Recipe: Vegan and Gluten-Free Mac & Cheese

A while ago I had tried making a vegan mac & cheese with a primarily cashew-based recipe. It was good, but it was dense! It was so heavy and I had a hard time eating more than a small amount.

I gave up for a while, then recently came across this recipe.

I've used it as a base, but modified a bit (as I tend to do).

1 C Carrot (peeled)
1 C Potatoes (peeled)
1/3 C Onion
1 C Water

 2(ish) C Macaroni Noodles (I use Go Go Quinoa)

1/4 C Soaked Cashews (you can soak them for about 10 mins in boiling water)
2 Tbsp Vegan Butter

2 tsp Salt
1-2 cloves Garlic
1/4 tsp Dijon Mustard
1-2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/8 tsp Cayenne
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/8 tsp Turmeric (optional)
1/3 C Nutritional Yeast (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Soak the Cashews

Boil the peeled & chopped Carrot, Potatoes, Onion in 1 C Water. Simmer for 10 mins or until tender.

Cook the pasta to al denté and drain the water.

In your blender, add Cashews, cooked veggies and the water, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, spices, nutritional yeast, and vegan butter; blend until smooth. Taste and adjust if needed.

Mix the sauce over the noodles in a baking dish - add any additional veggies (kale, broccoli, peas, etc). Sprinkle Cashew Parm on top if desired.

Bake about 20-30 mins (until the cheese sauce bubbles and the top crisps a bit).

*I haven't tried this yet, but I think you can probably sub out some or all of the potatoes for cauliflower if you want.