This delicious Vegan “Mac and Cheese” I have nicknamed “Cashew-Mac” because, lets be honest, it’s not going to taste exactly like dairy mac and cheese. My husband (who LOVES cheese) really supports eating vegan but has a phycological issue with any vegan cheese because since it is called “cheese” he expects it to taste exactly like cheese. Well people, vegan cheese does not taste like dairy cheese BUT is it still HELLA DELICIOUS! So we decided to nickname it Cashew-Mac so the expectation is eliminated and the dish can be enjoyed just as it is. And guess what?? It was cheese-lovin’-husband approved! So I guarantee non-vegans will also enjoy it, and love that they’re getting their vegetables hidden in something so yummy! 🙂

PS. Without baking this will take only about 35 minutes to make! With baking it takes about an hour.

Ingredients:

4 cups of macaroni noodles

1 small sweet potato (peeled and cut into cubes)

4 yellow/golden medium potatoes (peeled and cut into cubes)

4 baby carrots (peeled and cut into cubes)

4 shallots (peeled and halved)

3 cloves of garlic

2 cups of nutritional yeast

1.5 cups of water from boiled vegetables

1 cup raw cashews (soaked 1-2 hours)

1/2 cup roasted cashews (soaked 1-2 hours)

1/4 tsp paprica

pink of cayenne

1/2 – 1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Optional (if baking)

Vegetable stuffing mix plus nutritional yeast for baked crumble

Instructions:

1. Cook the macaroni noodles as packaging describes. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, fill about half way with water. Add all the vegetables (sweet potatoes, gold potatoes, baby carrots, shallots, garlic cloves) in the pot and bring to boil. Boil for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft.
3. Spoon out the vegetables into a large blender and add the 1.5 cups of water from the boiled vegetables. Blend until smooth. (add more water if not blending)
4. Add the nutritional yeast, soaked cashews, all the spices, and lemon juice to blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. If it’s not “cheesy” enough for you, then add more nutritional yeast. Keep adjusting til it tastes delicious!
5. Pour the cheese sauce into a large bowl with the cooked macaroni noodles, stirring to completely coat the noodles.
6. You can either stop here and enjoy your Cashew Mac OR bake it. If baking, turn on oven to 350 degrees and pour noodles into large casserole/lasagna dish. Top the Cashew Mac with cooked vegetable stuffing mix (follow instructions on box) and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Enjoy or save for later! Makes great leftovers! 🙂