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Tag: mac and cheese

  • Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese

    Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese

         

    Who doesn’t love mac and cheese?!  Growing up, I pretty much lived off of things with cheese like grilled cheese, or mac and cheese.  Not that I was picky or anything, but I just loved them so much and would ask my parents if I could have them often.  I can still enjoy mac and cheese now as an adult, even if I am vegan, because making vegan mac and cheese that tastes delicious actually isn’t difficult at all!  I have perfected my own cheese sauce recipe that is to my liking, and it is even good on potatoes if you are not in the mood for pasta. Or even poured over steamed broccoli, like my Grandma used to do. Except she used Cheese Whiz.  But I thought it was the greatest thing ever when I was little. Which got me to thinking, why not just put broccoli in my mac and cheese?!  

    So I made some broccoli mac last week.  I had some lentil based fusilli pasta on hand, so it was perfect!  I know lentil pasta might sound a little weird, but it is actually quite delicious and tastes pretty much like regular pasta but much higher in protein so it is a complete meal.  For my cheese sauce, I use a mostly veggie base. I have seen other people use a combination of potatoes and carrots, and I have tried that one, but it isn’t my favorite. I use roasted sweet potatoes for the bulk of my base. 

    You can use orange or white fleshed variety, but I used the white. I just like their flavor slightly better in mac and cheese. I used a little Dastony raw cashew butter from Raw Guru along with it, just enough to make it creamy. I find that some mac and cheeses that use only cashews as their base can get a little too heavy and I don’t digest them well.  This sauce is creamy, rich tasting and sooo good!  I have even added some chipotle to it to make a nacho cheese sauce and that is delicious as well. 

    I just threw some broccoli into the pot about 2 minutes before the pasta was done cooking and it was tender and cooked just right!  This mac and cheese turned out bomb!  If you think you can’t have delicious mac and cheese as a vegan, give this one a try, I think it will change your mind! 

    Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese

    Serves 4

    Ingredients:

    • 2 cups mashed cooked sweet potato* (the white fleshed variety)
    • 1 cup hot filtered water (or as needed)
    • 1/3 cup Dastony raw cashew butter
    • 1 medium garlic clove
    • 2 tsp stone ground mustard
    • 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp white miso (optional)
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 3/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
    • 16 oz organic lentil pasta
    • 1 large head organic broccoli, cut into florettes and stem peeled and cut into small pieces

     

    Instructions:

    1. Combine the sweet potato, water, cashew butter, garlic, mustard, vinegar, yeast, and sea salt in a high speed blender and blend until smooth and the consistency of cheese (if it is too thick add a little more water).  Set aside.
    2. Cook pasta according to package directions, and when there is 3 minutes left, add the broccoli and cook until it is bright green and tender.  Drain, the pasta and the broccoli then place back in the pot, add the cheese and and stir to coat.
    3. Pour into a serving dish, and serve!

    *To cook the sweet potatoes, I like to roast them in the oven.  Take a large sweet potato, poke a few holes in it, and cut in half lengthwise.  Place cut side down on a sheet pan lined with parchment and bake for about an hour at 400F degrees or until tender.  Remove from oven and let cool before mashing.

  • Vegan Caramelized Onion Mac and Cheese

    Vegan Caramelized Onion Mac and Cheese

    As I was chopping some super strong onions at work and trying not to cry as my eyes burned I began to think about how it is funny you never become immune to them, even when you are someone like me who chops them just about every day. I also started to think about how good caramelized onion dip, or french onion dip is and how good those flavors would be in a mac and cheese. So, I decided that I needed to make some vegan mac and cheese when I got home.

    It was perfect! I already had onions, elbow macaroni and my secret sauce ingredient on hand. Oooh sounds exciting doesn’t it? But really my secret ingredient is just white fleshed sweet potatoes, or Japanese sweet potatoes. They have a more mellow flavor than the orange variety and they are perfect for blending up in things to get some extra veggies in them without anyone noticing. The thing that always bothered me about traditional mac and cheese was that there weren’t enough veggies in it.

    Well, I have fixed that with my mac and cheese recipes. The sauce for this is just a little bit of nut butter and mostly veggies. Honestly, this comes together in about 30 minutes too and is easier to make than any dairy mac and cheese I made from scratch back in the day. For this one I caramelized onions until they were golden brown, then combined them with the already delicious mac and cheese.

    The sauce has a few ingredients that may sound odd to you, like miso, white balsamic vinegar, stone ground mustard and nutritional yeast, but trust me on this one, they give it that amazing cheesy flavor! This is sooo good! The sauce is rich and flavorful almost like a mellow white cheddar, and the sweet caramelized onions are the perfect pairing with it! If you are in the mood for some somewhat healthy comfort food, give this a try!

    Vegan Caramelized Onion Mac and Cheese
    Serves 4

    Ingredients:

    • 1 large sweet yellow onion, sliced thinly
    • 2 tsp avocado oil
    • 2 cups mashed cooked sweet potato* (the white fleshed variety)
    • 1 cup hot filtered water (or as needed)
    • 1/3 cup raw cashew butter
    • 1 medium garlic clove
    • 2 tsp stone ground mustard
    • 1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp white miso (optional)
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 3/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
    • 16 oz organic gluten free elbow pasta

    Instructions:

    1. Heat a pan over medium heat, and add the onion and oil. Cook, stirring often until the onion caramelizes, about 15 minutes. You may need to add a splash of water now and then to prevent it from sticking on the bottom. Remove from heat once golden brown and tender. Set aside.
    2. Next, combine the sweet potato, water, cashew butter, garlic, mustard, vinegar, yeast, and sea salt in a high speed blender and blend until smooth and the consistency of cheese (if it is too thick add a little more water).  Set aside.
    3. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, then place back in the pot, add the cheese and onions, and stir to coat.  Pour into a serving dish, and serve!

    *To cook the sweet potatoes, I like to roast them in the oven.  Take a large sweet potato, poke a few holes in it, and cut in half lengthwise.  Place cut side down on a sheet pan lined with parchment and bake for about an hour at 400F degrees or until tender.  Remove from oven and let cool before mashing.

  • Thai Red Curry Vegan Mac and Cheese

    Thai Red Curry Vegan Mac and Cheese

    When Eric and I were at Twin Cities Veg Fest last Sunday, the Herbivorous Butcher food truck had some Thai Red Curry Mac and Cheese that sounded good, but we didn’t get any because we had already spent our money.  It sounded good really though, good enough to inspire me to make my own at home.  I loved mac and cheese growing up, but after a while when I got older and started learning more about nutrition I realized that it really wasn’t that good for me.  So I didn’t eat any for a really long time.  That is until I became vegan.  I couldn’t justify to myself eating that much cheese and refined flour (from the noodles) and no vegetables for dinner.  I guess I tended to go more unhealthy in the form of dessert if I wanted to indulge back then. But when I became vegan I discovered making mac and cheese with healthy things that I wanted to put into my body that would make it feel good.  The mac and cheese that I make now is loaded with veggies in the sauce!  Now don’t let that deter you, you don’t really notice that it is there, it just tastes good.  In fact, I pretty much nailed the mac and cheese my Mom made out of a box when I was little.  Yes, I liked that box stuff.  My secret ingredient for the sauce?  Sweet potatoes! Or sometimes butternut squash too!

    I always have sweet potatoes on hand anyhow, so I thought one day, why not use them to make a cheese sauce?  I had seen other people make it with potatoes and carrots and I have tried that and it wasn’t my favorite but the sweet potatoes are perfect! I didn’t want a completely fat free sauce because I still wanted the rich mouthfeel of actual cheese for my mac and cheese, so I added in some raw cashew butter.  That combo was a winner!  Of course I add in other seasonings as well, some of which may sound odd like the vinegar, miso and nutritional yeast, but just trust me on this one, it is delicious!  I made this batch with plenty of Thai red curry paste, and a bit of cayenne for a little kick, plus some green onions and red bell pepper for color.  The sauce was super delicious, like cheese but it didn’t leave me feeling heavy or yucky after eating it.  Probably because I was getting a serving of veggies instead of just cheese like in non vegan mac and cheese.

    For the pasta I actually used a gluten free elbow pasta made from quinoa and brown rice.  It actually tastes just like traditional pasta too!  If you are looking for a healthier mac and cheese packed with flavor, give this one a try!  It is actually really quick and easy to make too so perfect for a weeknight when you are in need of some comfort food!

    Thai Red Curry Vegan Mac and Cheese 
    Serves 4

    Ingredients:

    • 2 1/2 cups mashed sweet potato*
    • 1 cup hot filtered water (or as needed)
    • 1/2 cup raw cashew butter
    • 2 medium garlic cloves
    • 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
    • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp white miso (optional)
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
    • 3/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
    • 16 oz organic gluten free elbow pasta
    • 1 red bell pepper, cut into small dice
    • 2 green onions, thinly sliced

     

    Instructions:

    1. Combine the sweet potato, water, cashew butter, garlic, Thai red curry paste, cider vinegar, miso, yeast, cayenne, and sea salt in a high speed blender and blend until smooth and the consistency of cheese (if it is too thick add a little more water).  Set aside.
    2. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, then place back in the pot, add the cheese, red peppers and green onions, and stir to coat.  Pour into a serving dish, and serve!

    *To cook the sweet potatoes, I like to roast them in the oven.  Take a large sweet potato, poke a few holes in it, and cut in half lengthwise.  Place cut side down on a sheet pan lined with parchment and bake for about an hour at 400F degrees or until tender.  Remove from oven and let cool before mashing.

  • Vegan Garlic White Cheddar “Bacon” Mac and Cheese

    Vegan Garlic White Cheddar “Bacon” Mac and Cheese

    Two of the biggest excuses that people use for not going vegan, or eating plant based are…cheese, and bacon.  “But I could never go without my cheese!” that was me when I was vegetarian.  “But bacon is so good!” I hear everyone say when I tell them that I am vegan.  Well, guess what?  I would rather not be killing pigs just because it is good, or contributing to the torture of cows just because of cheese.  I didn’t even know how bad the dairy industry was back when I was vegetarian, but if I did, I would have gladly given up cheese.  Guess what?  You don’t have to go without cheese and bacon on a vegan diet, I soon learned after deciding to be vegan.  There is delicious vegan cheese out there, and I don’t even miss real dairy cheese.  And I have discovered coconut bacon.  It has all of the crunch, saltiness, smokiness and flavor of real bacon, and is the closest thing I have had to the real thing.  Trust me, growing up I loved bacon, because I didn’t put two and two together about where it came from.  But what I loved was the flavor and texture, so I can get all that from coconut bacon.  Not only that, it is pretty easy to make.  And, even though I am vegan I can enjoy delicious vegan bacon mac and cheese.

    Which is exactly what I decided to make last week, and I thought you might be craving something similar so I am sharing the recipe with you all. I had made a Vegan Garlic White Cheddar  recently, and decided to use half for mac and cheese.  The texture was creamy and rich, and I knew it would easily melt into a perfect cheese sauce. I had some organic pea pasta that I wanted to try out too and I was excited about.  I am loving all of these gluten free bean based pastas on the market now.  It is awesome that they have protein, so you don’t need to add extra to your pasta dishes.  Not only that, most of the ones I have tried taste just as good as traditional pasta if not better!  This one smelled a little like peas while it was cooking, but it didn’t end up tasting like peas at all.  It made the mac and cheese a lovely green color!

    This is super simple to make if you have the cheese and bacon already made.  I like to make a big batch of coconut bacon ahead of time, and keep it in a container in the refrigerator for topping salads and popcorn and whatnot.  As far as the cheese goes, I usually make a batch, then save half cut up in the freezer for when I need it for dishes like this.  All you have to do is whisk a bit of the hot pasta water into the cheese and you have a silky delicious sauce!  This turned out so good!  Once the crunchy coconut bacon and savory scallions were stirred in it was crave worthy!  Next time you are hard core craving comfort food, give this a try!

    Vegan Garlic White Cheddar “Bacon” Mac and Cheese

    serves 2-3

    Ingredients:

     

    Instructions:

    1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook for about 8 minutes or until the pasta is cooked to your liking.
    2. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the water.  Add the cheese and sea salt to the pot with 1/4 cup of the reserved water, and whisk until smooth, adding more water as needed until it is a sauce like consistency.  Add the pasta, 3/4 cup of the bacon and most of the scallions.  Stir to coat the pasta.
    3. Remove to a serving plate, sprinkle with the remaining coconut bacon and scallions, and serve!