Cold autumn weather makes me long for comfort food. This mac and cheese is perfect to satisfy such cravings. The pasta is coated with cheesy sauce that’s bursting with flavour. Roasted pumpkin in the sauce makes the flavour more complex as does the addition of smoked paprika along with the cheesiness of vegan cheddar.
I like to top the pasta with some more grated vegan cheddar cheese, fresh sage leaves and crushed walnuts. For the cheese I’m using Violife Epic Mature Cheddar Flavour Block that truly lives up to its name – it really is epic! Try it also in vegan grilled cheese sandwich, it tastes just like the real thing and it melts heavenly.
More delicious pasta recipes:
Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese (GF Option)
This vegan cheesy dish is perfect autumn comfort food. Creamy sauce made with vegan cheddar cheese, roasted pumpkin and smoked paprika is bursting with flavour. Bake pasta and sauce in the oven with some more vegan cheddar cheese, fresh sage and crumbled walnuts and be embraced by this cosy meal.
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 250 g pumpkin (hokkaido, red kuri squash) deseeded and cubed with skin on
- 3/4 tsp coconut oil melted
- 150 g vegan cheddar cheese I used Violife Epic Mature Cheddar Flavour Block
- 15 g (1 tbsp) vegan butter
- 200 ml (3/4 cup + 4 tsp) unsweetened cashew milk
- 0.4 tsp salt or to taste
- a pinch of black pepper
- 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
- 9 g (1 tbsp) arrowroot
Other ingredients:
- 200 g vegan macaroni pasta gluten free if needed
- 40 g additional vegan cheddar cheese grated
- a few leaves of fresh sage
- 15 g walnuts crushed
Instructions
- Chop pumpkin into bite size pieces and put them into a bowl. Drizzle melted coconut oil over cubed pumpkin and mix together so the pieces are coated with oil. Arrange pumpkin pieces on a baking tray lined with baking paper and roast them at 200 °C for 20 min.
- While the pumpkin is roasting put all other ingredients for the sauce in a blender. After pumpkin is roasted, leave it to cool a little bit, then add it to a blender as well. Mix together until you get a smooth sauce. Set aside.
- Boil 2L of water in a larger pot then add 2 tsp of salt and pasta into the boiling water. Wait until it starts boiling again then turn the heat to medium and cook for one minute less than what it says on the pasta box.
- Discard the pasta water, putting cooked pasta aside and return the empty pot on the stove. Pour sauce in it and cook on high until it starts to thicken. This will take 2 minutes. Mix while you cook.
- Turn the heat off and add pasta to the sauce. Mix together.
- Transfer half of pasta and sauce into a greased baking dish. Top with grated vegan cheese. Top with other half of pasta and sauce. Top again with grated vegan cheese. Crush walnuts with a back of a fork and sprinkle them on top of pasta. Place also some smaller sage leaves on top.
- Bake on the middle rack at 190 °C for 20 min.
- Place the baking dish on the high rack for 5 minutes for the topping to get crispy.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 835kcalCarbohydrates: 107gProtein: 17gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 25gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 1451mgFiber: 4gSugar: 10g
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