Easy Creamy Vegan Macaroni And Cheese Food

EASY 1 POT VEGAN MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, measure out the cheese, butter, nutritional yeast, vinegar, garlic and onion powder, sugar, and salt.
• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to boil. Add macaroni noodles. Cook pasta al denté, according to package instructions. Drain the pasta but DO NOT rinse it. The leftover starch from cooking the pasta thickens the cheese sauce.
• In the pot you used to boil the pasta, turn heat to medium. Add the cooked macaroni, and stir in unsweetened almond milk, and measured ingredients from step 1. The mac and cheese will look a little soupy at this stage.
• Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until vegan cheese is melted, and the sauce is smooth and thickened to your liking. Taste and adjust seasoning.

THE BEST VEGAN MAC AND CHEESE YOU'LL EVER EAT

Steps:

• *To make the cashew cheese sauce: soak the cashews in 4 cups of water for at least 2 hours; otherwise I've found that you can easily speed up the process by adding the raw cashews to a pot with water and placing over high heat. Bring water to a boil, then immediately turn off the heat; let the cashews sit for 30-45 minutes in the warm water, then drain.
• Once the cashews have finished soaking you'll be ready to make the sauce: add drained cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, almond milk, jalapeno, turmeric, paprika, onion powder, dijon mustard, salt and black pepper to a high powered blender. Blend until a thick sauce comes together. If you want a thinner sauce, add a bit more almond milk. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
• Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package, until they are al dente. Drain noodles, then add back to pot and stir in your cashew cheese sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. You may need more salt! Garnish with freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!

EASY VEGAN MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Fill a medium saucepan a little more than halfway full with water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add pasta and cook according to package instructions until just al dente (ours took 9 minutes). Be careful not to overcook because the shells will cook a bit longer with the cheese sauce after draining.
• Drain pasta (we avoided using a colander by using our saucepan lid, which has a draining feature - if yours doesn't, drain in a colander as needed, then add back to saucepan).
• Immediately add the vegan cheddar cheese, almond milk (starting with lesser amount), salt, and nutritional yeast. Stir and cook over low heat, stirring frequently until the sauce melts, becomes gooey, and coats the shells. If the cheddar isn't melting, cover to encourage it along.
• Remove from heat and serve immediately. Option to garnish with vegan parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
• Store cooled leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 days (not freezer friendly). Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium-low heat until hot, adding more dairy-free milk as needed to thin.

VEGAN MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• The night before, soak the cashew nuts in water and leave overnight.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Steam the carrots and potatoes together for 5 mins, until completely softened. Transfer to a food processor. Drain the cashews and add these with 60ml of the oil, then blitz to break down the nuts. Tip in the other ingredients - apart from the macaroni, breadcrumbs and the remaining oil - then blitz again until the mixture is smooth and season well. Add a splash of water and just a drizzle of olive oil if it looks too stiff, then set aside.
• Cook the macaroni in a large pan of salted water for 1 min less than packet instructions, drain then stir through the sauce. Transfer the mix to an ovenproof dish, stir the breadcrumbs with the remaining oil and some seasoning. Scatter over the top of the macaroni and bake for 20-25 mins until piping hot and crisp.

VEGAN MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
• Meanwhile, add the cashews to a large nonstick skillet and heat over medium, stirring frequently, until fragrant, toasty and slightly golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer cashews to a blender and add the almond milk. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.
• Add the oil to the skillet and heat over medium. Add the onion, garlic, onion powder, ground turmeric and mustard powder, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until onions are very tender, 8 to 10 minutes, lowering the heat as necessary to avoid scorching. Remove from the heat, stir in 1/2 cup nutritional yeast and the tamari, then transfer to the blender.
• Blend the cashew mixture on high until thick and creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. (This works best with a high-power blender, but any blender will work - just keep blending the mixture 1 to 2 more minutes after the mixture looks creamy; it will emulsify further.) You should have about 1 1/2 cups.
• Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water. Drain pasta, then return cooked pasta to the pot. Stir in the cashew cream, then add the pasta cooking water 1/4 cup at a time until you achieve desired sauciness. Season to taste with salt, pepper and additional nutritional yeast, if desired. Serve immediately. (The sauce thickens significantly as it sits. If it starts to coagulate, or if you have any leftover macaroni and cheese, stir in a splash of the remaining pasta cooking water to loosen.)
• If you'd like a little crunch on top, prepare the optional panko topping: Heat the broiler. In a small bowl, add the panko, olive oil and 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast. Pinch the mixture together gently to combine thoroughly; season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Transfer the prepared macaroni to a lightly oiled 9-by-13-inch baking dish, arrange in an even layer and sprinkle the panko mixture on top, if using. Transfer to the oven on the shelf nearest to the broiler and broil until just golden on top, about 2 minutes. (The panko toasts quickly, so you'll want to keep an eye on it.) Serve immediately.