Vegan Macaroni n’ Cheese

Jan 23, 2011 by lanashabit

Hi Bloggers,

I feel like I haven’t typed talked to you in a while. This past week, being the first week of school, was a bit hectic. My schedule is now solidified after some back-and-forth emails with my academic advisor. Here is the lineup:

• Statistics (an easy sophomore class)
• The Practices of Modern Engineering
• Engineering Ethics
• Senior Design (Working on a project with the Air Force Research Laboratory)

It’s looking like it will be a great semester. Only 12 hours…no complaints!

Being back in school also means being back with friends!! Monopoly, Pictionary and card games were played Friday evening. Saturday was movie night and today was filled with group meetings.

I did manage to squeeze in 3 CrossFit training sessions throughout the week, make it to a rejuvenating sunrise yoga class Friday morning and go on a 3-mile run this morning.

Alas, it is Sunday and time to gear up for the week ahead. I made a delicious vegan mac n’ cheese casserole to get the week started. After a couple times of making this, I finally got it just the way I wanted. The sauce doesn’t taste exactly like cheese, but this creamy, flavor-packed version has replaced the original in my recipe book.

The carrots and sweet potato give the traditional cheese color, while the cannellini beans create the richness you’d expect from the classic comfort food. The Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, sauteed onions and garlic intensify the savory flavor. I’ve already put the mac n’ cheese in containers to take for school lunches. No one will ever guess that I’m sneaking in four veggies. (insert evil laugh here)

Vegan Mac n’ Cheese
Inspiration from VegNews

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced (~1/2 cup)
1/2 large onion, diced (~1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. EVOO
1/2 sweet potato, already baked (~1/2 cup)
1/2 cup cannellini beans (if canned, rinsed and drained)
1 cup plain soy milk
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 T. nutritional yeast
1/2 T. Dijon mustard
2 t. salt
8 ounces macaroni
dried bread crumbs or 1 piece of whole wheat bread
EVOO for drizzling
Paprika for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and heat 1 tablespoon of EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) over medium heat.
2. Cook the macaroni according to package instructions. In a colander, drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
3. Add onion, carrot and garlic to oil and sauté for 6 minutes.
4. Meanwhile process piece of piece of bread in the processor until crumbs form. Set aside in small bowl.
5. Combine the sautéed veggies, sweet potato, beans, soy milk, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, mustard and salt in to the food processor and process until smooth.
6. Combine the sauce and macaroni in a casserole dish.*  Top with the bread crumbs. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with paprika.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

* You can stop on step 6 if your running short on time. It is still delicious! Step 7 just adds a little somethin’ somethin’.

In pictures:

Sauté…

Make bread crumbs…

Make sauce…

Combine…

Top with breadcrumbs, EVOO and paprika…

Bake…

Serve up…

I also made my egg muffins to grab on my way out the door in the mornings.

Now it’s time for yoga before hitting the hay.

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• Vegan Mac n' Cheese

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