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Vegan macaroni cheese

For those who used to love cheese, a plant-based diet can be challenging. Most vegan cheeses taste awful or made of hydrogenated fats- the good ones are very expensive. Using nutritional yeast flakes you can recreate a cheesy tasting sauce, which can be mixed with white beans or  puréed cashew nuts for a thick texture. For this vegan macaroni cheese I used neither -  instead I made a gluten-free roux for the thickening. (I used gluten-free pasta too). I added some vegan “cheddar cheese” to the sauce -  but you can use more yeast flakes and flour, if you don’t like fake cheese products. Serve with a crispy salad.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g dried macaroni
  • ½ onion
  • 2 clove of garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 400 ml unsweetened plant-based milk
  • 50 g dairy-free margarine
  • 2 tbsp corn flour/starch
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
  • 50 g vegan cheese optional

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
  2. Cook the macaroni according to the packet instructions, then drain and set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, cut the onion in half. Peel half of the onion and garlic cloves. Put these in a pan and pour over the milk. Add the thyme sprig and the bay leaf. Slowly bring to the boil, then turn off the heat.
  4. Melt the margarine in another, small saucepan over medium heat, add the corn flour and stir until get a thick paste. Add a ladleful of the warm milk and whisk until you get a smooth, thick cream.
  5. Pour this into the milk and bring to the boil again. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove the onion, herbs and garlic pieces. Stir in the mustard and nutritional yeast flakes. Grate in half of the vegan cheese (if using), or add more yeast flakes. Simmer until you get a thick sauce.
  6. Taste, and season with salt and pepper.
  7. Add the drained macaroni to the sauce and toss gently. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish, then grate the remaining cheese on top or scatter some breadcrumbs over it, if preferred.
  8. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
  9. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then serve with freshly ground pepper.