Vegan Mac & Cheese

A common misconception is that when you start eating a plant-based diet that you are giving up so much and existing mainly on “rabbit food”, beans and nuts. Well, my friends, I am here to tell you that is so very far from the truth. Don’t get me wrong I love my salads and nuts but I have recreated many of my old favourites in a plant-based fashion and I do not feel like I am missing out.

I was craving some good old comfort food this week and if you have been following me you know my go-to when that happens is usually a big bowl of carbs. I wanted something creamy, cheesy and delicious…enter this Vegan Mac & Cheese! Due to the teeniest feeling of guilt for wanting to eat it straight from the pot and not wanting to share I decided to make some wilted garlic spinach to go with it. By the time the spinach had finished the urge to consume the entire pot had eased and the more reasonable version of myself was back! Once you make this you may have that urge come over you as well…just go for it…eat it from the pot…you won’t hear any judgment coming from my end!

This sauce gets its creaminess from soaked cashews and its cheesiness from nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is used in many vegan dishes when a cheesy flavour is required. It has a cheesy, nutty flavour and is a good source of Vitamin B12 and protein. The addition of some spices adds an underlying heat which is one of my favourite things about this sauce.

Soaking your cashews overnight is best but if you didn’t plan ahead just boil some water and pour over the cashews and let sit for 1-2 hours. Drain and rinse the cashews and add them along with all of the other sauce ingredients to a high powered blender. If you want a creamy sauce a good blender is important. Once I committed to a plant-based diet a Vitamix was one of my first purchases and I use it every day. Blend until you have a nice creamy sauce. If you find the sauce is too thick you can add a tablespoon of stock to thin it a bit.

Now you don’t have to add the wilted garlic spinach to this but as both garlic and spinach have some great health benefits I would recommend it. I promise it doesn’t take anything away from the mac and cheese if anything it adds something wonderful to an already awesome dish.

You can serve this sauce over any type of pasta but I chose to go with classic macaroni elbows. As I was feeling quite ravenous at the time I used jumbo ones. Cooking when hungry is kind of like shopping when hungry, you want it all and the bigger the better lol.

The spinach was really easy to make and took only a few minutes. Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add 3-4 cloves of minced garlic and once that has been on for a minute add 4 cups of baby spinach. It will wilt down very quickly and you then have a delicious and healthy green side dish or topping in this case.

I whipped up some vegan parm in the food processor whilst the spinach was cooking and had myself an extra dose of cheesiness for this already creamy cheesy dish.

I hope that you give this one a try and can then say without a doubt that you don’t have to give up “sinful” comfort food on a plant-based diet. If anything you may feel a little less guilty for having that extra portion as it is a healthier dairy-free version. Enjoy!