Give this cruelty-free cheese sauce a try. It’s perfect over pasta, potatoes, you can spice it up with chili powder, cayenne, and jalapeno for nachos or use as a dip for your favorite raw vegetables and soft pretzels. It makes about 4 cups so you will have extra, let me know what creative uses you come up with for the left overs. And, I promise you, you most certainly can live without cheese. Read below for why that’s important.

Vegan Mac & Cheese 2016-02-07 09:13:40 Yields 4 Don't stop at mac and cheese, spice up this sauce for nachos, pour over potatoes, or use as a dip for pretzels and veggies. It's extremely delicious and versatile. Write a review Save Recipe Print Ingredients 1 ½ cups yellow potatoes, peeled and diced (about 2 medium potatoes) 1 cup carrot, chopped ¼ cup yellow onion, diced 2 cups water plus another ¼ cup, divided ½ cup coconut milk, full-fat preferred ½ cup raw cashews, pre-soaked overnight or in water for 20+ minutes to soften ¼ cup nutritional yeast 1 tablespoon ground flax seed, optional for a healthy boost ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, optional smoked paprika powder for garnishing, optional 1 bag or box of pasta of your choice Cheese Sauce 1. Simmer the potato, carrot and onion in a covered pan with 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. 2.Soak cashews in hot water while vegetables simmer, if you haven't soaked them overnight. 3. After simmering veggies for 20 minutes, pour the veggies and their water into your blender. 4. Drain and rinse the cashews and add them to the blender, along with the nutritional yeast, turmeric, sea salt, garlic powder (if using), coconut milk and the remaining ¼ cup of water. 5. Blend on high until the sauce is creamy and smooth, if a thinner consistency is preferred, add more coconut milk or water, a tablespoon at a time and blend again. If a cheesier taste is preferred, add another cup of nutritional yeast. Set sauce aside. Pasta 1. Cook pasta according to package, drain and rinse with cold water 2. Return pasta to the pan over low heat and pour in the desired amount of cheese sauce and let cook, stirring frequently, until warmed throughout. 3. Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Notes Sauce will thicken slightly as it sits, you can add a little water or non-dairy milk to leftovers, if needed when reheating. Cara Schrock http://caraschrock.com/