Serves a Crowd

Baked Mac & Cheeze

May  5, 2021
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Photo by Rachel Duxler
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour
  • Serves 8-10
Author Notes

Your classic Mac & Cheese with a healthy twist. Using cashew as the base for cheese and roasted vegetables makes this dish completely vegan. I promise you won't miss the cheese one bit. If you want to go the extra mile, you can use a gluten-free pasta such as Banza. It's comfort food without all the bloating afterwards. —Rachel Duxler

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Ingredients
  • Cashew Cheeze Sauce
  • 1.5 cups Cashews (soaked overnight)
  • 3 tablespoons Fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup Vegetable Broth
  • 5 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
  • 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
  • 4 Garlic Cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
  • Mac & Cheeze Casserole
  • 16 ounces Banza Chickpea Pasta
  • 2 cups Roasted Vegetables
  • 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Start preparing all of your veggies. I personally like to do onions, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, and spinach.
  2. Put all of the chopped veggies (minus the spinach) on a baking sheet with tin foil under it and drizzle some olive oil, salt, and pepper on your veggies.
  3. Put them in the oven for 30-35 minutes (I like them well done, so feel free to do it for 40 minutes if you decide to use a lot of veggies) and begin cooking the water for your pasta until it comes to a boil.
  4. While your veggies are roasting, make your “cheese” sauce by adding all of the ingredients to a high powered blender (Vitamix for example) and blend on high until smooth and creamy. No worries if you don’t have a high powered blender. You can soak the cashews overnight.
  5. Once the water for your pasta is brought to a boil, add the noodles until they are fully cooked according to the directions on the box (~10 minutes or I’ll taste it to make sure they are al dente). When they are done, drain/rinse the pasta and return your pasta to the pot to be mixed with your cheese sauce. Feel free to add the spinach too at this time.
  6. When your veggies are all done roasting, take them out of the oven and mix everything together. Then, pour the mac & cheese into an 8x8 square dish. Garnish with black pepper, paprika, and bread crumbs.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes (at 350F) and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy! :)

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