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Last night’s dinner - macaroni and cheese, veganized.  WE LOVED IT!

This is an update on my attempt at menu planning - one of my childhood favorites with a fun twist.  I’m a recent vegetarian (though have experimented off and on for years), and I love trying new vegan and vegetarian recipes.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from The Rice Diet Cookbook (Borders has the best clearance rack).

Maggie’s Vegan Mac ‘n’ Cheeze

Ingredients (for 1 serving; multiply as needed)

• 1-1.5 cups cooked pasta (whatever type is your favorite)
• 1/2 – 1 cup chopped and steamed cauliflower (optional; I added this for bulk)
• 1.5 teaspoons almond butter OR 1.5 teaspoons other nut butter (I did almond butter for Bobby’s and “Better ‘n’ Peanut Butter” for mine)
• 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice
• dash of sesame oil (optional)
• 1 heaping tablespoon nutritional yeast (or more, to taste)
• water, if needed, to thin the mixture
• shredded vegan cheeze, for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat your broiler.
2. Mix everything together except for the pasta and cauliflower, if using.  Adding water or microwaving (10 seconds at a time) will help to get a smooth mixture.
3. Add the pasta and mix well.  Make sure the pasta is heated before you add it!  (Broiling won’t heat the dish all the way through.)
4. Top with shredded cheeze (if you like), and broil for 5 minutes or until the top is melted and crispy.

I served mine with a generous squeeze of organic ketchup.  Bobby ate his plain and loved it as well.

For those of you that have non-vegan/vegetarian family and friends, there are a few great variations on this recipe that will make them happy.

Option 1: I added 1 chopped organic turkey dog (no nitrates, no nitrites) to Bobby’s mac ‘n’ cheeze.  I also topped it with some shredded cheddar that got nice and crispy under the broiler.

Option 2: I was going to use vegan cheeze to top mine, but my vegan cheeze was moldy.  So I topped it with shredded cheddar as well.  To be honest, I think that I would have preferred mine without the cheddar on top!  It didn’t add much, and I loved the dish just as it was.

Hope you enjoy it!  Have you ever tried vegan mac & cheeze?  Did you like it?  What other vegan dishes have you been pleasantly surprised by?

Thank you for all of your thoughtful responses to the article I posted earlier.  It’s a truly interesting topic.

Like this post? Check out...

• 18 January, 2009 -- Menu Plan Monday (vegetarian)
• 22 January, 2009 -- Pasta Salad with Veggies
• 5 April, 2009 -- Menu Plan Monday (vegetarian)
• 20 October, 2009 -- Whole Foods Budget Dinners – Nom.
• 1 March, 2009 -- Menu Plan Monday (vegetarian/vegan/macrobiotic)