Cauliflower Mac ‘n Cheese
Creamy, filling, easy. Yes, I love all that about this recipe. However, my favorite part is that my little girl thinks she’s eating macaroni and cheese, and I know she’s actually eating chickpeas and cauliflower.
Yep, deceptive deliciousness at it’s finest.
Chickpeas in macaroni form. If you haven’t tried Banza pasta yet, it’s about time you get on the bandwagon!
Yes, you can use any pasta for this recipe, but if you just use regular stuff you’re missing out on the satisfaction of sneaking tons of nutrition and plant-protein into your family. I don’t even like to use regular pasta anymore.
Cauliflower makes the creamiest dairy-free pasta sauces! We love cauliflower alfredo, and now this cheese sauce. It uses nutritional yeast for the cheesy flavor, which has had to grow on me. At first it did not taste at all like cheese to me, and I didn’t like it much. Now, I love it, and I love how packed with B vitamins it is. If you don’t like it at first, just keep trying it. It is such a great ingredient for both flavor and nutrition.
Creamy.
30-minutes.
So satisfying.
Gluten-free. Nut-free.
Plant-based and oil-free, as always!
Kid-approved!
Re-heats great for leftovers.
A creamy "cheese" sauce made of cauliflower, but you'd never taste it!
- 16 oz whole grain or chickpea pasta (we love Banza!)
- 1 large head cauliflower
- 3 large carrots
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup unsweetened plant milk or water
- 1 TBSP lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (reduce to 1/4 if you're sensitive to heat)
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
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Cook pasta according to package directions. Bring another pot of water to boil to cook the cauliflower and carrots in.
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Meanwhile, cut cualiflower into florets. Peel carrots and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices so they'll cook as quickly as the cauliflower. Add to pot of boiling water and cook until tender. Drain.
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In a food processor or high speed blender, add the remaining ingredients, then the carrots and cauliflower. Blend until a smooth "cheese" sauce.
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Pour over cooked pasta and enjoy. Sprinkle paprika, salt and pepper on top, if desired.
Since going plant based I have tried a few recipes because my kids ask for it. So, I had low expectations that plant based macaroni and cheese can even be enjoyed. I was wrong! This recipe is delicious! Both my children loved it!!! This will definitely be our go to mac-n-cheese recipe in the future. Thank you Faith!
I’m so glad to hear that! Cashew-based mac and cheese is more creamy and traditional, but I was going for a more veggie low-fat version here. I didn’t expect my 2 year old to love it, but she eats so much every time.
Absolutely delicious and completely nourishing and guilt-free. Thank you for this recipe, we eat it regularly!
We love it, too! Thanks for coming back to comment!!
My kids (except my five year old) all LOVE boxed Mac and cheese, and so I’ve been hesitant to make this. But I bit the bullet today and to my amazement, they all liked it! Even the picky 5yo ate a ton!!! Definitely a keeper. I did double both the garlic and onion powder as my family likes those flavors a lot.
Very easy but very good! It has the perfect blend of saltiness, “cheesy” taste with a little smoked flavor from the smoked paprika. I love that it’s made from cauliflower and carrots! Favorite plant based Mac n cheese so far!
So glad you like it! Thank you very much for the review!