It’s taken me months to find the time to share this amazing Vegan Macaroni & Cheese recipe with you. Created last year, this mac & cheese became one of the most popular dishes that I created for 540WMain Learning Academy’s monthly vegan pop up dinners. My goal was to create a vegan version of this classic American “main” dish as a side.

Feedback was so positive that I made it a staple for the newly created Vegan Cheese Making Class also at 540WMain. I’m elated to finally finally share this recipe with the world. Get into the recipe below.

Vegan Baked Macaroni & “Cheese”

Ingredients

• 3 yams, peeled and steamed soft
• 2 stalks celery
• scallion
  3 cups non-dairy milk
• 2 cups veggie broth
• ¼ cup just mayo
• ½ cup nutritional yeast
• ½ cup (1 stick) vegan margarine
• ¼ cup almond meal
• ¼ cup balsamic or apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
  3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  2 teaspoons tumeric
  1 teaspoon cumin
• cooking spray

Preparation

1. Wash and scrub yams, cut in half, cover with foil and bake on 400 degree F for 50-60 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool completely before moving on.
2. Meanwhile, bring 5-6 cups water to boil. Add pasta, a pinch of salt and drizzle of olive oil. Reduce heat to low-medium, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside in large mixing bowl.
3. In a food processor blend yams with milk until smooth. Set aside.
4. Coat a cast iron skillet with cooking spray, add celery and scallion and sauté on medium heat until tender. Add margarine, almond meal, vinegar, just mayo, mustard, garlic, cumin, and tumeric and stir until margarine is completely melted. Add in puree yam mixture. Pour this sauté mixture over macaroni along with veggie stock. Stir in yeast and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Grease a 6×9 pirex dish and add macaroni mixture. Bake on 400 for 15 minutes until bubbly. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.