Today's Vegan Mofo prompt was to make a local dish. Now, I'm not stating that this is an Arkansas classic or anything, but I was raised in a land of rotelle and cheese sauce, so this seemed fitting. This vegan chili mac and cheese is a slightly healthier version of the non-vegan one, but it's definitely tasty!
Chili Mac N Cheese
Ingredients
8 oz quinoa pasta
1 cup raw cashews, soaked
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
32 oz vegan tomato soup
1 bunch kale
6 oz silken tofu
2 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp mustard
1 can chili rotelle
1 cup shredded vegan cheese
Soak the cashews overnight.
Cook pasta per package instructions.
Drain pasta and set aside to cool.
Drain the water from the cashews and add nuts to the blender.
Add garlic, nutritional yeast, and tomato soup.
Blend on high for 1 minute.
Add tofu, salt, thyme, and mustard.
Blend for another 2 minutes.
Set sauce aside.
Chop kale and steam in a large skillet until wilted. Set aside to cool.
Once pasta is cool, add to a large baking dish and cover with sauce.
Add kale and rotelle and stir.
Top with vegan shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees (F) for 30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling.
Just look at that cheesy sauce! This dish is incredibly comforting. You can make it ahead of time in a freezer safe pan, then you'll have vegan chili mac and cheese whenever you want! You guys know I'm all about batch cooking.
The vegan cheese on top is completely optional! You don't really need it, but it gives the extra ooey gooey feel when you pull the dish out of the oven.
Just look at that! This would be great for a dinner party!
Serve with broccoli for that added healthy factor! We like comfort food in Arkansas, so I hope you enjoy my "local" dish!
Have you ever had chili mac and cheese? Does this sound like comfort food to you? Leave me a comment!