Vegan Mac and Cheese

This vegan version of the comfort-food favorite is made with a cashew “cheese” sauce and gluten-free noodles. Plan for leftovers—it’s just as delicious reheated the next day.

Ingredients

16 oz package of gluten-free pasta of choice, cooked al dente
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 cups spinach
Spiced Nut & Seed Topping:
¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped
¼ cup pumpkin seeds, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp paprika
Cheese Sauce:
1½ cup raw cashews, soaked for two hours (or overnight)
1¾ cups water
¼ cup roasted red peppers, chopped
⅓ cup nutritional yeast
1 lemon, juiced
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp miso paste
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
Add pasta, cherry tomatoes and spinach into a large bowl, set aside.
Mix together all the topping ingredients. Taste and adjust flavor as desired. Set aside.
In blender, combine all of the cheese sauce ingredients except for ¾ cup of water and blend until creamy. Add remaining water and blend again. Taste and adjust flavor as desired.
Add cheese sauce to pasta, cherry tomatoes and spinach. Mix well.
In a large baking dish, pour pasta mixture and cover with topping. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, check after 15 minutes if topping is darkening too much for your liking, cover with foil. If using individual baking dishes, bake for 10 – 15 minutes less.
When done, let cool about 10 minutes and serve.