Vegan comfort food at its finest, this tasty vegan mac and cheese is made with butternut squash, carrots and other real-food ingredients. No weird stuff here – just natural macaroni and cheese-like deliciousness!
Mac and Cheese has always been a favourite since meeting my partner Joel. When we met, he made it with indulgent dairy cheese and I remember we (almost) fell a sleep straight away after eating it! Now we make it with vegan dairy free cheese and it’s still indulgent but without the food naps…
I’ve been contemplating giving it a plant-based and healthy make over for a while now. Creating a sauce from cooked butternut squash and carrots as the base of the the creaminess. You could also use sweet potato instead of carrots. Adding a bit of nutiva coconut manna to make it a little more decadent plus you have the option of adding vegan dairy free cheese on top for that little extra 😉 The good thing about using this coconut butter, it’s organic and 100% coconut! Check the back of canned coconut milk and you’ll find lots of ingredients and usually only 50-70% coconut…
This recipe is perfect for getting children or fussy adults to eat more veg. The carrots give it a natural sweetness 🙂
Let me know how you get on and if you decided to change some of the ingredients around to your own taste! You could add fresh chopped chilli for instance and make it spicy.
Super Creamy Easy Vegan Mac &
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Ingredients
- 8 ounces macaroni pasta (penne, shells and rotini are also good)
- 1/2 small butternut squash diced (3 cups )
- 2 medium carrots (or 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced, about 2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 medium chopped onion (about 1 cup)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon mustard of choice
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
- 1 teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper + more to taste
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth (or use the boiling water you used to cook the butternut squash)
- 3/4 cup coconut butter (or use coconut milk: the sauce may just be a bit thinner)
- 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon soy sauce, to taste
Instructions
- Fill a large pot 2/3 full with water and place over high heat. Once boiling, add a few generous pinches of salt and add the pasta. Cook according to the time on the package until al dente. Drain and return to pan (off heat). Set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, fill another large pot 2/3 full with water and place over high heat. Add the squash and carrots. Bring to a boil and cook until the veggies are fork-tender, 7-8 minutes. Drain and add to the pitcher of a heat-proof, high-powered blender (or a normal blender). Set aside.
- Place a medium saute pan over medium heat. When hot, add the coconut oil. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the mustard, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir. Remove from heat. Pour in the vegetable broth and stir to release any of the browned bits of onion and spices. Pour into blender pitcher. Add coconut butter and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Puree until completely smooth. Taste and add additional soy sauce, a teaspoon at a time, to taste, along with more salt and pepper if desired.
- Pour sauce over cooked pasta in the pan. This recipe makes a lot of sauce (because I like it saucy!) so you might not want to use it all. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until all of the pasta is coated.
- Add grated dairy free cheese on the top of your oven dish if you want that extra indulgent and place under the hot grill for 10 minutes. Serve…
Notes
If you would like to add nutritional yeast to the sauce, I found 2 tablespoons to be a good amount. Just add it with the sauce and blend.
