Comfort food at its best, this creamy and indulgent vegan mac and cheese is a pure crowd pleaser. You could also use truffle oil instead of olive oil for a luxuriously fragrant sauce.
If you don’t use it already, nutritional yeast is a “cheesy” substitute. It often comes in flakes, which makes it brilliant to stir into warm sauces like this one. It creates a luxurious, tangy, silky sauce. It is also a vegan source of vitamin b12. Each serving provides 490kcal, 10g protein, 58g carbohydrate (of which 2g sugars), 23g fat (of which 8g saturates), 5g fibre and 2.1g salt.
Ingredients
- 250g/9oz vegan dried macaroni
- pinch salt
For the sauce
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 400ml/14fl oz oat milk
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped, or 1½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 120g/4oz vegan cheese, grated
For the topping (optional)
- ½ tsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 4 Brussels sprouts, trimmed and finely sliced
- pinch salt
Method
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Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the macaroni and cook until just al dente.
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To make the sauce, put all the ingredients apart from the vegan cheese into a bowl or blender and whisk or blend until smooth. Tip into a large pan over a low–medium heat. Add 100g/3½oz vegan cheese and cook until melted – but be careful not to bring it to a simmer.
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Preheat the grill to medium–high. Drain the pasta, then add to the cheese sauce and mix until coated. Tip into a 30cm/12in oval baking dish and top with the remaining 20g/½oz vegan cheese. Grill for 5–10 minutes, or until golden.
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If making the topping, heat the oil in a heavy-based pan. Add the garlic, sprouts and a pinch of salt and fry for 5 minutes. Scatter the topping over the mac and cheese before serving.