Butternut Mac n Cheeze
- judithstred
- May 1, 2015
- 2 min read
Bet you never thought you could make mac n cheese without gluten or dairy! It is Oh She Glows famous vegan Cheeze Sauce, with a delicious addition of Butternut Squash. Even if you're not of the vegan persuasion, you'll love this!- as is evidenced by the almost empty casserole photo below (I didn't even have enough time to snap a picture of the finished dish before Luke devoured over half!!)
Cheeze Sauce
3/4 cup raw cashews
1 cup milk (unsweetened soy will do for the vegan/non-dairy option)
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp salt
7 tbsp nutritional yeast (provides the cheesy consistency)
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp or more Italian seasoning (oregano, thyme, basil, & rosemary)
1/4-1/2 tsp Tumeric powder, optional (gives the orangey colour)
1/4-1/2 tsp Paprika
Additional ingredients:
1/2 butternut squash/pumpkin, peeled and chopped
450g/4.5 cups pasta of your choice (for gluten-free I recommend brown rice penne)
1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. In a bowl, season chopped squash with some oil (~1 tsp) and salt (a couple pinches) and stir. Spread out squash on lined baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes, flipping once half way through baking.
2. Process the cashews in a food processor until a fine crumb forms, then add in the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients and process until smooth. Leave the sauce in the processor as you will be adding the squash.
3. Cook your pasta according to package directions. When the squash is finished roasting, add it to the food processor and blend it with the cheese sauce until smooth. Adjust to taste. The sauce will thicken up with time. If at any point the sauce bevomes too thick, you can add a bit of milk to thin it out.
4. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water. Now add the pasta back into the same pot and add your desired amount of cheeze sauce on top (i use it all!). Stir well. Add in any desired mix-ins like peas or broccoli. You can either heat this up in the pot, or pour it into a casserole dish, sprinkle on breadcrumbs & paprika and bake it at 350F for about 25 minutes. Serves 4.
Enjoy :)
Luke the carnivore couldn't get enough!
