This plant‑based mac and cheese feels rich and creamy, yet it’s full of good stuff like squash, almond milk, and whole‑grain pasta.
Active time: 20 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes
Vegan Mac and Cheese with Broccoli
Ingredients
- 8 oz (about 170 g) whole‑grain short pasta
- 2 cups (180 g) small broccoli florets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ cups (227 g) frozen butternut squash, thawed
- ¾ cup (180 ml) unsweetened plain almond milk
- ¼ cup (12 g) nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon white or yellow miso
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- Boil a large pot of water. Add the pasta and cook as the package says. Add the broccoli in the last 2 minutes. Drain, saving ½ cup of the cooking water.
- While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and squash and cook for another minute until fragrant.
- Put the cooked vegetables in a blender. Add almond milk, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, miso, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape the sides.
- Return the sauce to the skillet and warm over low heat. Stir constantly until it thickens and bubbles, about 1 minute.
- Mix the pasta and broccoli into the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the saved pasta water until it reaches the right consistency. Serve right away.
Serves: 4 | Serving size: about 1½ cups
Nutrition (per serving): 340 calories; 6 g total fat; 1 g saturated fat; 3 g monounsaturated fat; 1 g polyunsaturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 666 mg sodium; 61 g carbs; 12 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 13 g protein.
Vitamins & minerals: Vitamin D 5 %, Calcium 17 %, Iron 21 %, Potassium 627 mg, Vitamin A 44 %, Vitamin C 109 %.