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!
