Creamy Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is one of the most universal comfort foods. As far as comfort foods go, it’s at the top of my list along with pizza and fries. Boxed vegan mac and cheese isn’t hard to find and isn’t so bad tasting, but there’s just something about the flavor “powder” that turns me off. I much prefer using fresh ingredients and high quality pasta. This recipe uses simple ingredients like carrot and potato. Having a hidden serving of vegetables in this dish just makes me happy! The “cheese” sauce in this recipe has no dairy so it doesn’t taste exactly like traditional cheese, but has a delicious cheese-like flavor. The nutritional yeast is what gives it a nutty, cheesy taste. Nutritional yeast is great as a cheese substitute for vegan food and contains more than your daily requirement of several important B vitamins. Vegan sources of B12 are hard to find so nutritional yeast is great if you are completely plant based. You can use this sauce as a cheese substitute on baked potatoes and for cheese fries. This sauce is amazing and something I will be creating variations of and using over and over again! It’s creamy, rich, and flavorful. If you’re gluten free you can substitute gluten free or quinoa pasta instead of regular pasta. You will need a good food processor or blender to make the cheese sauce. For delicious variations, add vegan bacon, truffle oil, or top with bread crumbs and bake! If you make it, make sure to tag @thefriendlyepicurean or Pin the recipe!

Creamy Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

Servings: 4
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 small carrot, peeled
1 small white potato, peeled
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbs almond flour
1 1/4 cups almond milk
1 tbs vegan butter (such as Earth Balance)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
3 tbs chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions

Boil potato and carrot in a small saucepan until they are soft all the way through. In a small saute pan, saute shallot in vegan butter for about 2 to 3 minutes. Next add garlic and saute for about 2 minutes. Add almond milk, almond flour, and nutritional yeast, and salt and whisk until smooth. Heat mixture until just boiling. Remove from heat and carefully transfer to a food processor or blender along with boiled carrot and potato. Blend mixture until smooth. Makes about 1 1/4 cups of cheese sauce. Next, cook 2 cups elbow macaroni in at least 2 quarts of boiling water until pasta is al dente – about 7-8 minutes. Drain pasta and mix together cheese sauce and pasta in a large serving dish. Add more salt, vegan butter, and almond milk to desired taste and consistency if needed. Serve while hot. May store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Nutrition Information: