As a lover of macaroni and cheese, it’s always exciting to find a new vegan recipe. We made a vegan baked mac & cheeze adapted from Vegan Vittles by Jo Stepaniak in our latest Natural Kitchen Cooking School class. The recipe got its creamy texture, natural coloring, and nutritional value from cashews, nutritional yeast, and pimientos. In addition to the spices included in the recipe, I added fresh onions, garlic, and cayenne pepper to give it an extra punch of flavor. The cheeze sauce alone can be used for numerous other dishes, such as nachos, or in a small slow cooker for dipping crudites, bread, or crackers. The possibilities are endless!

For the pasta, I used Ancient Harvest Gluten Free Shells. Simply amazing! It is difficult to tell that these shells are gluten-free and they held onto the cheeze sauce like you’d expect them to. The pasta was baked in a 4 ounce ramekin, which made it not only adorable to eat, but also helped to reduce the chance of overeating (as you will want to keep devouring this cheezy goodness)! The dish was garnished with gluten-free bread crumbs, paprika, and parsley.

I served the mac and cheeze alongside cream of broccoli soup topped with shiitake bacon and a spinach salad with english cucumbers, toasted pumpkins seeds, and balsamic vinegar. This is one meal you won’t want to miss! In the words of Corey from Say Anything, “Get ready for greatness, Lloyd!”

Overall, I’d rate this meal as a strong 3 1/2 out of 5 carrots on the veganlicious scale.