Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

One of my favorite meals as a kid was macaroni and cheese.  Kraft out of a box kinda mac-n-cheese.  It was the first thing I made ever made by myself.  Of course I never read the directions and it was usually too runny.  I remember once even making it using water because we were out of milk.  It was awful, but I still ate it.

Over the years, the Kraft powdered cheese and elbow pasta faded into the recesses of memory and was eventually replaced with conchiglie pasta drowning in a creamy gruyere sauce. When I became a vegan 8 years ago, I figured the days of gooey, melty cheese and pasta were over. And for a few years, they were. Whether it was nostalgia or a renewed craving for my childhood favorite, I set out to make the ultimate vegan mac-n-cheese. 

Many of the sauces I tried used shredded vegan cheese that lacked my desired flavor and texture. I also wanted to use something other than elbow pasta but wanted to stay in the macaroni family. 

Macaroni pasta is broadly defined as any short, cylindrical extruded pasta. Extruded, meaning the pasta is made by forcing a dry semolina-and-water dough through a die. Spaghetti, rotini, fusilli, penne, bucatini, macaroni, and rigatoni are all examples of extruded pasta.  I opted for a gluten-free corn based rigatoni. 

My gruyere recipe was tangy and delicious. And I felt the tang was always missing from my vegan sauces until I discovered a sneaky little ingredient that would be the game changer. Saurkraut. Yes, sauerkraut.  

Like cheese, sauerkraut’s characters tangy flavor comes from the ubiquitous lactobacillus bacterial (lactic acid) species that are used to make the famous Swiss gruyere. Trust me, kraut made all the difference. 

This recipe also uses potatoes as a thickener. I do not like using extracted starches like corn starch or tapioca starch. They typically leave a bitter taste and have no nutritional value. The mighty potato, however, has the starch I needed and contains vitamin C, potassium, and B6. 

I like to make my bread crumbs, too. My go-to is always sourdough. I like, I mean, I love sourdough bread. Not only is it easier to digest and has a lower glycemic index, but it also has low gluten sensitivity and beneficial bacteria, and sourdough maintains many of the original nutrients that are processed out of other kinds of bread, like iron, magnesium, B6, B12, and zinc.

As always tag me if you make it and let me know how you like it!

XO,

Steph

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Creamy Baked Macaroni & Cheese

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• Author: Stephanie Bosch

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Ingredients

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BREADCRUMB TOPPING

• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 c. sourdough breadcrumbs (about 1 slice processed in blender or mixer)
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tsp dried thyme
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

FOR MAC & CHEESE

• 1 lb. rigatoni, or other macaroni pasta
• 1 tbsp. refined coconut oil or vegetable oil
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. ground mustard, or 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 ½ cups raw cashews
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and cubed (about 2 cups)
• 3 ½ cups water
• 2/3 cup sauerkraut, drained in a fine mesh sieve
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. hot sauce

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Instructions

1. In a large, salted pot of water, boil pasta until al dente, 9 to 10 minutes. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, make breadcrumb topping: in a medium skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add breadcrumbs and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until topping is golden. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
3. In a large pot over medium heat, heat coconut or vegetable oil. Add onion and cook until soft, 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in mustard and cumin and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes more.  Add cashews, potatoes, and water and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are tender, 6 to 7 minutes.
4. When potatoes are tender, transfer mixture in pot to a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth. Add sauerkraut, nutritional yeast, white wine vinegar, and hot sauce. Puree again until smooth, then taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
5. Combine cooked pasta and cheese sauce in a large bowl and stir to combine. Top with Panko mixture and serve.
6. Enjoy!

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