Tip: Over the top
Play around with whatever toppings strike your fancy. The dish is shown here with hemp hearts, fresh thyme sprigs and extra strips of roasted bell pepper, but you can also try other chopped herbs, extra nutritional yeast or crumbled tempeh.
Quick and Easy Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Mac ’n’ Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 oz macaroni or shell pasta of choice (whole grain or gluten-free)
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours and drained
- 3/4 cup roasted bell pepper (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp white miso or 1 1/2 Tbsp brown or red miso
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Nutrition
Per serving:
- calories204
- protein9g
- fat8g
- carbs26g
- sugar3g
- fiber4g
- sodium473mg
Directions
01
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta of choice and cook according to package instructions.
02
While pasta cooks, transfer cashews, roasted peppers, garlic, onion powder, nutritional yeast, miso, lemon, salt and pepper to blender, along with 1/3 cup water. Blend until smooth, adding 1 to 2 Tbsp extra water if sauce is overly thick or difficult to blend (should be about the texture of alfredo sauce). Taste sauce and add salt and pepper as desired.
03
When pasta is ready, drain and fold in sauce (you may not use all of it; if you have some left over, it can be thinned and used as salad dressing!). Divide pasta onto plates and add desired toppings. Serve. Leftover sauce will keep for up to 5 days in airtight container in fridge.
Gena Hamshaw
Gena Hamshaw is a nutritionist and the creator of the blog The Full Helping. Her recipes have been featured in O Magazine, VegNews, Redbook and other publications. She is the author of the cookbooks Choosing Raw (2014), Food52 Vegan (2015) and Power Plates. Gena lives and works in New York City.
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