Easiest Vegan Mac & Cheese

THE MOST DELICIOUS VEGAN MAC AND CHEESE you’ll ever eat. Prior to becoming vegan, I always felt quite sick after mac and cheese, no matter how delicious it was. However, I felt so light after this dish! I used this recipe from Detoxinista as a base.

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

• Add 1 tsp onion powder

• Only use 1 tsp salt

• Only use 1/4 tsp chili powder (unless you like it spicy)

• Add an extra 1 tbsp of water and reblend

• Use brown rice elbow pasta as a healthy alternative to regular macaroni (I use this one)

TO BAKE THE MAC & CHEESE (the recipe doesn’t call for this)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Take a deep dish (I used a 9x13 Pyrex dish) and spray with PAM or other oil.

2. Strain the macaroni and put back into the pot.

3. Mix all of the sauce from the blender into the macaroni. Add all of the macaroni to the greased dish.

4. Top macaroni dish with bread crumbs and sweet paprika and bake for 25 minutes.

5. Finish with a 2-minute broil. Top with parsley.

OVERALL, this dish was straightforward to make and the best healthy alternative to mac and cheese. If you’re lactose intolerant, vegan, or even my meat-eating mother, you will enjoy this vegan baked mac!

Vegan Almond Pesto Spaghetti Squash

I made my own recipe! Vegan almond pesto with spaghetti squash and veggies. Substitute extra veggies as you please!

PESTO INGREDIENTS:

• 2/3 cup almonds

• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1 1/2 cups basil

• 1/2 cup spinach

• 2 cloves minced garlic

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/3 cup olive oil

SPAGHETTI SQUASH INGREDIENTS:

• 1 spaghetti squash

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 yellow onion (diced)

• 1 zucchini (diced)

• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes (sliced into quarters)

• Add any other veggies you want

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half and scoop out seeds.

2. Place each half of the spaghetti squash open-side down in a deep baking dish. Fill bottom of the dish with water. Pierce each half with a fork a few times.

3. Cook spaghetti squash in oven for 35-45 minutes, until the squash is tender enough to easily pierce with a fork. Let cool while you make the pesto.

4. Now for the pesto! Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add water or more oil if you want it more liquid.

5. Flip the squash and use a fork to scrape out the spaghetti strands from the peel. (this link from The Kitchn explains in more detail about the process)

6. Heat pan and olive oil. Add onion and zucchini. Cook until the onions start to sweat and become translucent in color - the zucchini should be cooked well by this time too.

7. Add in the spaghetti squash strands, pesto, and tomatoes. Mix well and serve!

Vegan Homemade Yogurt Sauce using Kite Hill

Food needs spice to taste delicious, but most of my family is not adept at eating spicy foods. I make a homemade yogurt sauce to kick the spice of certain curries or even just as a topping for sweet potatoes.

The base is Kite Hill’s unsweetened almond milk yogurt, an essential in my vegan kitchen.

Add smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and mix vigorously with a fork. I start adding the spices slow and adjust to taste. A delicious topping for any dish!