My friend Kelly convinced me (and like 10 other people) to try out a plant-based diet. At first, I was very skeptical because I wasn’t (previously) a fan of plant-based proteins. I didn’t care for tofu and I never opt’d in for beans so I was worried about my gainz lol. However, I bit the bullet and I went for it – turns out, I actually enjoyed being on a plant-based diet! I was able to get more creative with cooking and it opened my world to a lot of different flavors I hadn’t otherwise known.
For a short duration, I ate fully plant-based. Now, I implement 2 days a week where I eat fully vegan meals while still incorporating a ton of fruits and vegetables in my everyday life. I’m exciting to share with you some vegan experiments and I hope that you get inspired to try! Plant-based food packs a ton of flavor, so get prepared to be wow’d!
This Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe probably would not replace your standard mac if you’re not on a vegan diet – but it is delicious in it’s own lane! I won’t lie to you to say its a one-to-one match but its flavorful and it makes for a delicious dairy-free alternative. I did not use store bought vegan cheese so the flavor comes from a combination of plant milk and spices! Mind-blowing right?? Now enough chit chat, I’ll let you decide for yourself!
Vegan Mac n ‘Cheese’
I N G R E D I E N T S:
- 3 Tbsp Vegan Butter
- 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 2 Cups of Oat Milk
- 3 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Mustard
- ¼ Tsp Vegetable Bullion + ¼ Cup Water
- 1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tsp Onion Powder
- 2 Tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tsp Paprika
- ¼ Tsp Salt
- ¼ Tsp Black Pepper
- ½ tsp Chipotle Seasoning * Optional
- 2 Cups Uncooked Pasta (I used Garofalo Lumachine Semolina Pasta and it’s perfect! I recommend that or elbow)
I N S T R U C T I O N S:
- Prep: Boil your pasta of choice and leave aside. Dissolve the vegetable bullion into the ¼ cup of water. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients – starting with the nutritional yeast through chipotle seasoning – this will make it easier when you need to add it to the sauce.
- In a sauce pan, on medium high heat, melt butter. Then add in the all-purpose flour, whisking to make sure there are no clumps.
- Once flour and butter are fully dissolved, add in the oat milk and vegetable bullion/water mixture – keep stirring until this thickens (5-7 minutes). Turn on low heat and add in the mustard and apple cider vinegar. Stir until combined.
- Add in the bowl of seasoning and stir until everything has dissolved.
- Mix with the cooked pasta and eat as is. Or, you can add to a baking pan and add panko on top and bake until the panko is crispy/golden.
#Nganstoptips:
- You can also add some vegan cheese to the sauce for the stringy/pull effect. Vegan cheese slice I find have better melt-abilities than the shredded cheese.
- The type of pasta you choose for this dish makes a big difference. The first time I tried this with red lentil pasta and it was not good due to the lentil pasta texture. I’m usually a fan of al dente pasta but when it comes to mac and cheese you need the softer texture to achieve it’s full potential!
- I used a horseradish mustard because that’s what I had at home, but Dijon or any other mustard should work as well!
- If you don’t have vegetable bullion – you can omit and just add the water + more salt to taste. Or you can add ¼ cup of vegetable stock.
- TSA Approved: I do think… you can bring this on flights with you, but I’m not 100% positive. Because the sauce and pasta combines together quite well, it’s doesn’t appear to be liquid-y but it might come down to lady luck.
