A normally unhealthy dish gets a whole food based makeover thanks to Veggies Don’t Bite, one of our favorite resources for gluten-free, vegan and refined sugar-free eats. This sharp white mac ‘n’ cheese bake is as creamy and delicious as it’s dairy counterpart. Check it out below!
Makes a 9″x12″ baking dish
Ingredients:
Sharp White Cheese Sauce
1 ½ cup water or water form cooking veggies
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard seed powder
¾ teaspoon chickpea miso
1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
24 ounces your favorite pasta
Crispy topping (makes about 2 ¼ cups):
½ cup Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts
2 slices toasted bread (use gluten free for gluten free recipe)
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Make cheese sauce. After it’s blended, take a spoonful and eat it because it’s so good. Then add the water, extra apple cider vinegar, mustard seed powder, chickpea miso and salt. Blend again. It will now taste much stronger and be watery, but this is ok. When baking, it loses a bit of flavor and creaminess so this will make sure that it is perfectly sharp and creamy after baked.
3. Put all crispy topping ingredients into a food processor. Process until well combined.
4. Cook pasta for only about 2 minutes. You will be baking this so this prevents mushy noodles. Although it doesn’t seem like a long time, if you overcook then your noodles will end up mushy after baked.
5. Once pasta is done, drain and rinse well to prevent too much starchiness in the baked dish. Return to the pot and mix in cheese sauce.
Pour into a 9 x 12 baking dish. Sprinkle crispy topping over it evenly. You can decide if you want a thicker crisp on top or a thinner one.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until crispy on top. Start checking at 10 minutes to ensure your pasta doesn’t overcook. I made this with a gluten free ancient grain pasta made from brown rice, quinoa, amaranth and corn. Different pastas cook differently so make sure to check it starting at 10 minutes.
7. Promptly stuff into face without getting burned, this is best hot from the oven!
What do you think of this vegan and gluten-free mac ‘n’ cheese? Leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you!
Sophia DeSantis is the author of Veggies Don’t Bite, a vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free food blog targeted to all types of eaters. She is the mom of two beautiful boys and wife to an amazing husband. Her and her family live a vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free life 90% of the time because she believes that the stress of having to be perfect shouldn’t overpower the benefits that their healthy lifestyle brings. Through her website, she hopes to reach anybody interested in making a positive health change in their life.
