Recipes » Main Dish » Mac-nificent! Plant-Based Mac and Cheese
T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies
Mac-nificant! Plant-Based Mac and Cheese

Mac-nificent! Plant-Based Mac and Cheese

By 44 votes, average: 3.64 out of 544 votes, average: 3.64 out of 544 votes, average: 3.64 out of 544 votes, average: 3.64 out of 544 votes, average: 3.64 out of 5(44)
This is one of our favorite baked mac and cheese recipes! The roasted veggies add concentrated flavors that combine so well in a creamy sauce base.
Yield: 4–6 servings
Low Sugar

Reprinted from Plant-Powered Families by Dreena Burton (BenBellaBooks, 2015).

Ingredients

Ingredients

Vegetables

  • 1 medium-large yellow sweet potato (¾ lb; see tips)
  • 2 small/medium carrots (about ¼ lb; see tips)
  • 1 medium-large onion (see tips)

Sauce

  • ⅓ cup raw cashews (or another 2½ Tbsp tahini)
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 Tbsp tahini
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • ½ Tbsp arrowroot powder
  • ½ Tbsp mellow miso
  • 1 – 1¼ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 medium-large clove garlic
  • 2 cups unsweetened nondairy milk, divided
  • 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ cup water

Pasta

  • 4½ – 4¾ cups uncooked pasta

Topping

  • ½ cup bread crumbs of choice
  • ¼ – ⅓ cup almond meal (see tips for nut-free option)
  • Couple pinches sea salt
Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate

Instructions

Instructions

Prepare the vegetables

  • 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • 2. Rinse/scrub the sweet potato, carrots, and onion, but do not peel! Place whole on the prepared baking sheet.
  • 3. Bake for about an hour, until softened and roasted (if using carrot, it won’t soften, but that’s okay because it will be pureed).
  • 4. Remove from oven and let cool slightly while preparing other ingredients. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F to bake pasta.

Make the sauce

  • 1. In a blender (high-powered works best), add the cashews, nutritional yeast, tahini, tomato paste, arrowroot powder, miso, sea salt, mustard, garlic, 1 cup of the milk, and lemon juice. Blend until mixture starts to come together and is smooth.
  • 2. Remove peels from sweet potato and onion (no need to peel carrot).
  • 3. Add the roasted veggies and remaining 1 cup milk and water to blender. Puree until completely smooth.

Assemble

  • 1. Pour the sauce into a baking dish (9" × 12", or 2 quart, roughly), scraping every bit from the blender!
  • 2. Cook pasta until almost tender, then drain (don’t rinse). Transfer pasta to the baking dish, and gently mix through to coat.

Make the topping

  • 1. Mix the bread crumbs, almond meal, and sea salt in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the casserole.
  • 2. Cover the casserole with foil and bake for 15–16 minutes (if you have chilled the casserole before baking, give it another few minutes).
  • 3. Remove the foil and bake for another 5–6 minutes, or until the topping is golden. Don’t overbake, as the sauce will continue to thicken as it stands.
  • 4. Remove from the oven, let sit for a few minutes, and serve!

Cooking Tips

Cooking Tips

  • 1. Sweet Potato/Carrot Note: If using orange versus yellow sweet potato, the mixture will be slightly sweeter, so you can use the full 1¼ teaspoon of sea salt to balance. Also, if using an orange sweet potato, omit the carrot (not needed for color), and just use the full 1 pound of orange spud!
  • 2. Onion Note: The onion will become very mellow with roasting, adding a beautiful flavor that is not sharp or pungent.
  • 3. Nut-Free Note: Substitute another 2½ tablespoons tahini for the cashews in the sauce, and omit the almond meal in the topping.

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