So this is a dish I have worked on a lot. When I first was considering becoming vegan the thought of giving up cheese was killing me. It came down to a sort of all or nothing with macaroni and cheese. I said if vegan macaroni and cheese can taste good and satisfy cheese craving when needed, I can do this vegan thing. Well as it turns out I rarely, if ever, crave cheese anymore. But I do like this dish here and there.
Also, disclaimer, I really only post food items that I find interesting in some way. Often they aren’t representative of how I eat everyday. For instance, I don’t survive on substitutes and fakes generally. I also eat much healthier than even this vegan mac and cheese regularly. Most of my meals are simple and very healthy. That being said, other than some saturated fat from coconut milk, this is pretty dang healthy. And Tasty!
I made this recipe out of 3 separate recipes from a few cookbooks. It is ideal mac and cheese to me! You really have to have a strong blender like a vita mix to get that cheese sauce consistency. I guess you could probably substitute the cashews for unsalted cashew butter and put this all in a regular blender with pretty good results. But don’t quote me on that because I have never done it.
Also I always make this with whole wheat noodles and add veggies but if you want that true artery blocking fatty baked macaroni feeling you could use white noodles, more sauce to noodles ratio, and no veggies. You can also add more of the pimentos, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast if you want a more sharp cheddar taste. This recipe works out to be a smooth mild cheese. I think it is pretty tasty as is and pretty close to how I remember mac and cheese to be!
So with no further adieu here is the recipe (followed by the process in pictures:)
1) Cook up some noodles. Somewhere between 13-16 oz of noodles (depending on the ratio to sauce you want or if you are adding veggies.)
2) Drain noodles and set aside.
3) Blend the following in a strong blender. Let it blend for a minute or so to really distribute the agar agar/ cornstarch and let the thickening start a bit:
1 can coconut milk
3.25 C water
.25 C + 1 TBSP Nutritional Yeast Flakes (these are amazing)- use less if you buy the NYF that are ground down to a powder instead of a flake
3.5 teas salt
1.5 C raw unsalted cashew pieces
.25 C + 2 TBSP pimentos (these come in a little jar, they are red, they are probably near the Italian section with the capers…)
4 TBSP lemon juice (fresh is best)
.25 C Cornstarch
1.5 teas onion powder
.25 teas garlic powder
3 TBSP agar flakes (or 3 teaspoons agar powder)
4) Pour the drained noodles into a pot on the stove and add the blended cheese sauce and any veggies you might be adding.
5) On medium heat, constantly stir and wait for thickening. It may take a minute or two to start, but it will quickly thicken once it starts so pay attention.
6) When it looks good to you it is done. It will continue to thicken a bit as it cools- like regular mac and cheese.
7) Eat it up!
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