Recipe: Creamy Vegan Mac and ‘Cheese’

Crave creamy but don’t do dairy? No problem! This Creamy Vegan Mac and Cheese uses sweet potatoes, almond milk, tofu and rice shredded cheese to create a dish that’s sure to wow.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces 100% whole-grain pasta
• 28 ounces sweet potato, peeled, diced
• 4 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 12 ounces extra-firm tofu
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 pinches cayenne pepper
• 8 ounces rice shredded cheese alternative

Directions

1. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, remove, strain, rinse and set aside in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sweet potatoes with almond milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer uncovered until sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Strain sweet potatoes into a bowl, reserving the almond milk. Measure almond milk and add new almond milk to equal 3 cups.
3. Place sweet potatoes in blender with almond milk, tofu, salt, Dijon mustard, black pepper, nutmeg and cayenne and blend until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, combine the sweet potato sauce, pasta and rice cheese and mix well.
5. Place in a 10”x12”, two-inch deep baking pan, and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. Remove and serve.

Chef’s note: To prepare a gluten-free version, just substitute any whole-grain, gluten-free pasta in place of whole-wheat pasta.

Nutrition information (per serving)

Makes 6 servings

Calories: 220
Sodium: 570 mg
Sugar: 4 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Saturated fat: 0 g
Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 10 g
Carbohydrate: 39 g

— Created by Jim Perko, CEC, AAC.