Vegan Mac & Cheese

Vegan Mac & Cheese - 2 Guiding Stars

Active Time

10 min.

Total Time

30 min.

Servings

8 (292 g)

This sauce in this recipe is essentially a half batch of Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Soup. You can make this dish in a snap by making a full soup recipe and freezing it in portions. Defrost in the microwave when you’re ready to make mac and “cheese.” You can use the sauce straight up over pasta, but to make this a more balanced meal, we’ve suggested the hunger-quenching add-ins of beans and kale.

Ingredients

"Cheese" Sauce:

½ head garlic
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
½ head cauliflower, chopped
½ small yellow onion, diced
½ carrot, peeled and diced
½ stalk celery, diced
1 tsp. smoked paprika (optional)
¼ tsp. salt
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
½ (13.5 oz.) can unsweetened, low-fat coconut milk
¼ cup nutritional yeast

Pasta:

1 lb. small pasta shells
2 (15.5 oz.) cans of no-salt-added cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Slice the top off the head of garlic to expose the tips of the clove and cut in half. Lightly drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap the head in aluminum foil.
Toss the cauliflower with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Spread the cauliflower in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place the garlic on the same sheet and roast until browned and tender (30 minutes).
While the cauliflower and garlic roast, heat remaining olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent (3-5 minutes).
Add carrots and celery. Cook until celery starts to soften. Add paprika, if using, and salt. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
When the garlic and cauliflower are done, remove the garlic from the foil and squeeze out the individual cloves. Add cauliflower and garlic to the pot and return to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are soft (10-15 minutes).
While vegetables soften, cook the pasta according to package directions in a large pot. Before draining, place the kale and beans in a large colander. Pour the hot pasta and water over the kale and beans to heat and drain thoroughly.
Puree cheese sauce using an immersion blender. Stir in coconut milk and nutritional yeast.
Stir pasta, beans, and kale into the cheese sauce and heat over medium heat to desired temperature, stirring to minimize sticking (2-3 minutes).

Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 335; Total Fat 6.5g (9% Daily Value); Saturated Fat 2g (10% DV); Trans Fat 0g; Cholesterol 0mg (0% DV); Sodium 155mg (7% DV); Total Carbohydrate 57g (21% DV); Dietary Fiber 6g (21% DV); Total Sugars 3g; Includes 0g Added Sugars (0% DV); Protein 13g; Vitamin D 0% DV; Calcium 6% DV; Iron 15% DV; Potassium 10% DV; Thiamin 190% DV; Riboflavin 120% DV; Vitamin B12 90% DV.