I have been searching for dairy-free boxed macaroni and cheese for a long time that is actually rich and flavorful. My search ended when I made this! And this recipe is infinitely better than anything you will find prepackaged and just as easy to make, as long as you have a high powered blender. Make sure to soak your cashews ahead of time and you’re on the way to super creamy vegan macaroni. It’s infinitely better than anything you’ll ever find frozen or in a box.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked 8-12 hours

1/2 cup Tablespoons warm water

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 vegetable bouillon cube (NOT the reduced sodium kind)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes

3 Tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread (optional)

2 1/2 cups elbow macaroni noodles

Directions:

Stir the noodles into a pot of boiling, salted water. Boil for 8 to 15 minutes, depending on the type of noodles you have. While waiting for the noodles to cook, go ahead and make the cashew-cheese sauce. In a high speed blender (I like to use the smoothie attachment for my Ninja) blend together everything except for the noodles. Blend until it’s super creamy, scraping down the sides as you go, so that it will be super creamy and ensuring there wont be any chunks of cashews left in the sauce. Depending on your blender, this will take between 5 and 10 minutes. When the noodles are done, not al dente, but cooked until tender, drain them. Leave about a Tablespoon or two of hot pasta water in the bottom of the pot. Pour the noodles back into the pot with the cashew cheese sauce. Stir until all the noodles are coated. Enjoy!

Tips:

If you like the baked kind of macaroni and cheese, just put the mac and cheese mixture in a baking dish, sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs and a drizzle a little bit of melted Earth Balance on top before baking, covered in foil, for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.