Vegan Mac and Cheese – 3 Ways!!!

Everyone loves macaroni and cheese! Kids love it, adults love it, grandparents love it! Let’s face it, we all love it! Vegan mac and cheese was one of the first vegan recipes I served my husband before he became vegetarian/vegan. He loved it and couldn’t believe it had no regular cheese in it.

Since then, I’ve discovered two other recipes that are just as good, if not better. They all have different names and different ingredients and different tastes.

Let me know which one your family loves the most!

In this blog I am going to share all three great Vegan Mac and Cheese recipes with you!

• Mac and Not Cheese
• Cashew Cheese and Mac
• Creamy Veggie Mac and Cheese (My husband’s favourite)

Excited? Me too……

Vegan Mac and Cheese

This not cheese sauce is so yummy! You can use it on pasta straight from the pot, or bake with your cooked pasta in the oven, or eat the sauce on crackers, toast, dip your bread or veggies in it, its that good. I make double the recipe, so I can have leftover sauce to do what ever I want with the next day. Everyone loves it and it goes fast!

What you’ll need:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 c cashews (soaked in water for 2 hours, rinsed and drained)
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 1 1/3 c water
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 4-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained
• 3 T nutritional yeast
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t onion powder
• Pasta of your choice (cook as per the package, do not overcook)

Method for Mac and Not Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. (if you are going to bake in the oven)
2. Sauté the onion on medium heat in a nonstick skillet for 5 minutes, until translucent.
3. In a food processor, combine the onion, cashews, lemon juice, water, and salt.
4. Gradually blend in the roasted red peppers, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and onion powder.

5. 

   At this point you can decide what you want to do with this awesome sauce. For this round we made a batch and cooked our pasta and put the sauce right on and ate it all up. We had leftover sauce and boy did everyone eat it up that

   

   up too. We dipped into it with bread, put in on crackers, grilled it on toast. Delish!  

6. If you want to bake it in the oven….thoroughly toss the sauce with the pasta cooked el dente and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

Serve with a salad and enjoy!

Cashew Mac and Cheese

You can use this cheese for everything from pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, lasagne, spread for crackers! This sauce could also be used to make your dehydrated Kale Chips. So delicious!

This is very similar to the first recipe, those small changes make a difference in taste. The first recipe has roasted red peppers, and this recipe has fresh red pepper.

What you’ll need for Cashew Mac and Cheese:

• 

  1 1/2 c raw cashews (soaked in water for two hours, rinse and drain)

• 1/3 c of ground sesame seeds or tahini
• Juice of half a lemon (sometimes I use a whole lemon depends on the size)
• One red pepper
• 1/3 c of nutritional yeast
• 1 – 2 T Bragg Soy Seasoning
• Pasta of your choice

1. Grind nuts in food processor or high speed blender till smooth.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend more. (ground sesame seeds/or/tahini, lemon juice, red pepper, nutritional yeast and Bragg Soy Seasoning).
3. Add anywhere up to 1/2 c water to make it the perfect consistency for you and what you are making.
4. Pour over pasta, make a grilled cheese, put on pizza or crackers, use your imagination!
   

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Creamy Veggie Mac and Cheese

This is my husband Brent’s favourite, I really like it to. The recipe is adapted from VegNews Mac and Cheese…thanks VegNews!

What you’ll need for the Vegan Mac and Cheese

• 1 c peeled/diced yellow potatoes (or russets)
• ¼ c peeled/diced carrots
• ⅓ c chopped onion
• ¾ c water (use liquid from pot of boiled veggies)
• ½ c raw cashews (soaked for 2 hours, rinsed and drained)
• ¼ c coconut milk
• 2 T nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 T lemon juice
• ¾ to 1 t salt (or more to taste)
• ¼ t garlic powder
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 pinch paprika
• Pasta of your choice – I prefer gluten free pasta

Method for Creamy Vegan Mac and Cheese

1. Cook macaroni according to package instructions, don’t over cook,  drain, and set aside.
2. Bring several cups of water to boil in a small pot.
3. Place chopped potatoes, carrots, and onion in the boiling water, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and soft enough to blend. Cooking time will vary slightly, based on how small you have chopped your veggies.
4. When veggies are soft enough to blend, use a slotted spoon to remove them from cooking water, and place them in your blender.
5. Add ¾ cup of the veggie water to your blender, along with your remaining ingredients.
6. Blend until smooth.

7. 

   Pour sauce over your cooked macaroni noodles in a dish of your choice, taste for salt, and serve immediately.

8. Or, place macaroni mixture in a baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until crumbs are turning golden brown. Enjoy your Vegan Mac and Cheese!