Vegan Truffle Mac n Cheese

Alright, alright, alriggghhtttt…. (lol get the reference?)

Anyway! This dish is so so good - I made it for myself as some Valentines Day love for myself, and it was so good that I decided to make it for a hosted dinner party that I had. Let me tell you, it was a HIT!

There is ZERO cheese in this, and you would never know. Whether you eat cheese or not, I highly recommend giving this a try. I made this a few different ways, so I will share both variations below as optional add-ins.

I like to make extra sauce so I can save it and throw it into other meals later. Let me know if you make this and enjoy!

Serves 8-10

The prep:

To make sauce:

1. Either soak cashews for 5-8 hours or put them in a pot and boil them for a few minutes (I do the quicker method). Save the leftover water.

2. Add all ingredients into a blender including cashews and water. Blend until smooth, taste to see if anything needs to be added, then set aside.

To make pasta:

1. Heat a pot of water with salt and bring to a boil. Cook pasta to instructed time on box. Save about 1 cup of pasta water and set aside.

2. If cooking shallots/mushrooms: in a pan, add 2 tsp olive oil and let heat up. Cook shallots until they begin to soften and then add mushrooms next. Cook until mushrooms are browned and slightly crispy. Set aside.

3. In a large pot (same pot that pasta was cooked in), turn the heat on, add remaining olive oil, vegan cheese mix and pasta water. Depending on the amount of pasta you are making, the amount of cheese/water you add will vary. For 2 boxes of pasta, use all of the cheese sauce and water. For anything less, start out with a smaller amount and taste test - you can always add more!

The goods:

Sauce

• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast (heafty pour)

• 1 small lemon or 1/2 large lemon, juice

• 1 tbsp miso paste (optional, but adds thicker/cheesy texture)

• 1/2 tsp mustard

• 1 tsp soy sauce or coconut aminos if soy free

• 1 cup raw & unsalted cashews, soaked

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1/8 tsp turmeric powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

• Few dashes of red pepper flakes (optional for extra heat)

Pasta

• 1.5-2 boxes Orecchiette or pasta of choice

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 4-8oz of mushrooms, sliced (optional, depends on how much pasta you are making)

• 1 shallot, sliced (optional)

• 1-2 tsp truffle oil (optional)

• parsley for garnish