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Mac and Cheese Better Than I Remember



Dairy Free Macaroni and Cheese


Okay I call this "better than I remember" because I always had that Kraft stuff with the powdered cheese and I mean really! Can that even be considered food?!?!?!? Now if you are used to homemade Mac and Cheese this will taste well different;) Don't make it expecting it to taste just like the "real" thing. It is good though and filling! Since my kids have never even had Kraft they think it is great!

Plus it makes way more then that stinkin' box and I'm guessin' is much cheaper if added up per serving! And oh so much HEALTHIER! Not that I consider this the ultimate healthy dish!  We need to try to get our kids away from the junk food the rule and whole foods the exception. This dish is the exception at our house. But I don't feel one bit guilty when we do have it! ;) And it may make a good transition dish for families that are trying to eat healthier but are not used to it.

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese


Mac and Cheese Better Than I Remember
½ cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon chili powder (optional)
1 cup water
1 cup rice milk
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound macaroni, whole wheat or spelt


Cook macaroni according to package directions. While your macaroni is cooking, work on the "cheese" sauce. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the water,  rice milk, and oil and whisk briefly. In another bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients together.
Add the dry ingredients to the saucepan, and slowly add the wet ingredients, continuously whisking over medium heat. Once all the ingredients are mixed, turn up the heat a little until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken. Keep whisking as the mixture thickens as soon as it is nice and thick, remove from heat.
Your pasta should be done and drained and returned to pan add the cheese to the macaroni stir until coated. Sprinkle individual servings with salt and pepper to taste.






10 comments:

solivvus said...

This was pretty good. I ended up heating up the pan a little too much before i put in the dry ingredients, and so i had a slight burnt taste at the end, but i'll definitely make it again. It's definitely not kraft, but it tastes like a healthy mac and cheese... which it is... so it's good :) it just tastes healthy. it's also really filling which is great so i won't keep eating a ton after i've made it! It's a good, heavy meal which i like! Thanks Tammie!

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed it, too when you made it while you were here. I need to make up a batch myself and see how Popsy likes it. Being the cheese freak that I am, it is very hard to find a substitute, but that came wondrously close. And it's very hard to imitate real cheese, and even make it good for you. You are a very amazing daughter. I love you. Mom

The Cooking Lady said...

I remember giving up packaged Mac & Cheese about 10 years ago. My son (Who is autistic) gave me so much heart ache, but now loves my daughters and mine expierments with new Mac * cheese dishes.

I have this one from a frined of mine who is now a chef...somewhere, and man oh man this one is grand. Another recipe I will have to bog about!

Carla said...

I love this mac&cheese. My kids are starting to get used to it. They aren't dealing well with the change of foods this past year. Does it matter what brand nutritional yeast? I've read articles saying it was healthy & some saying it wasn't due to heat processing causing glutamates in the yeast. Any ideas? Thanks!

Tammie said...

Carla: I am sure like most things some brands are better then others. I have used both Now brand and Red Star and been pretty pleased with both. As far as how "healthy" it is ummm the jury is still out on that one. I do think with our particular diet it seems to have some nutrients we may not get otherwise. So I use it for Cheezy sauces and things and feel that it is a good option for us. If you learn more about it and find there are better brands then others, I would love for you to share!

Denise Punger MD IBCLC said...

I made this today with my spelt shells from the co-op. This is a tasty recipe. I did not tell the boys it was "mac and cheese." I just said I made a no name sauce and they liked it. I didn't think my meat eaters would fall for it being m & c. At least they liked it! I had my huge portion with a big portion of brocolli.

Tammie said...

Permission: Good thinking!! I'm glad they liked it! I think most of my dishes should not be called similar names of their unhealthy counterparts. Because most of the time they really do not taste that much like them I personally think they tase much better! Especially once you are used to the taste of REAL food!

Trish said...

I took the suggestions from above and it turned out delicious! Thanks! I'm going to post this on my cooking blog! Yummers!

Emily said...

This recipe worked so well for me especially the helpful instructions. Previously I had tried to dump a big spoonful of raw garlic into normal mac to healthify it for my kids...they wouldn't eat it. As described to do the sauce while the noodles are boiling makes this recipe so doable and with the touch of mustard and onion and garlic it does have a cheesy taste! Two thumbs up.
P.S. Excited for your search button to work again, even googling doesn't work for me very well, and I just have to search through the categories.

Amy G. said...

Tammie,

I just made this for lunch today! I was a total skeptic, but no more! It was delish. I even had a second bowl (which I shouldn't have -- it's filling). This was my second dish with nutritional yeast. The first time I tried something (not one of your recipes), it grossed me out. But this was so yummy. Thanks for sharing!