vegan mac & cheese recipe

not a fan

Once upon a time and many years ago, I'd pack my three little girls into their car seats and head to the local Stop & Shop to do our weekly grocery shopping. Happily nestled in those nifty car-themed shopping carts, I knew their first demand would be a stop at the deli counter where they would eagerly claim their free slice of cheese. As I doled them out and watched my girls cheerfully munching on those limp slices of heavily-processed "food," I just couldn't see the allure. Honestly, they looked kind of gross. And they smelled kind of gross. But unless cheese was topping a pizza, I was never a fan, so what did I know anyway?

Perhaps my strong aversion was simply my body's attempt to send me an early warning—a signal that it wasn't a fan of cheese either—long before I became full-blown lactose intolerant (it really takes the fun out of dairy, I tell ya). No matter the reason why I hated it so, cheese most definitely wasn't the thing I missed most after becoming vegan. Some of my crew, however, did miss the stuff. And on occasion, I'd find them caught up and reminiscing wistfully about a big bowl of Annie's macaroni and cheese—all soft, warm, and cheesy. I'll admit I found it a strange thing to miss, but just because I didn't "get it" doesn't mean I was going to ignore it. My motto has long been: there's a vegan version of that... somewhere. If I dig long enough and experiment hard enough.

the critical step

I'm not a fan of needless deprivation—even in the name of veganism. I followed a guru for six years and got enough of that denying myself business to last me a lifetime. So I did what I always do when confronted with a specific unfulfilled food craving and took to the good 'ol world wide web. My pattern is always the same, and I begin by scanning recipe after recipe until I find one or two that meet at least some of my requirements. From there, I do a whole lotta tweaking until things start to come together. Following the endless tweaking phase is the most critical step, the step that seals my success... or my failure: the taste test. Would it make the grade? Earn two thumbs up? Become a beloved recipe in my personal cookbook?

This vegan mac & cheese recipe didn't just pass the test—it aced it. Not only because the fam gave it two thumbs up, (honestly, they're not very hard to please), but because I did. Well, maybe I initially gave it a solid one thumb, but it has definitely become a hearty two. And for the record, it for sure made it into my cookbook. Vegan deprivation? I think not. Not on my watch anyway ♥

vegan mac & cheese recipe

Vegan Cheese Ingredients

• 1 cup diced white potato (keep the skins on!)

• ¼ cup diced carrots (also, keep the skins on!)

• ¾ cup water

• ½ cup cashews (soaked at least 1 hour)

• ¼ cup coconut milk (or other plant-based milk)

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Steam the potatoes and carrots until soft (5-10 minutes).

2. Prepare the pasta.

3. Add all of the above vegan cheese ingredients to the blender (or the food processor) and blend until smooth and creamy; warm over low heat until the pasta is done cooking.

4. Once the pasta is soft, add the cheese, mix well, and serve!

notes

I recently started mixing my "cheese" ingredients in the Vitamix, and it makes for an exceptionally smooth and creamy vegan cheese!

When warming the cheese mixture, make sure to stir it regularly. It can easily stick to the bottom and begin burning.

This makes for a fairly quick and simple dish but in order to make it protein-dense enough to be considered a meal, I always use a bean-based pasta. This brand is currently my most favorite: Chickapea. They have all different pasta shapes, some of which can sometimes be tricky for me to find. I like both the shells and the elbows for this recipe.

And that is all I have for today, my friends. Hope your day is a happy one, and I'll see you next time!

Much love,

Melinda