Vegan Macaroni and Cheese C

Ingredients

Directions

  1. 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. 2. Fill a large pot with water and a healthy sprinkling of sea salt. Bring to a boil and add the macaroni noodles. Boil for about 5 minutes, until they are al dente (remembering it’s ok if they are slightly firm because they will cook more in the oven, so you need to calm down). Drain with a colander and transfer to a 9” x 13” baking dish (this recipe will just fit in that!) or desired baking vessel (bonus points for using a large cast iron). Set aside.
  3. 3. In a high-speed blender, add the cashews and water and blend until smooth and creamy. This should take a minute or two. Add the chopped cheeses, butter, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, turmeric powder, and cornstarch. Start by blending on low and gradually turn up the speed, until you are left with a smooth and creamy sauce, scraping down the sides and moving everything around as needed (please work with your blender… it needs your help and sometimes it feels as though you think it’s invincible.) If using a smaller blender, divide the cashew milk in half and try making the sauce in two separate batches.
  4. 4. Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles in the baking dish. Mix well. Optional: sprinkle the shredded pizza style cheese on top. Then evenly dispersing the butter in small dollops on top.
  5. 5. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden and the cheese is thoroughly melted. Remove from the oven and stir with a large spoon. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
  6. Regular Blender
  7. If using a regular blender you might want to soak your cashews overnight or for at least a few hours to make it easier for them to be blended up smoothly. I have a high-speed blender because I’m fancy, so I don’t have to fret about this.
  8. Please chop up the cheese slices so that the blender has a fair chance at blending everything until smooth. If your blender cannot handle this, then you might have to melt everything in a saucepan first and pour that over the noodles. I didn’t have a problem with this. And before you ask, you must blend the cheeses up so that it melts effectively. The traditional recipe usually melts the sauce on the stovetop before adding to the noodles. My goal was to skip that step as to not dirty another pot. Use your best judgment.
  9. Serve Immediately
  10. If you do not serve this immediately, you will lose that velvety smooth texture and it will start to coagulate. This is totally ok and actually happens to regular macaroni and cheese. If you’d like to make it smooth again, you can add some more cashew cream or nondairy milk and heat it back up, mixing it well. But this is a pain. And it still won’t look as good as it does when you first bake it. So just eat it immediately. You shouldn’t have a problem doing that.
  11. I have another variation of this recipe that is White Truffle Flavored!
  12. If you don’t want to make a big batch, simply halve this recipe.