Butternut and "Bacon" Vegan Mac and Cheese
Plant-based mac and cheese sauce made with butternut squash, nutritonal yeast, onion powder, and spices tossed with macaroni and baked with tempeh-mushroom bacon bits for a meaty, cheesy, vegan version of classic mac and cheese.
Ingredients
- 16 oz short pasta noodles like fussili or shells
Mac and Cheese Sauce
- 2 cups frozen butternut squash
- 1 large cooked carrot
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp onion granules
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3-5 dashes cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup almond or soy milk unsweetened
- 3/4 cups pasta cooking water water the pasta cooked in
- 1 cup shredded vegan cheese
"Bacon" Topping
- 1 pint button mushrooms white or cremini work well
- 5 slices tempeh bacon I use Light Life
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
Garnish (optional but yum)
- parsley, scallions, or chives for serving
Instructions
Prep
- Cover the raw cashews in boiling water and set aside for 15-20 minutes. Then preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- While the cashews soak, clean the mushrooms and add to a food processor with the tempeh bacon. Pulse in a food processor until finely chopped (about the size of bacon bits) Set aside.
- Then set a large, wide frying pan (without oil) to medium-high heat and add in the mushrooms and tempeh bacon. Cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes to encourage browning. Then add in a tbsp of avocado oil and season generously with garlic powder, smoked paprika and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Make the Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a big pinch of salt and stir in the pasta.Tip: use an oven safe pot so that you can put it straight in the oven to melt the cheese later on without having to dirty another dish!
Make the Sauce
- While the noodles cook, drain the cashews and add them to the blender with the butternut squash, carrot, spices, nutritional yeast, and plant milk. Then carefully ladle out 3/4 cup of the water the noodles are cooking in and allow it to cool slightly. Then add it to the blender and blend until very smooth and creamy.
Assemble
- Drain the pasta and add it back to the pot. Add the sauce and vegan cheddar cheese and mix well. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired (remember the bacon topping will also be a little salty)Then top with the bacon mixture and an extra sprinkle of cheese. Bake for 10 minutes to melt the cheese and then garnish with chopped scallions or chives. Serve warm and enjoy!