Hi vegetarian carnivores! There’s nothing like a bowl of soul food to make literally any day better. Rainy days, sunny days, sick days, rough days at work. Literally any day. One of these dishes for me is macaroni and cheese. Dairy is literally in the name so it took a bit of experimenting to get the same cheesy consistency and nutty flavor. But I did all the experimenting so you don’t have to! So here I am sharing my deliciously creamy vegan mac and cheese recipe that is sure to impress!
The Magic!
I start out with a good chunk of vegan butter (I love Earth Balance buttery sticks!), melt it down in a large nonstick pan and add flour to thicken with no lumps. Then we gradually add in our plant milk. I highly recommend pea protein milk by Ripple. It is by far the most delicious milk (including dairy milk) I have ever tasted and so incredibly creamy. We’re going to whip up a nice roux as our base for our creamy cheesy sauce. Next, I cut up small blocks of Daiya’s vegan cheddar cheese and add it into the mix. The vegan cheese takes a little longer to melt so don’t just throw the giant block in the pot and wait. Cutting it up really helps. Next comes our nutritional yeast aka our nutty parmesan flavored powerhouse of micronutrients. Now we wait for a few minutes, stirring continuously until everything has melted down and we are left with a thick sauce. Voila! Our (I can’t believe it’s vegan) sauce is done! Add your favorite macaroni or shells or other short pasta and enjoy!
Critically Acclaimed Sauce – Seriously!
The sauce takes all of 15 minutes to prepare and has won me compliments from all my coworkers, who told me they would order this at a restaurant over dairy mac and cheese! The sauce is truly better than any traditional mac and cheese I have ever eaten. Daiya has definitely become a staple grocery item for me and I use it so frequently in my cooking now. It lends such a clean cheddar taste without compromising on meltiness. Dairy without the cruelty – definitely best of both worlds!
The Ingredients
- 1 box macaroni or short pasta, cooked to package instructions
- 1 block daiya cheddar style cheese, cut into small blocks
- 1/2 cup plant milk (highly recommend Ripple for its creaminess)
- 2 tbs vegan butter (Earth Balance melts well)
- 2-3 tbsp flour
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt, to taste
The Instructions
- Melt butter in a large nonstick pan, and add flour gradually to thicken.
- Gradually add milk to create a creamy roux with no lumps.
- Mix in smoked paprika
- Add blocks of Daiya cheese and nutritional yeast. Stir continuously for 5 minutes, until all cheese has melted.
- Add cooked pasta and mix well.
- Enjoy!
The Results!
I have been using Daiya cheese for a few months now and I have to say I am seriously impressed. It melts so well and it’s creamy and just really very good. I think I like my vegan mac and cheese more than any dairy version I have ever had. The pea milk adds so much extra creaminess as well so you don’t need to worry about getting that melt-in-your-mouth consistency.
Try it out and be impressed! Let me know how you liked in the comments!
Janani <3 <3
