Vegan Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Heaps of warm elbow pasta tossed in spoonful after spoonful of gooey cashew cheddar cheese. It’s hard to compete with this deeply comforting dish.
By Ashley Melillo

To make it, you’ll start by cooking up a bit batch of elbow pasta. I use brown rice pasta, but feel free to use whichever kind your mac ‘n’ cheese heart desires.

While the pasta is cooking, you’ll get to work on the cashew cheddar cheese sauce. You’ll blend together soaked raw cashews, filtered water, roasted red peppers, nutritional yeast, arrowroot powder (a root-derived thickening agent), apple cider vinegar, lots of smoked paprika, sea salt, black pepper, and an optional dash of both cayenne and hot sauce.

Once everything is blended into a smooth liquid, you’ll pour it into a saucepan and whisk over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens like so…

Then, spoon all of that gooey, nearly stretchy cheddar cheese sauce over the warm elbow pasta and get stirring…

It will initially seem like there is wayyyy too much sauce, but the noodles will draw it in as you stir and trust me, you’ll want every bit of it.

The final step: taste and season with a bit more sea salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika. The smoked paprika weaves a savory smoky flavor throughout, so if you want to up the smokiness even more, go on and get shaking. I usually add a few more dashes along with a bit more sea salt and black pepper.

Then, serve yourself a generous mound of that cheesy goodness and get cozy.

Savory Vegan Mac ‘n’ Cheese

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• Author: Ashley Melillo
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Brown rice elbows in a silky, smoky cashew ‘cheddar’ sauce thickened with arrowroot—creamy, dairy?free comfort.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• For the pasta:
• 12-16 oz (340-454 g) brown rice elbow pasta
• Kosher salt (for the pasta water)
• For the smoky cashew cheddar sauce:
• 2/3 cup (160 ml) raw cashews, soaked 10 minutes in boiling water and drained
• 1 1/3 cups (320 ml) filtered water
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) chopped roasted red peppers
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder (starch)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Pinch cayenne (optional)
• To finish:
• Reserved pasta cooking water, as needed
• Chopped chives or parsley (optional)

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Instructions

1. Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente per package directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain and return pasta to the pot.
2. Blend sauce: In a high?speed blender, combine cashews, water, roasted red peppers, nutritional yeast, arrowroot, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, and cayenne (if using). Blend until completely smooth, scraping as needed.
3. Thicken: Pour sauce into a saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking, 3–5 minutes until glossy and lightly thickened. Do not boil vigorously—arrowroot can lose thickening power if overheated.
4. Combine: Pour sauce over pasta and toss over low heat. Add splashes of reserved pasta water to loosen to a creamy coating. Taste and adjust salt and paprika.
5. Serve: Top with chopped chives or parsley, if using. Serve hot.

Notes

• Use any short gluten?free pasta; cooking time varies by brand.
• For a sharper sauce, add an extra teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or a squeeze of lemon at the end.
• If the sauce thickens too much, whisk in more pasta water to loosen.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Main Course
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: About 1 1/2 cups (350 g)
• Calories: 560
• Sugar: 4
• Sodium: 520
• Fat: 20
• Saturated Fat: 3
• Unsaturated Fat: 16
• Carbohydrates: 82
• Fiber: 6
• Protein: 16

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