Vegan Mac N’ Cheese

Who doesn’t love a creamy, savoury dish?  Almost each one of us has grown to love a good homemade Mac N’ Cheese… I know I definitely have!  As a child growing up, I remember having many different variations of it! I knew that after going vegan I had to recreate my comfort food.  It took many trial and errors before coming to my all-time favourite VEGAN MAC N’ CHEESE! It’s better than the traditional mac N cheese from what I remember.  Even my meat-eating friends enjoy it, including my boyfriend who happens to be a bit of a picky eater! Knowing that my boyfriend enjoys my vegan mac N cheese, definitely encourages me to continue making vegan variations of traditional foods, and turning them into a healthy alternative!

So, you’re probably wondering what the recipe is for this creamy non-dairy mac N’ cheese, or you’re curious to how in the world something can look so freakin’ creamy without the use of animal-based products!  So, I will share my all-time favourite recipe with you! It’s honestly so easy, so delicious, and so comforting, that you’ll be wondering why in the world you haven’t ever given it a try.

Vegan Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Macaroni Noodles or Noodles of Choice (Use chickpea noodles for a protein boost)
• 1/4 Cup Diced Yellow Onion (Sauteed)
• 1 Garlic Clove (Sauteed)
• 1/4 Cup Diced Carrots (Boiled & Mashed)
• 1/2 Sweet Potato or Yam (Boiled & Mashed)
• 1/3 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 2 ½  TBSP Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Cup Raw Cashews (Soaked Overnight)
• 1/4  Cup Hemp Seeds
• 3 TBSP Nutritional Yeast
• 1-2 TBSP Vegetable Stock Powder
• 1/2 – 1 TBSP Garlic Powder
• 1/2 – 1 TBSP Onion Powder
• 1 TBSP Turmeric
• 1 TSP Curry Powder
• 1/2 TSP Cayenne Pepper
• Himalayan Kelp Salt ** To taste

Steps

• Cook the macaroni until al dente (Follow Package Instructions)

• Boil or Steam the carrots & sweet potato until soft enough to mash

• Let cool for about 10 minutes
• Sautee the onion & garlic in either coconut oil or vegetable broth
• Add the lemon juice, almond milk, cashews & hemp seeds in a high-speed blender or food processor… I use either a vitamix or a ninja (both work well for me). Blend until smooth
• Add the mashed carrots, sweet potato, sauteed onion & garlic, nutritional yeast, vegetable stock, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, curry powder, cayenne pepper, & salt. Blend well until it resembles a cheese sauce
• Toss the sauce over the hot noodles and serve right away or you can place the mac N cheese in a baking dish and turn the oven on 350 degrees and sprinkle paprika and vegan bacon bits on top and bake for 10 – 15 minutes then serve for a more fancy approach

Variations

• Add stewed tomatoes, vegan sausage, and broccoli.

• Add spinach to the cheese sauce for some extra greens.

• Mix in spinach before tossing into the oven.

• Top with smokey sauteed tofu.

• Add some vegan cheese to make it extra cheesier (Less healthy but more cheesy)

Enjoy!