I have been wanting to make Fat Free Vegan’s Easy Macaroni and Cheeze for a long time. I finally got to the bulk store and remembered to buy nutritional yeast. I have been looking forward to trying nutritional yeast ever since I heard about its’ nutritional benefits and cheese and nutty-like taste! Seems too good to be true, right?
Here are some of the benefits of nutritional yeast:
- very rich in B vitamins- great for vegetarians/vegans!
- Yellowish colour comes from the concentration of the B vitamin Riboflavin
- Rich in vitamins niacin, thiamin, biotin, and folic acid
- Rich in minerals selenium, chromium, zinc, phosphorus, and magnesium
- Can be used as a supplement or condiment
- Can be sprinkled on cereal, spaghetti, popcorn, and smoothies (note: huge foreshadowing for tomorrow AM!)
- Two teaspoons (10 mL) of yeast flakes provide one microgram of vitamin B12, the recommended daily intake for most adults!!
I am seriously kicking myself for not trying this sooner! Especially after the outstanding results I had making this super easy vegan mac and cheese. For some reason I thought this recipe was going to be difficult, but all you have to do is cook the pasta and then take ALL the ingredients and throw into a blender or processor. Then heat it all up and stir. It was that easy!!
Vegan Mac and Cheese
I adapted the recipe based on what ingredients I had on hand and it surprisingly still came out stellar!
My version with tweaks below.
Ingredients:
1 pound vegan pasta (or regular if you prefer!)
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup plain Almond Breeze (may use other non-dairy milk)
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon garlic puree
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (curry powder)
1 tablespoons tahini
black pepper to taste
Directions:
Cook your preferred pasta according to the directions on the bag or box. I used pasta shells for a fun change. It brought me back to the wonderful Velveeta pasta my mom used to make us as kids! While that is cooking, throw ALL ingredients (including 1 + 1/4 cup water) into the food processor or blender and blend for 30-60 seconds. Once pasta is cooked and drained, add sauce into sauce pan with pasta shells and simmer over low-medium heat stirring frequently. The thickening process takes 5-10 minutes. Don’t despair if you think the pasta is too watery- it REALLY thickens up nicely thanks to the cornstarch! Serves 8. You can get creative with this and mix in some vegetables or spinach too.
According to Fat Free Vegan’s recipe:
Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 303 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 54g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 316mg Sodium; 5g Fiber. Also, if you use nutritional yeast fortified with B-12, one serving provides 100% of the daily requirement of that vitamin.
Hers + His:
I had to make Eric’s fun to distract him from the fact that he was eating cheese less pasta! lol. Well, I did sprinkle on some parmesan and threw in a cheeseslice for him to be fair. :)
The taste?
It knocked both our socks off– even with a bunch of modifications! I honestly can’t believe that it tasted that good. It was cheesey and nutty tasting. Next time I will definitely add spinach or peas to it. So awesome. I will be buying nutritional yeast on a regular basis now– WOW!!!
Look how creamy that is!!!!
GAH! :D It was the perfect comfort food today for a post-night of drinking and dreary weather outside!
I wasn’t planning on working out today due to only getting 4.5 hours of sleep last night after the crazy bachelorette party, but for whatever reason I am not tired at all today. Not even one bit. It’s strange! I have a feeling I am going to crash tonight! It must have been my handy Hangover Prevention Kit (HPK) not to be confused with an EPT. ;)
The workout:
- Duration: 52 mins (including water breaks- always)
- Speed: 3.9 mph, incline 15%
- Max heart rate: 165 bpm
- Avg heart rate: 146 bpm
- Feel the burn: 450 kcals
- Distance: 3.19 miles
It felt so good! Even though I sometimes don’t feel like working out after a late night it always makes me feel back on track and in my normal routine.
Eric finished all the sanding and is now on coat 2 of the primer in the dining room, family room, and sunroom. Things are shaping up! We will be painting COLOUR on the wall this week! I can’t believe it!!! :)
The sunroom is going to be Ashley Gray to coordinate with the mortar in the brick. We are turning the sunroom officially into a workout room. We will eventually be putting in a gym floor in there.
For the family room we chose Peanut Shell. It will go nicely with the brick colours!
I can’t wait to have the walls painted! It will be coming together soon enough. :) After the paint, we are putting in engineered wood floors.
Well, back to normal Sunday stuff- laundry, cleaning, organizing, and preparing for the week ahead! Have a great end to your Mother’s Day!
Coming up tomorrow:
- Cookbook giveaway
- Shop 4 A Cause: When, What, Where, How, etc
- Spirulina
- and more!
Tonight’s question: What’s your favourite way to eat mac and cheese?
how scrumptious does your mac and cheeez look! amazing! glad to know that Eric liked it too!!!
i love seeing the changes you’ve been making to your beautiful house!! it will look AMAZING when it’s all done! (it already does!)
That mac and cheese looks yummy, I would only be afraid that there wouldn’t be a ‘cheese’ taste, I might have to try it doctored like Eric’s mac.
My favorite way to have mac and cheese is Annie’s white cheddar shells with tomatoes and fresh basil and red pepper flakes and lots of black pepper (and sometimes a slice of Kraft American).
Can’t wait to see before/after pics of your in-laws old home turned into your new home. Both have great taste. Also, I have nutritional yeast but mine is in a very fine powder form and yours looks dif in pic up above?
Wow. That does indeed look very creamy. Thanks for the recipe.
I have loved almost every recipe I’ve ever made from Fat-Free Vegan!! This stuff looks amazing! I can’t WAIT to see the house finished!
OMG how have I never tried Susan’s recipe!!! Aaaaah I’m going to have to make that this week! I love her stuff. We use a lot of nutritional yeast in our house….I put it on veggies a lot…especially broccoli. I bet that sauce would be stellar on some steamed veggies :) I’m loving the paint colors you chose. That light grey will look fabulous :)
The mac & “cheese” looks delicious, but what exactly is nutritional yeast? I’ve heard about it, but never actually tried it. Is it a variation of baking yeast (the kind that you use to make bread)?
If you google ‘Get sconed: new farm mac and cheese’ you’ll find another great recipe for vegan mac & cheese (I actually like it better than Susan’s…).
This recipe is unbelievably delicious! Check out my variation: http://glutenfreegidget.blogspot.com/2009/08/big-cheeze.html
You inspired me to try this! I love Fat Free Vegan blog, but sometimes her recipes are a total miss. This one was EXCELLENT! I used whole wheat pasta, and stirred in some spinach. Yum!
What are you considering a serving here? Does it break down to be a 1/2 cup or cup per serving?
Oops I left you the wrong email address, this one is corrected :) thanks!
I made the vegan mac and cheese the other day and my whole family loved it. None of us are vegan, but I often choose to eat that way (often, but not always). My dad is a huge meat and potatoes guy and when he asked to try some, I was like ‘um, okay…it’s not real cheese though. You might not like it.” He took a bite, looked at me very matter of factly and said “what’s not to like?” SUCCESS!
For lunch today I mixed the “cheese” with marinara sauce and made a cheesy, tomato-ey dish that reminded me of my childhood. It was sooooooooo amazing! The empty bowl next to me keeps asking for seconds.
Angela, I made these tonight for dinner and totally botched it. Is the 1 1/4 cup water part of the sauce? I thought you meant to use the water to cook the noodles, but my sauce was really thick and sticky. It didn’t look creamy like yours :(
Hey Lauren! Yes the 1 1/4 cup water is part of the sauce…sorry if that wasnt clear!!! =(
Then I’ll just have to try it again! :)
What do you recommend as a substitute for tahini in this recipe? I have a bit of an allergy to sesame seeds, but want to try this recipe!
Quinn,
I’ve used peanut butter before in replacement of tahini. I used unsweetened all natural peanut butter and it was not exact but still good.
:)
I am so excited about this! I am going to make this one for my next ‘in bulk’ meal (my last one was your vegan enchiladas, and they were FAB). I am SO STOKED that I don’t need to process any nuts for this, as I feel it just seems too decadent for a ‘healthier’ version- even though nuts are good for you. It just breaks the calorie bank! Thanks for this delicious and nutritious looking alternative!
I added hot sauce to your mac n cheese recipe and it rounded the the flavors perfectly! Thanks!
I’ve recently gone vegan and I’ve been hesitant to try out nutritional yeast, even though its been in my cupboard for a couple weeks. This was the first recipe I made with nutritional yeast and I thought it was great! I’m gonna start trying out lots more recipes with it now! Thanks:)
It took me a while to get used to the flavour but now I love it. A little goes a long way!
I am not a vegan, but have been trying to substitute vegan options for my favorite non-vegan comfort foods. Since regular mac and cheese is too unhealthy, I wanted to try a vegan version. I only clarify this because my review isn’t positive, and I’m wondering if it’s because I’m not at all used to “cheese alternatives?”
I made this recipe exactly as stated (except for the pasta), and wasn’t pleased with the results. It was edible for me (not good), but my family wouldn’t even eat it. I thought the flavor was pretty bland and it tasted like watered down nutritional yeast. It got nice and creamy, but when I left it on the stove on “low” for 5 extra minutes to warm up, it got super thick and the sauce dried out.
One thing I wasn’t sure about, which might be the reason mine wasn’t very good, is the type of tahini. There is the sesami tahini in a jar that is sold non-refrigerated, and the Middle Eastern tahini sauce that is refrigerated and tastes COMPLETELY different. I used the sesame tahini — was that right? I also used 100% whole wheat elbow pasta, so maybe the whole wheat was a bad option.
Thank you for your post and beautiful photos, and I’m glad so many others enjoyed this. It just didn’t work for me.
10-4, I found this recipe extremely bland.