Vegan Taco Mac n’ Cheese

Yes you read that right! Feel free to dress this dish up however you would tacos. I for one like a really simple soft taco, with meat, cheese, sour cream and salsa. Like hard tacos? Crumble some corn chips on top! Need some guac to have decent tacos? Throw on a scoop of guac! This mac and cheese can really go anyway you want. You can also skip the taco part altogether and just make the creamy-dreamy, smoky-cheddar sauce (but you’d really be missing out). To make it gluten free just sub your fave gluten free noodles.

For the Smoky Cheddar Sauce: (Serves 4)

1/2 cup raw cashews

1 cup sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/4 cup carrots, peeled and cubed

2 tsp vegan butter

1/3 cup (about 2 small) shallots, diced

2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp vegan chick’n bouillon cube or veggie bouillon

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp smoked paprika

1/8 tsp non-smoked paprika

big pinch cayenne pepper

1/4 cup cashew milk or coconut milk

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp rice vinegar

1.5 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp salt

For the Taco Meat:

1/4 tsp vegan chik’n boullion or veggie bouillon

1/2 cup water

1.5 cup Gardein beef-less crumbles (or other vegan meal crumble)

5.5 tsp taco seasoning

big pinch of cumin

For Topping:

1/2 C of your favorite salsa (2 tbsp each)

How-To:

1. Boil noodles for 4 people. Soak cashews in warm water, and prep veggies as needed. Put on a small pot of water to boil for the potatoes and carrots.
2. Boil carrots and potatoes for 10 minutes. Melt 2 tsp vegan butter over medium heat in a pan. Add shallot and garlic and sauté for 5-7 minutes until soft. Remove from heat and add the onion powder, smoked paprika, paprika, cayenne pepper, veggie bouillon and 1/4 cup water. Give a good stir, then simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes, making sure nothing burns and not too much of the water evaporates.
3. Add soaked cashews (drained), boiled potatoes and carrots, smoked shallots, other 1/4 cup water, cashew milk, nutritional yeast,  lemon juice, rice vinegar and salt to a blender and blend until as creamy as possible.
4. You can make the taco meat in the same pan that you sautéed the shallots. Bring the bouillon and water to a simmer. Stir in the beef crumbles, and then the taco seasoning and cumin. Let cook for 5-10 minutes in an even layer across the pan, stirring once or twice but letting it brown across the bottom.
5. Mix cheese sauce over noodles. Top with taco meat, salsa, and any other taco toppings you want. Enjoy!