This Vegan Mac & Cheese, or more precisely titled “Creamy Butternut Pasta,” is one of my favorite pasta sauces of all time. Partially because it's feel-good healthy and also because it is a super satisfying, rich sauce without feeling heavy. It doesn’t taste like cheese per say (so don’t have that expectation!), but it has an amazingly unique flavor in its own right.
You can add any veggies, as the sauce cuts through the bitterness of leafy greens like kale, and I have a few suggestions below. Or you could serve the disarmingly yellow sauce plain with pasta to please a crowd of kids who are craving mac and cheese, as attested by my 2 to 8 year old cousins.
Shoutout to my friend Kaitlyn for the recipe and inspiration to add more healthy meals to my repertoire :)
Ingredients:
6 oz of your favorite pasta shape (I typically go for tiny macaroni and in my opinion, Trader Joe’s brand is superior, period)
(Sauce) 8 oz butternut squash cubes (you can cut your own from a whole squash or use the pre-cut ones)
1/4 cup cashews
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic
1 lemon
(Add-ins)
6 oz kale or broccoli or cauliflower
1 can of chickpeas
(Toppings)
Vegan Parmesan (1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or cashews + 1/4 tsp dried oregano + nutritional yeast + salt)
Fried onion
Directions:
Heat a large pot of salted water until it boils. Add you pasta & cook until al dente, according to the package directions. Strain pasta & reserve 1/2 cup of pasta sauce.
(Sauce) Place butternut squash cubes into a saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Boil until fork-tender, about 10-12 minutes.
Place cashews into a small bowl and cover with 2/3 cup of hot water.
Add cashews along with the soaking liquid into a blender. Add butternut squash, nutritional yeast, garlic, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt. Blend butternut sauce until smooth. (Add some of the pasta water if the sauce is too thick)
(Assembly) Saute kale or steam broccoli / cauliflower until tender. Strain the chickpeas from the can. Cover with olive oil, cumin, and salt. Roast in an air fryer for 13 minutes at 390 degrees F.
Combine pasta, butternut sauce, and toppings in a bit pot. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper. Add extra nutritional yeast and lemon juice to taste.
(Toppings) Blend the pumpkin seeds, dried oregano, nutritional yeast, and salt together until the texture resembles parmesan cheese. When I don’t have pumpkin seeds, I substitute them with extra cashews.
Sprinkle vegan parmesan and fried onion on top of the pasta & serve!
(Optional) You can pour the pasta into a baking disk, cover with vegan parmesan and broil in the oven for 2-3 minutes, but I think it’s great either way.
NOTES:
Nutritional yeast is common in a lot of vegan recipes because of its "cheesy" flavor. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but definitely don't be afraid to try it!
The vegan parmesan adds great texture & melts in your mouth in a super cool way. Make sure to not overblend the pumpkin seeds/ cashews though, different sized pieces are great.
My family is typically gifted a box of Fried Onions from Vietnam whenever a family member visits, and sadly no other version can compare to its oniony sweetness and quality. I always want to add it on everything, and this dish is a perfect place!
Source recipe: Purple Carrot
Commenti