Mac and Yease

I feel like I have probably tried about a dozen vegan mac and cheese recipes now. While I figured out a long time ago that vegan mac and cheese is never going to taste quite like mac and cheese, I felt like there was still room to improve! A few months ago I made my Tahini Alfredo, based on a Chef Chloe recipe and I really liked the creamy consistency of the sauce. I tucked it away in the back of my head with a plan to turn it in to a Mac and Yease of some sort. And that’s exactly what I did tonight.

Ooey, gooey, creamy sauce—thick, but not too thick—smothering tender quinoa pasta—so delicious! If you haven’t tried quinoa pasta, you’re in for a treat! It’s gluten free for those of you who have to avoid gluten, as well as those of us who try to keep things a little bit balanced. To me it has a more delicate texture than whole wheat pasta which is what I usually use. It’s a bit pricier, but I will definitely make room for it from time to time!

Mac and Yease, serves 4-8 (depending on amount of pasta made)
2 c rice milk (or other unsweetened non-dairy milk)
1 c water
2 T cornstarch
2 T garbanzo flour (if you don’t have garbanzo flour you can use 4 T cornstarch)
2 T tahini paste
¼ c nutritional yeast
½ tsp garlic powder
1 t salt
¼ tsp tumeric
1 t onion powder
1-2 8 oz boxes of quinoa pasta, depending on how saucy you want your pasta to be

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.

In the meantime, add all sauce ingredients to your blender. Blend to incorporate fully. Pour sauce into a sauce pan large enough to hold all sauce and pasta when it’s done. Heat the sauce over medium high heat, whisking regularly, for about 10 minutes while sauce thickens.

When pasta is done, drain and add to sauce. Serve immediately!