Recipe: Plant-Based Mac n’ Cheese by Jennah Jensen
How about mac n’ cheese but make it healthy! This vegan mac n’ cheese is easy to make and perfect for plant-based eaters or lactose intolerant and is a recipe that the whole family will love! The cheese sauce is crafted from whole, plant foods and the best part is you’d never know! To bump up the nutrition even more I like to add frozen veggies to the boiling pasta but this is of course optional. I hope you enjoy this mac n’ cheese as much as we do!
Veggie Pasta
1lb elbow macaroni pasta
2 cups frozen veggie of choice (broccoli, peas, cauliflower)
For the Cheese Sauce
1 cup raw unsalted cashews
2 small golden potatoes
1 medium carrot
1.5 cups water (saved from boiled potatoes + carrot)
1 cup unsweetened plant milk (I’m using organic soy)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 tsp. garlic powder
3 tsp. onion powder
2.5 tsp. salt or seasoning salt
1 tsp. turmeric (for color)
Method
Start by cutting the potatoes and carrot into small pieces and boil until thoroughly cooked. Save 1.5 cups of the hot starchy water for the cheese sauce.
Once the potatoes and carrot are done, add all of the cheese sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until thoroughly combined.
Cook pasta according to package instructions.
If needed, cut your frozen veggie of choice into bite sized pieces, then add directly into boiling pasta during the last few minutes of cooking.
Drain pasta and add blended cheese sauce. Stir to combine. If needed you can reheat on the stovetop using low heat.
Note - this recipe makes enough for 1 pound of pasta! If using less pasta you may want to add only 1 cup of frozen veggies and you may have extra cheese sauce. Extra cheese sauce is delicious for dipping veggies, potato wedges, crackers, etc!
Jennah Jensen is a vegan, blogger and recipe extraordinaire! You can follow along her adventures, find her recipes and be inspired by her musings here and follow along on Instagram @jennahjensen