Recipe | Vegan Mac n Cheez

Introduction

Over the past week, I’ve attended two different events which required bringing a vegan side dish. One was a potluck to support a pig rescue non-profit and the other was a Thanksliving event here in Kansas City. I made the same dish for both events, perfecting it just a little more the second time. This vegan mac ‘n cheez can be made simply (with just pasta and cheez) or complexly (by adding cooked veggies).

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t like math and I don't like following directions. I tend to wing it in the kitchen and, since going vegan, this approach has really gotten the job done. So, this recipe is really just a guesstimation of the amounts that I used. I strongly suggest taste-testing at various phases of the cooking process to determine if anything should be added to the mix.

Ingredients & Tools

Make Sure You Have...

• Blender
• Large pot for pasta (or large enough for the pasta and veggies if you are making the complex version)
• Deep skillet for vegetables (optional, only if adding veggies)
• Measuring tools (1 Cup, ¼ Cup, 1 Tablespoon, 1 Teaspoon)
• Strainer (for pasta and cashews)
• Large mixing spoon (for vegetables and pasta)

Cheez (Doubled if Adding Veggies)

• 2 cups of plain cashews (soaked in water for 2 hours)
• 1 cup of nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of nut milk (preferably unflavored cashew)
• 2 cups of water

Pasta

• 6 cups of vegan pasta (shells work best)
• Water

Veggies (Optional)

• 1 red bell pepper (diced)
• 1 green bell pepper (diced)
• 1 yellow bell pepper (diced)
• 1 yellow potato (sliced)
• 1 carrot (sliced)
• 1 cup of green beans
• 3 cups of broccoli
• 3 cups of peas
• 3 cups of baby bella mushrooms (sliced)
• ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup of Mediterranean oil
• 1 tablespoon of vegan butter

Directions

Phase One

• Make sure that your cashews soak in water for two hours before you begin.
• Fill a pot with enough water to cover your pasta
• Add salt to the water to help prevent the pasta from sticking to itself

Phase Two

Vegetables (Optional)

1. Put the apple cider vinegar, mediterranean oil, and vegan butter in the deep skillet on high heat.
2. Once the butter has melted, add the vegetables to the skillet, cover it, and reduce the heat to medium.
3. Mix the vegetables occasionally to allow them to cook evenly, but be sure to keep the skillet covered when you are not stirring the vegetables.

Pasta

1. Bring the water to a boil and then add the pasta.
2. Lower the heat to a medium-high level.
3. Cook the pasta for the required duration (usually 7-9 minutes, but see the box/container for specific instructions).
4. Strain the pasta.
5. Return the pasta to the pot and decrease the heat to a low setting.

Phase Three

Cheez

1. Strain the cashews.
2. Add the cashews, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, apple cider vinegar, nut milk, and vanilla extract to the blender.
3. Blend until the mixture is smooth and there are no cashew chunks in it (if it’s taking too long, you can add some more nut milk to speed up the process).

Adding Cheez (without Veggies)

1. If you are not going to add vegetables to your pasta, pour the entirety of the cheez mixture into the pot with the pasta and mix it up.
2. Do not rinse out the vessel used to add the cheez to the pot. Instead, add water that was set aside for the cheez (2 cups) to the vessel, swirl it around, and pour it into the pot.
3. Continue to stir until the pasta and cheez combination has soaked up all of the water.

Adding Cheez (with Veggies)

1. If you are including veggies, only pour half of the entire dish’s cheez into the pasta dish.
2. Mix up the cheez and pasta.
3. Add all of the veggies to the mixture, but do not stir immediately.
4. Pour in the rest of the cheez and then add four cups of water (using the vessel that was used to add the cheez to the pasta).
5. Mix the cheez, water, pasta, and veggies thoroughly.

Crockpot Directions

If you’re using a crockpot, you can use these same ingredients and techniques with a few minor changes.

1. Add the veggies to the crockpot first. You must use veggies for the dish if you’re using a crockpot as they will help keep the veggies from burning.
2. Add the pasta to the crockpot second and do not stir it in with the vegetables.
3. Add the cheez third, then add the water and stir it into the pasta. It is okay for the vegetables to mixed a bit at this point, but try to keep a layer of vegetables at the bottom of the crockpot.
4. Use a steam-based cooking method on the crockpot, if available, and cover it once the cheez has been mixed. It shouldn’t need to steam for longer than 8 minutes.

Additional Tips

• Hemp Seeds, Chia Seeds, and Quinoa make great additions to the meal! Add some to the top before serving.
• If you create the dish in advance of an event, add some water to it before reheating the dish at the event. About a cup of water should be enough to keep it from being dry.