wonder if the store has the two confused? If not, try another brand before giving up. I've never had an issue with the recipe and feel really badly you're not enjoying it. Again, feel free to email me, but otherwise BEST OF LUCK!

Reply
Emily
4/6/2014 05:00:52 am

hi, where I live its extreamally hard to get hold of nutritional yeast, is it essential for the recipe

Reply
Amber link
4/6/2014 05:09:30 am

Hi Emily! Unfortunately, Nutritional Yeast is rpetty important here. I haven't found anything that mimics that cheezy flavor quite like it, and I'm afraid if you left it out the recipe would be rather bland. However, it's usually sold cheaply online from places like veganessentials.com or amazon, who can deliver straight to you. Hope that helps!

Reply
Summer
5/19/2014 06:13:30 am

The cheezy sauce goes well over tofu scramble in a burrito, giving it a bit of a eggish cheezy breakfast burrito taste

Reply
Jason
12/6/2014 12:10:27 am

My garlic cloves must have been too big, I doubled the batch and held out the garlic on the second one and combined them. Very good recipe!

Reply
Froggie
2/21/2015 01:42:30 pm

I am new to the vegan scene and this is amazing! Thanks for sharing! My oldest daughter is lactose intolerant and she LOVED this! Making this regularly now! Thank you!

Reply
Erica
4/25/2015 04:26:37 pm

This sounds so delicious!! Mac and cheese is one of the things I actually miss from my non-vegan days.

Reply
Veronika
11/11/2015 05:51:30 am

Hi there,just wanted to let you know how amazingly delicious this recipe turned out for me!
I had no lemons instead I used some freshly squeezed orange juice which worked like a charm.:)

Reply
Joan link
12/17/2015 11:46:00 am

I take it that there is no actual cheese in this recipe?

Reply
Amber
12/17/2015 11:58:59 am

Hi! Did you read the recipe? There is no cheese, just a non-dairy 'cheeze' sauce.

Reply
Marie
3/3/2016 05:59:31 pm

I just made this and it is delicious! I put less nutritional yeast (cause I had less then a quarter cup left) and added a roasted red pepper and some fennel seeds and it is so yummy!

Reply
Kelly
9/22/2016 04:11:24 pm

Is there a sub for the lemon juice? I just got home and realized I forgot the lemon. I have a lime, an orange, olive oil..?

Reply
Amber
9/22/2016 04:13:05 pm

Try lime! The lemon is there for flavor + acidity. If not lime, maybe a bit of miso?

Reply
Kelly
9/22/2016 04:26:06 pm

Perfect! Thanks for the quick response!




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