Learn how to make an amazing vegan mac and ‘cheese’ that’s creamy, cheesy, has a hint of garlic – and also secretly healthy.
Growing up I wasn’t huge on cheese, it just didn’t appeal much to me. I wasn’t keen on the flavour of most cheeses and the only one I really enjoyed was mozzarella. Well things have changed and I now love pretty much all of them! Mac and cheese came under that bracket and it just wasn’t the healthiest thing to be making regularly. Considering I had an amazing vegan nacho cheese sauce, I felt confident that I could make the perfect cheese sauce for a vegan mac and ‘cheese’.
What you’ll need
- Silken tofu – either soft silken or firm silken will work fine here. Just not the regular firm tofu. It has to be silken as this is what will provide the creaminess and some richness through its fat content. It also provides a good amount of protein to the vegan mac and ‘cheese’ as well
- Nutritional yeast, which is commonly referred to as ‘nooch‘ is form of yeast that has been deactivated. It’s been dried out to change its appearance, flavour and texture. You would not be able to use nutritional yeast as a leavening agent of bread as you would with regular yeast. Similarly, you cannot use regular bakers yeast for this cheese sauce.
- Tapicoa flour helps to thicken, and you can increase the quantity if you prefer a stringy ‘cheese’. But I’ve only included 1.5 tbsp as I only want the thickening aspect
This is the nutritional yeast that I use, it comes as flakes and has added B12 (a common nutritional deficiency): https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/engevita-yeast-flakes-b12-60009142
It has an intense cheesy flavour with a slight nuttiness to it that is essential when it comes to flavouring the sauce. It also helps to provide the yellow cheese colour.
Vegan Mac and ‘Cheese’
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 350 g soft silken tofu
- 2 carrots boiled
- 7 tbsps nutritional yeast
- 350 ml milk of choice
- 1.5 tbsp tapioca flour or corn flour
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic smashed open
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 500 g dried macaroni
Instructions
Method:
- Blend up your silken tofu, boiled carrots, nutritional yeast, milk and flour until completely smooth
- Transfer to a saucepan, add the smashed garlic cloves and oil, and place on medium heat until bubbling. Keep whisking throughout and as soon as it's bubbling reduce the heat to low. This will allow it to start thickening.
- Season with salt to taste, and add more milk to thin out if desired. Remove the smashed garlic cloves prior to serving.
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