Roasted and sautéed garlic add richness to this delicious vegan mac and cheese.
Yield: 4-6 servings
Time: an hour
Tools
- aluminum foil
- cookie sheet
- large pot
- colander
- whisk
- stick blender
- wooden spoon
- large serving dish or 4-6 shallow bowls
Ingredients
- 1 head of garlic
- ⅓ c olive oil
- salt
- 12 oz elbows or other pasta shapes*
- ¼ c flour**
- 3 c non-dairy milk**
- ½ c vegan parmesan or ground almonds
- ½ c nutritional yeast
- pepper
- ¼ c breadcrumbs
- ½ t smoked paprika
Directions
Preheat oven to 400.
Make the roasted garlic:
- Break 2 cloves off the head of garlic and set aside.
- Peel off the loose paper skin from the rest of the head without breaking it into cloves.
- Cut the top off the head, making sure that each clove is exposed at least a little; if not, cut the tops off any that are still whole.
- Rub the head with a t or 2 of olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then wrap in foil and place on cookie sheet.
- Roast for 45 minutes, until fragrant and tender.
- Remove from oven and let cool, then squeeze each clove to free the roasted garlic. Discard the empty peel
Meanwhile, make the pasta: After 20 minutes or so, bring pot of salted water to boil, cook the pasta until al dente, then drain.
Make the sauce: If you’re not in a hurry, you can wait until the pasta is done and then make the sauce in the same pot. Otherwise, use a large saucepan for the sauce.
- Heat remaining olive oil over medium heat.
- Peel and mince the two reserved cloves of garlic and sauté for one minute.
- Stir in the flour** then slowly add the milk, whisking constantly.
- Simmer for 5 minutes, until thickened.
- Remove from heat, add the roasted garlic, ¼ c parmesan, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper to the pot, and blend until smooth.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.***
- Stir in the pasta and cook another 3 minutes, until warm.
Transfer to serving dish or bowls, sprinkle evenly with remaining ¼ c parmesan, breadcrumbs, and paprika.
Serve immediately.
Notes
* The original recipe calls for 16 ounces but I didn’t feel there was enough sauce for that much pasta.
** If you use cashew milk, which thickens when heated, you can omit the flour.
*** I thought the sauce was a bit bland at this point so in addition to a bit more salt, I added 2 t of mustard and 1 t cider vinegar.
Adapted from the recipe for “Roasted Garlic Mac and Cheese” in Vegan Mac & Cheese – read my review.
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