Hell Yeah It's Vegan!

Who can forgo timeless comfort food like macaroni and cheese? I love nutritional yeast–it’s high in beloved B vitamins and tasty in a variety of forms–, but I have a deep loathing for the boxed vegan mac ‘n’ cheese on the market that I’ve tried. Cheese in this application should be salty, creamy, and a bit tangy, and that’s what I’ve accomplished here. I’m not saying it’ll fool your omni friends, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t addictive.

While you certainly can do this by just pouring the sauce over some macaroni if you like, the mac and cheese I always missed most was baked. And you know how I feel about authenticity in recipes. The extra effort is worth it, and really makes this dish.

As with all things, I like mine heavy on the sauce. I also like this recipe a little spicy, but feel free to cut back on the cayenne or leave it out all together. I haven’t had better tasting mac ‘n’ cheese since going vegan. Seriously, I dare you.

P.S. Sorry it’s not neon-colored. You can always add some radioactive food coloring if you like (a pinch of turmeric dissolved in the soymilk also works well).

The Best Vegan Macaroni and Cheese Ever

½ lb macaroni (2 c dry)

½ large onion, chopped
8-10 mushrooms, chopped
4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Sauce
1½ c soy milk, regular or unsweetened (almond milk also works well)
1½ c nutritional yeast
6 tbsp spicy brown mustard
¼ tsp ground cayenne
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tsp cumin
6 tbsp margarine

Bread Crumb Topping:
½ c bread crumbs (I hammer down a chunk of stale bread)
1 tsp paprika
salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp melted margarine

Preheat oven to 350º. Cook macaroni as directed.

While cooking, stir together sauce ingredients in a small saucepan on low/medium heat.

In another saucepan, lightly saute mushrooms and onion in vegetable oil. In greased medium casserole dish, stir mushrooms, onion, and parsley into cooked macaroni.

Pour sauce over casserole and stir to incorporate.

Mix together bread crumbs, paprika, salt, and pepper. Pour margarine on top and toss lightly. Sprinkle mixture over macaroni and sauce. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove lid and return to oven for another 15 to brown.

Sorry for the crappy pictures! Sometimes chowing down should come before blogging.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 28th, 2009 at 11:01 am and is filed under Entrees, Recipes, Vegan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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