I had a pretty serious cheese addiction as a child, and mac & cheese was one of my very favourite foods to eat!
Dairy tastes great. However the health and ethical implications of consuming dairy are much less than tasty. This recipe is the very closest I’ve come to creating a vegan, gluten-free mac & cheese that actually tastes like the real thing, and my friends and family are pretty stoked about it!
The winning flavour comes from two very specific dairy alternative ingredients: the first is the shredded cheddar from Earth Island/Follow Your Heart, and the second is Miyoko’s vegan butter. I very strongly recommend sourcing these exact products for your recipe.
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dry gluten free pasta (Rizopia’s shells shown in picture – my favourite pasta brand for sure!)
- 2 cups cashew milk (or any unsweetened plant milk)
- 1 227g package cheddar shreds
- 1 tsp old-fashioned Dijon mustard (with seeds)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1½ tbsp tapioca starch
- 3 tbsp Miyoko’s butter
1. Get a large pot full of water on the stove to start coming to a boil for the pasta. When water boils, add pasta and a healthy pinch of salt. Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until pasta is ALMOST done – you want a bit of toughness to the pasta still because we’re going to do something special with it later. Let the pasta sit aside to drain.
2. Get another large pot on the stove heating over medium heat for the cheese sauce. Add butter and let it melt.
3. Reduce heat to medium low and add the mustard, garlic and onion powders, paprika, pepper, salt, nutritional yeast, and starch to the melted butter in the pot. Use a whisk to stir it all around, making sure that the butter coats all of the dry ingredients to create a thick paste. Let this cook on the low heat for a minute or two.
4. Turn the heat up to medium high and slowly whisk in the cashew milk. Let this come to a gentle boil, whisking every so often so the bottom doesn’t burn.
5. Once the mixture bubbles, reduce the heat to medium and keep whisking occasionally until the mixture thickens into a thick sauce.
6. Whisk in the cheddar shreds until they’ve melted through entirely.
7. Add the mostly-cooked pasta to the cheese sauce and stir to coat. Turn the heat off the stove and place a tight-fitting lid on top of the pasta pot. Leave this here to steam for about 5 minutes – the pasta is now going to finish cooking by absorbing some of that delicious cheese sauce!
8. Serve hot. We love freshly cracker black pepper on top of ours, yum!
xo
