Halloween Mac & Cheese, use up those pumpkins | VEGAN · GLUTEN-FREE · PLANT-BASED · SOY-FREE
Yes, it’s Halloween today. I know you didn’t have the time to plan anything in advance. I also know you probably have a lot of pumpkin leftovers from all the decorative pumpkins you carved this year.
Oh! Wait…this isn’t you? Well, this recipe is good for both cases wheter if you are a party planner or a simple food lover, this vegan Mac & Cheese recipe is just perfect.
A while ago I made my first What I Eat in a Day video. As I posted it on youtube, then a lot of suggestions came up for me. One of them: Niomi Smart’s. She was cooking this Vegan Mac & Cheese made of pumpkin that I thought was perfect for me. I’m actually sick and tired of watching and browsing for vegan recipes that are mainly made of vegan substitutes that probably contain soy and gluten. Moreover, they are usually a cocktail of artificial stuff and they are cooked at the highest temperatures you can imagine. They call it plant-based sometimes, but I don’t feel that’s fair to the term (you can read more here)
The fact that I could do a plant-based recipe for “Mac & Cheese” was something I really wanted to try. Of course, I’m guilty of not following a recipe, like ever. But I wanted to give it a try as it was. So I just changed a couple of things and tried it. I must say it’s amazing. I’ve always loved mixing nuts and onion in my sauces. I’ve been doing it for a while, and even though I’ve tried it with other veggies, I’d never tried it with pumpkin untill that day.
A couple of days ago, I decided I needed to do something with pumpkin for Halloween. It makes sense that we use up pumpkin after we use it to decorate. If you don’t have pumpkin flesh from carving them, it’s OK, wait until tomorrow and clean well those you used to decorate #zerowaste 🙂 Because the skin has a lot of fiber and you don’t need to peel them.
I made the recipe again, but this time I “made it my own”. She used cashew nuts, which actually are great for that sort of “cheesy” feeling. But, to be honest, I don’t really like substitute recipes. What I like is delicious food, so I don’t mind if it resembles the non-vegan version, I just like it to taste better. In my opinion, her recipe tasted much better than any mac and cheese and I was addicted to cheese a while ago.
Taking that into account I changed some stuff on my 2nd try-out and made my version of her recipe, which is a bit different and tastes a bit different too, but the base is more or less the same.
I hope you enjoy it and try it at home. Always remember to tag me on Instagram @silviafooding or any other social media in order to see what you cook 🙂 Have fun and keep fooding!
Vegan Mac & Cheese
Delicious Plant-based, vegan Mac & Cheese. Gluten free and full of protein.
Ingredients
Mac:
- 2 cups of pasta
Cheese:
- 1/4 butternut squash
- 2 shallots
- 1/2 cup of raw almonds (soaked)
- 2 tbsp English Mustard (I use Collman's)
- 4 tbsp Nooch (nutritional yeast)
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- Salt
- Fresh coriander
- Olive oil
Instructions
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Chop the shallots and fry them in 1 tbsp of olive oil until golden brown.
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Meanwhile, steam the pumpkin, cut in squares. You can peel it afterwards, when it's easier, or leave the ski for texture. Keep the water.
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Add the shallot, the spices, the almonds and a bit of salt to a blender. It has to be very thick. Keep 1/2 cup of this thick sauce.
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Boil the pasta.
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Add some water to the rest of the sauce and mix with the cooked pasta. Put in the oven until it's roasted (around 10 minutes 150-180ºC)
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Add some nutritional yeast on top, black pepper and some olive oil.
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Take the thick sauce you kept and add two or three teaspoons when serving.
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Then sprinkle fresh coriander.
Recipe Notes