Vegan MoFo 2013: Mac & Cheese Mondays! Five Cheese Baked Macaroni and Cheese (Plus a Giveaway!)

Five Cheese Baked Mac & Cheese from Home-Cooked Vegan Comfort Food

Five Cheese Baked Macaroni and Cheese
This baked version of Mac and Cheese gets its cheesiness from 1) a noochy sauce 2) a tofu ricotta-like mixture 3) Vegan Cream Cheese 4) Daiya or other shredded vegan cheese, and 5) Walnut Parmesan Sprinkles. Yep, that's five!

1 pound (16 ounces, 454 g) elbow macaroni, prepared according to package instructions
1 stick (1/2 cup, 112 g) nondairy butter
1 cup (235 ml) plain nondairy creamer or nondairy milk
1/4 cup (30 g) nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon (8 g) garlic powder
1 tablespoon (8 g) onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons (16 g) all-purpose flour
10 ounces (280 g) extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and crumbled
2 tablespoons (36 g) white or yellow miso
2 tablespoons (30 g) prepared yellow mustard
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
8 ounces (227 g) nondairy cream cheese, such as Tofutti or Follow Your Heart
1 cup (4 ounces, 112 g) shredded nondairy cheese, such as Daiya or Follow Your Heart
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup (1.5 ounces, 43 g) Walnut Parmesan Sprinkles (See Below)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4).
While pasta is boiling, prepare the noochy sauce and tofu mixture.
To make the sauce, melt butter in a small pot over medium high heat. Stir in creamer, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in flour. Whisk vigorously until thickened and no lumps appear. Remove from heat and set aside.
Make tofu mixture by crumbling tofu into a mixing bowl, and mashing miso, mustard, and olive oil into it with your hands until well incorporated.
After the pasta is prepared, drain and return to the pot.
Add noochy sauce, tofu mixture, cream cheese, and shredded cheese to the macaroni.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Stir to combine.
Transfer mixture to a 9×13-inch (23 x 33-cm) baking dish.
Sprinkle an even layer of Walnut Parmesan Sprinkles all over the top.
Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 main dish size servings

Walnut Parmesan Sprinkles
*Quick and Easy
Make these and store them in a shaker jar to sprinkle on pasta, pizza, salads, or anywhere you'd sprinkle on some grated parmesan.

1/2 cup (60 g) walnut pieces
1/2 cup (60 g) nutritional yeast
1/2 cup (40 g) panko style bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, according to taste

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and pulse to combine until walnut pieces have been ground into a powder.
Yield: About 1 1/2 cups (126 g)

Maybe you've heard that a book that Celine and I wrote in 2011 titled Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites, was re-released this year with a new name and a snazzy new cover!  Now, that book is known as Home-Cooked Vegan Comfort Food.  (Please know that if you already own Hearty Vegan, there is no need to buy Home-Cooked Vegan Comfort Food, as they are literally the same book.)  The giveaway below is for a copy of the original Hearty Vegan...there are a limited amount of copies left with the original cover.  Who knows, they might just become collector's items.  Ha!

a Rafflecopter giveaway