Vegan Mac and Cheese
Hi! Today I'm going to show you an easy recipe for making 'American macaroni', which is known in the US as mac and cheese. Of course, ours will be a vegan mac and cheese.
How many times have I seen Hollywood movies in which characters binge on or mention mac and cheese. This is a vegan (in our case) mac and cheese. In our mac and cheese recipe, we will make the cheese with vegetables. If you feel like exploring other US classics in a vegan way, try this too vegan bean burger or these sugar-free banana pancakes.
Why you will love this mac and cheese
- It's light: Precisely because the cheese for this recipe is recreated with vegetables, this vegan mac and cheese will be lighter and more digestible.
- Easy to make: Once the vegetables are cooked, simply blend them together with the other ingredients and you have your cream cheese.
- Everybody likes it: I have prepared this recipe for vegan mac and cheese for many non-vegan (or even sceptical) people and they have always enjoyed it, even serving seconds.
- It is not just a vegan first course: Although it is a 'pasta dish', you can also serve this mac and cheese as a single course as it is hearty and full of vegetables 'hidden' in the sauce.
Here are all the ingredients you'll need
- 250 g cornetti or American macaroni (pasta)
- 150 g vegan grated cheese
- 2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
- 20 g vegan bacon (optional)
- 1 tuft chives (optional)
For the vegan cheese sauce (vegan cheese)
- 1/2 violet squash
- 1 big potatoe
- 2 handfuls cashews
- 2 onions
- 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp potato starch
- 1 Tbsp mustard
- 1 Tbsp apple vinegar
- Salt & pepper to taste
Preparation (step-by-step)
1. Boil the pumpkin, potato and onions
Peel the vegetables and roughly chop them. In a large pot, boil the pumpkin, potato and onions until very soft. Drain everything and remove the water.
2. Soften the cashews
To give that creamy, cheesy texture, we use cashews. These must be softened before being blended because they will give a better creaminess. To do this, you can soak them in plenty of water the night before. For a time-saving method, you can also boil them in a saucepan with water for 10-15 minutes.
3. Cooke your pasta of choice
Cook the pasta in a saucepan, making sure to leave them quite al dente as they will then continue cooking in the oven with the rest of the sauce. Drain the pasta and place it in the oven dish.
4. Blend the sauce
Blend the pumpkin, potato and onions with all the 'sauce' ingredients in a blender until there are no more lumps. Put the sauce into the pasta already in the baking dish and stir well.
5. Add toppings and bake
Add vegan grated cheese, chives, breadcrumbs and vegan bacon on top of the mac and cheese and bake.
Mac and cheese preservation
You can store your macaroni in a refrigerator container for 3-4 days. When you heat it up make sure to add a drizzle of sugar-free vegetable milk to liven up the sauce.
Now that you have all the information to prepare this recipe, all you have to do is get to work. Have fun in the kitchen!
light Mac&Cheese
Equipment
- 1 large pot
- 1 high baking tray
Ingredients
- 250 g cornetti pasta (pasta)
- 150 g vegan grated cheese
- 2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
- 20 g vegan bacon optional
- 1 tuft chives optional
Ingredients for the sauce
- 1/2 violin pumpkin
- 1 big potato
- 2 handfuls cashew nuts
- 2 onions
- 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp potato starch
- 1 Tbsp mustard
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- as needed salt & pepper
Instructions
- Peel the violin squash and potatoes and chop roughly.
- Boil the pumpkin, potato and onions in a saucepan for 25-30 minutes or until very soft.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, boil the cashews to soften them.
- Cook the croissants in the meantime (remember to salt the water). Make sure they are al dente as they will still cook in the oven.
- Drain the potatoes and pumpkin and put them in a blender together with ALL the ingredients 'for the sauce'.
- Add the sauce to the pasta. Mix well and place everything in an oven dish.
- Sprinkle the surface with breadcrumbs, chives, veg cheese and plenty of oil. Bake for 20-25min at 200°C.
I so hope you enjoyed the recipe! See you soon
