The Ultimate Vegan Mac & Cheese
give your tastebuds a treat with the ultimate vegan mac and cheese that will fool anyone that it’s real!
prep time 1 hour total time 1 hour 30 mins serves 4-6
ingredients
100g cashews, soaked
500ml plant milk
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
300g vegan cheese (we used half Applewood Vegan Smoked Cheese and ASDA Free From Mature Cheddar)
2 tbsp vegan butter (we used Flora)
350g pasta (we used rigatoni)
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp dijon mustard
method
Soak cashews overnight, or for an hour in boiling water. Set aside.
Add the cashews, plant milk and nutritional yeast to a blender and process until smooth.
Grate your cheese ready for later.
Add the butter to a large pan (I used a dutch oven) and melt on medium heat. Melt until it pops and bubbles.
Meanwhile, put your pasta on to cook. When al dente, drain and set aside (drizzle a little olive oil over the pasta if it is ready before your sauce is, to stop it sticking).
Add 3 tbsp flour to the pan of butter and whisk together to form a paste.
Next, gradually whisk in your cashew milk mixture that you whipped up before, adding it bit by bit and mixing continuously. Take your time with this so you don’t create lumps. We want to achieve a lovely smooth and creamy texture. When all the sauce is added, simmer for around 5 minutes, or until the sauce is the desired consistency.
Turn off the heat and add in 200g of grated cheese. Stir in, put the lid on and leave for 5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.
Remove the lid and finish stirring in the cheese in with your whisk until smooth.* When smooth and creamy, season with a generous amount of salt and pepper, along with a pinch of chilli powder and a tsp of mustard.
Pour in your pasta to the cheese sauce and mix together. You can serve it up now as it is, or add to an oven dish to bake. If baking, scatter over the remaining 100g of cheese and then bake in the oven at 200C for 30 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
notes
*If your mixture is taking longer than you’d like to melt in the vegan cheese, then return to a low heat to help it along, and stir continuously.
If you don’t have access to vegan cheese, then try out my 10 min mac and cheese recipe here.
