Vegan Mac and cheese

One of the dishes Elena and Morgan prepared at the Fulfilled Workshop I attended in San Francisco was a vegan mac and cheese that knocked my socks off. Elena told me she got the recipe from Timothy Pakron, Founder of Mississippi Vegan, who I will say is a genius for creating this recipe. I slightly adapted the the original by modifying a few additional ingredients which you will see in the recipe below.

Side note: Follow Your Heart is the absolute best brand of vegan cheese I’ve ever tasted. We keep a pack of their Smoked Gouda in our fridge at all times, so when I learned that was what was in this recipe, I was super excited!

Elena topped the dish with shiitake bacon (it’s as amazing as it sounds), so I made a version of that as well and it really upgrades this dish!

I’m a sucker for a baked mac and cheese so I also topped mine with some breadcrumbs and put it under the broiler for a few minutes to get it golden brown. Once out, on went the shiitake bacon and fresh parsley. 

Now – one thing I learned very quickly on in my relationship was that if Johann really liked what he was eating, he would constantly be saying “mmmmmmm” the whole time. The first time I cooked for him I got silence and I was mortified! We’re all good now though haha! I often look to him for constructive criticism on what I make and he’s extremely helpful!

So after I made this mac and cheese, I got the “mmmmmm’s” and I knew it was gong to be a dish on regular rotation at our home. I served it with some vegan collard greens (recipe in next blog post) and mashed potatoes for a truly home-cooked southern meal (only vegan!)

I promise you, cheese lovers will drool over this dish. They probably won’t even know it’s vegan!

P.S. aren’t these mini cast iron skillets just adorable! I got them from Cost Plus World Market and love them!

Vegan Mac and Cheese

admin One of the dishes Elena and Morgan prepared at the Fulfilled Workshop I attended in San Francisco was a vegan mac and cheese that knocked my socks off. Elena told… Main Dishes pasta, mac and cheese, noodles European Print This

Serves: 5-6

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

Adapted from Mississippi Vegan

Mac and Cheese Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2-3 hours, drained
• 1 cup water + more as needed
• 3 packs @followyourheart vegan cheese (I used Smoked Gouda, American and Provolone)
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 16oz pasta (shells or similar shape)
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 -1 tsp sea salt
• Avocado oil or olive oil

Shitake Bacon Ingredients:

• 16oz shiitake mushrooms
• 2.5 Tbs Tamari
• 2.5 Tbs maple syrup
• 1.5 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp avocado oil or olive oil
• Pinch salt and pepper

Instructions

Mac and Cheese:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.
2. Preheat oven to Broil.
3. Add cashews and 1 cup water to a high speed blender and puree.
4. Remove cheese slices from packages and chop into cubes. Add little by little to blender. I have a Vitamix so I used the tamper to assist in the blending. Add water as needed, but not too much because you don’t want a watery sauce!
5. Once blended, pour sauce into a saucepan, add paprika, turmeric and nutritional yeast and heat until warm.
6. Once pasta is cooked, drain well and add to a large bowl. Pour cheese over pasta and mix.
7. Combine about 1 cup bread and a sea salt in a bowl. Add a little oil at a time just to coat breadcrumbs. It should still be crumbly.
8. Pour mac and cheese into individual dishes or one large dish. Top with breadcrumbs and put under broiler for 5 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
9. Top with shiitake bacon (recipe below) and fresh parsley.

Shiitake Bacon:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Remove stems from mushrooms and slice thin.
3. Add remaining ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Pour over mushrooms little by little, lightly massaging into mushrooms with hands or a spoon.
4. Spread mushrooms out on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes. Stir halfway through and check every 5-7 minutes after about 35 minutes to make sure you don’t burn them.