Best Vegan Mac and Cheese in the entire world...seriously
1 1/2 pounds pasta, preferably macaroni "Cheese" Sauce:
1 1/2 cups unsweetened nondairy milk
1 1/2 cups nutritional yeast
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup water
1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
1/4 (12 ounce) block firm (not silken) tofu
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon vegesal or in lack of fancy product, just use salt
1 dollop mustard, optional
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil water in a big pot and cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Add all of the "cheese" sauce ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Once pasta is cooked, drain and put it in the baking pan (about the size of a brownie pan). Pour the "cheese" sauce over the pasta.
3. Bake until the top of the pasta looks slightly browned and crispy, about 15 minutes.
This is very simple and tastes amazing! If you are cooking for yourself, it will last about 5 days if you eat it for all three meals of the day.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
Wow. I think my heart actually stopped a little when I first tasted this. I had my doubts about this recipe but now I feel bad that I doubted it because it was sooooo goooood. I made 2/3 of the recipe because I only wanted a pound of pasta. By accident I put in the full amount of soy sauce and it was still great. I decided not to add any water because the sauce seemed too liquidy. This recipe is a 5 star for me. It's easy and I'll definitely be making it again! Oh, also, the recipe doesn't say how big of a block of tofu to use. I started with a 14 oz. block.
I'mn sorry, but I thought this was disgusting. I did make some changes, but I think it would have been gross anyway. I used 1/2 cup margarine, 3/4 block tofu, and 1/4 cup water, and omitted all of the oil. It had some really funky smell and flavor, and looked brownish -- not appealing. If anyone else is disappointed by this dish but wants vegan macaroni and cheese, I highly recommend Road's End Organic Mac'n'Chreese -- EXCEPT, don't follow the directions on the box. Cook the pasta, then add about 2 tbsp. margarine (Earth Balance preferably), and only splash of soymilk (just enough to get the creamy consistency). Add salt, pepper, or nutritional yeast to taste. YUMMY, super fast and easy, and costs less than $2 per box! :-)
No wonder it didn't taste good! Those are probably the worst changes you could have made! We absolutely loved it and I am seeing very few negative remarks about it.
This is quite good - and much better than boxed vegan M&C. I added a handful or so of chopped almonds into the blender, just to give the sauce a wee more body. I also used less salt and tamari than recommended. Once it was almost done baking, I put some crumbled crackers on top as well as some grated vegan sharp cheddar cheese found here: http://www.recipezaar.com/130826. This wasn't really necessary because, as mentioned, the sauce has a potent flavor, but the small touch of melty cheese helps maintain the illusion of a nice gooey traditional M&C. In the future, I will probably reduce the garlic and oil just a tad and replace with other spices.
To serve, I added plain soygurt (WildWood brand - I find Silk's plain to be quite gross) and cilantro and both were really nice additions to lighten up the taste a little.
Overall, while a little strong on taste, the consistency is fantastic, especially after cooling for a while, so it all comes together well.
Well, I have made this many times and loved it every time. I always cut out the water, add more nutirional yeast, and make the full recipe.
Its too freakin good to make only half!!!!!!! If the whole recipe is too much, but you like (or love) it, this freezes and thaws out very well, so I recommend just freezing the leftovers.
I had such a strong craving for this today and I just made some last week and it lasted about four days of eating it by myself. My dog loves it too.
And its absolutely the bomb( sorry for the outdated expression) with Herdez salsa.
This didnt turn out well for me. With all the good reviews I thought this was going to be the best ever for real. The taste wasnt to my liking so I added 3 dallops of sour cream and veganaise this made it edible. I followed everything to the t I just dont know what went wrong, i really wanted this to work. It looked good just didnt taste as good as it looks.
I made this for lunch today. I have to say that it is very rich, but good. I only used 1 cup of nutritional yeast and 1 cup of milk, a splash of braggs instead of 1/3 cup soy sauce. I also decreased the garlic, paprika, salt and noodles. It was a bit salty anyway and I used sea salt. Perhaps that vegsalt isn't as salty as sea salt. I added broccoli and roasted red peppers. My daughter says it is okay too. I think that I will play around with the recipe more next time or use the other one linked on the commets.
I tried this recipe and really liked it. Thanks!
As to many of the previous comments, though--
First of all, I think if you were used to eating the boxed macaroni and cheese, this will not taste like 'real' mac and cheese to you. On the other hand, if you were eating homemade mac and cheese, this should satisfy your cravings nicely.
Secondly, I think the reason some people might find this recipe salty is because of the salt they are using. If you use regular or kosher salt (which has a saltier flavor), the amount of salt in this recipe may overwhelm you. On the other hand, if you use sea salt (larger flakes, less intense salt flavor, better for baking/cooking), the amount of salt in this recipe might be just right for you. Also, for those of you with low-sodium diets, you will become more salt sensitive, the less salt you consume. Less is more, in that case.
Like the reviewers above, I also decreased the amount of oil (and increased the amount of tofu AND milk a bit). This is the type of recipe where measurements don't matter too much. Test the consistency as you blend, and taste for seasonings as well. Start out with less salt, and add more as needed. I also used fresh garlic.
Thanks again! Yummy ;)
this recipe is SO GOOD. i even tried the one in veganomicon and hated it, so i went back to this one. yummy!
I am eating this mac and cheese right now for the very first time.
First, the changes, most based on previous reviews:
Used only half the amount of oil called for and used vegan margarine the other half.
Used 1 tsp minced garlic instead of garlic powder.
Used woman-power to blend cheese ingredients instead of blender.
Baked at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
Sprinkled with fresh ground black pepper.
No water
Almond milk instead of soy milk.
I would make this recipe again; it is tasty. You should be able to gauge whether you would like this before hand or not. If you don't like nutritional yeast or soy sauce, you will not like this recipe. I LOVE nutritional yeast and am OK about soy sauce. I did find the recipe strong in taste, so I would offer this one only to those experienced with vegan cooking. The almond milk made it "cheesier." When I make this again I will probably bake at 375 for 25 min, use 1.5 tsps garlic, sprinkle more liberally with ground black pepper, add 2 TBSP water to my altered recipe, and use more like 1.75 lbs pasta.
This recipe is strange, yet strangely addicting... I keep going back for more. I'd rate this 7 out of 10 stars in taste and 9 out of 10 stars in my own personal ease of cooking (time plus not a lot of dishes to wash plus are these ingredients I usually have around?) So, 8 out of 10 stars!
Thanks !
Melissa
This is my favorite vegweb recipe! It sounds good to me all of the time, and I never tire of it. I find since I cut down the tamari to just a splash instead of 1/4 cup it tastes better, and has a cheesier color (instead of brown). Also, lately I've been using less water and its a lot creamier. I usually make buffalo "wings" with the leftover tofu to create the perfect comfort meal. MMMMMMMMM. 1000 thanks for this recipe!!!
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