Cheeseless Mac and Cheese Recipe
So I was making dinner tonight, and the kids have been asking for mac and cheese for awhile so I thought I’d surprise them and make a lot of little people really happy.
I put the macaroni in the boiling water to get it going and then reached into the freezer for the cheese. There was none. No cheese. And the macaroni was boiling, and I had 20 minutes till supper time. Massive mommy fail.
But, I’m all about redeeming massive failures since Jesus did it for me, so I went hunting online for cheeseless mac and cheese recipes, and found that there are a whole lot of them. Who knew? Has this happened to other people too?
Well, as you know, my time was limited so I ended up combining several different recipes based on the ingredients I had. Guess what? My kids went nuts over it. They LOVED it! Even after I told them what was in it!!!
My 7-year old actually said, “Mom, this one is way healthier than your other one, and it’s just as good. Just make this one from now on.” What???!!! Can I say, “Massive Mommy win?!”
I had to sit down and quickly write down what I threw in that pot, and I thought I’d share it with you in case any of you ever find yourself in this dilemma or just need a healthier, dairy-free, veggie-packed, really yummy cheeseless mac and cheese!
- 3 cups cauliflower and/or cashews (I did 2 cups cauliflower and 1 cup cashews)
- 2 T. fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups milk of choice – (I did 1 cup water and 1 cup canned coconut milk)
- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1½ tsp. sea salt (more to taste)
- 1 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 cloves of garlic
- ½ tsp. of turmeric
- ½ tsp. mustard (dijon or yellow)
- optional: pinch of cayenne pepper
- optional: ½ tsp. chili powder
- 16 oz. pasta of choice
- freshly ground black pepper
- paprika, for garnish
- optional add-ins: roasted broccoli, mixed veggies, spinach, or even meat
- Put all ingredients before pasta into a medium pot and bring to a complete boil, then cover and simmer 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is fall-apart tender and the cashews are soft. Pulverize with either an immersion or regular blender. Serve over pasta or spaghetti squash, rice, steamed veggies, or whatever! Garnish with ground black pepper and/or paprika. Makes about 4 cups, and it gets much thicker as it sits.
- You can also mix the pasta and sauce and bake it in the oven if you prefer baked mac and cheese!
I mixed our leftover pasta and sauce and put it in a casserole dish so we’ll be enjoying baked cheeseless mac and cheese for lunch tomorrow! I can’t wait!