I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again—cold weather means the perfect opportunity to warm up with comfort food. And there are few foods that are more comforting than good ol' mac 'n' "cheese."
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With much of the country experiencing freezing weather this week, I decided that it's the perfect time to test-drive a couple recipes for the classic pasta dish.
Vegan Yum Yum recently featured a recipe that uses potatoes and carrots as the base of the "cheese," but I found this a bit too healthy to be considered cold-weather comfort food.
RecipeZaar.com features a very popular nutritional yeast-based mac 'n' "cheese" that ranks high on the scale of sinful comfort food. Just check out the nutritional info on the link above. You'll see what I mean. After testing it, I decided that it's the perfect mac 'n' "cheese" recipe to warm me up on a cold day.
No, it doesn't taste just like traditional macaroni and cheese, but it's definitely reminiscent of it. So, try to ignore the cold weather and the terrifying number of calories in this dish and enjoy!
Nutritional Yeast Mac 'n' "Cheese"
1 1/2 lbs. pasta
1 1/2 cups soy milk
1 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 cups nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. salt (optional)
3 oz. firm tofu
1 cup canola oil
•Preheat the oven to 350°F.
•Fill a large pot with water and bring to a rapid boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. When done, drain and set aside.
•Place all the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until well combined.
•Add the cooked pasta to a casserole dish, pour the "cheese" mixture over the pasta and stir to coat the noodles. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sauce begins to thicken and brown slightly.
Makes 6 servings
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Comments ( 11 )
Hurray! My favorite food. I was a hardcore macaronisseur before my vegan transition, but I've been able to find a couple of veggie versions of my fave dish that taste just about as good as the cow pus (yuck! :P) version.
If you're not fantastic in front of the stove (like me) and you need a fast fix that is a dead ringer for a velveeta style shells & cheese, go with Road's End organic shells & cheese.
Posted by Becky McTuffington | January 14, 2009 1:40 PM
Posted on January 14, 2009 13:40
I guess I'm spoiled- I live in CA and it is warm enough during the day to wear shorts! But I do love a good comfort food regardless of the temp.
btw if you haven't already, vote for vegan school lunch options at change[dot]org- I got the info from Vegan Lunch Box today!
Posted by DJ Karma | January 14, 2009 2:33 PM
Posted on January 14, 2009 14:33
great stuff! make it even healthier by substitutung the canola oil with olive oil..and the pasta with whole wheat pasta.
Posted by carmes | January 14, 2009 2:35 PM
Posted on January 14, 2009 14:35
This looks delicious!!
Do you know how many grams of protein this contains?
Thank you for the recipe!!
Posted by jessica | January 14, 2009 5:21 PM
Posted on January 14, 2009 17:21
mac 'n' teese! reminds me of being a kid :)
Posted by Sophie | January 14, 2009 5:22 PM
Posted on January 14, 2009 17:22
1 1/2 cups nutritional yeast? Unfortunately I find the stuff too pungent and can only tolerate small doses...
Posted by Adriana | January 16, 2009 3:06 PM
Posted on January 16, 2009 15:06
that looks divine!!! idk if this is a stupid question but is pasta vegan? i always thought it had egg in it.
Posted by karen | January 17, 2009 12:40 AM
Posted on January 17, 2009 00:40
I decided to try this recipe for dinner tonight. It was pretty good, but had an odd aftertaste. (I'm assuming it was the nutritional yeast.) I didn't add the optional salt, but I'll add the dry mustard in next time for some added flavor.
Posted by Amber | January 17, 2009 9:33 PM
Posted on January 17, 2009 21:33
I found this recipe to be quite awful actually. I don't know if it's the nutritional yeast, all that soya sauce, or the garlic.. but I found it rank and unfortunately ended up throwing most of it out.
Posted by Hannah | January 25, 2009 1:21 AM
Posted on January 25, 2009 01:21
Hey Amy - Great recipe! Also check out the healthy mac & cheese recipe on my blog (www.ilikegranola.com) - it turned out great! I'm now excited to try the ones you have here. Thanks!
Posted by Jamie Walker | January 28, 2009 7:55 PM
Posted on January 28, 2009 19:55
I tried it and it was great. Finally a mac n' cheese recipe that tastes as good as it sounds. Try adding Bacos for more texture. Thanks.
Posted by Josh Norwood | January 30, 2009 5:06 PM
Posted on January 30, 2009 17:06