Macaroni and No Cheese by Kim Campbell in The PlantPure Nation Cookbook.
From Kim: This is a great kid-friendly recipe. The cheese sauce is butternut squash and cashew–based, which gives it a slightly sweet flavor. I typically put peas in this dish but have also been known to add onion, spinach, or even a few mushrooms.
Yields: 6 servings | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup cooked and mashed butternut squash
¼ cup raw cashews
1½ cups nondairy milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
12 ounces macaroni noodles (brown rice or whole wheat)
1 cup peas
½ cup panko bread crumbs
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Place the cooked butternut squash, cashews, milk, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, Dijon, garlic powder, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a Vitamix or other high-powered blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Transfer to a saucepan over medium heat and whisk until thickened. If you prefer it thinner, add water.
4. Cook the pasta noodles according to the package directions.
5. Combine the pasta noodles, sauce, and peas in a casserole dish, and sprinkle with the panko bread crumbs.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 20–30 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.
Kim’s Hints:
• Using frozen butternut squash is a huge time-saver.
• It’s a good idea to soak your cashews for a few hours and rinse if you do not have a high-powered blender such as a Vitamix. This will help give you creamier results.
• You can add other vegetables such as spinach or broccoli.
• Try adding Mexican Spice Blend to the sauce and green chiles and red kidney beans to the macaroni—now you have a chili mac dish!
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I just decided to move my life to a more vegetarian diet. I am on a fixed budget with just social security and have several health issues. I drove an OTR truck for over 20 years and gained weight until I got type 2 diabetes and could not drive anymore. I went through major depression and gained even more weight to a high of over 880 lbs. I went to find out about lapband surgery and was told I would have to lose several hundred pounds to qualify for the surgery. I got mad and over several years lost down to 480 lbs. My doctor is 7th Day Adventist and has been on me about becoming vegetarian for health reasons so I decided to. I am so confused about the different types of vegetarians some eat chicken or fish, some eat eggs, some eat dairy, some eat both eggs and dairy, and some are totally vegan. What are the health issues of the different types? I am leaning toward an ovo-lactose where eggs and dairy are okay but everything else is plant-based. Any information you can give me would be helpful. Tony J.
Hi Tony, losing all that weight is absolutely fantastic! I hope you’ve continued to lose and have decided you can do it on your own without surgery. I’m also living on SS and have a couple of health issues I’m working on. I hate to cook so Whole Foods Plant Based is working for me. I have a daily salad. I kept increasing ingredients so now I use a mixing bowl and since I love to eat, it takes longer to finish. I use a huge, cheap ($2) colander from Walmart, throw everything in, rinse, shake, put it in my bowl, add a few nuts and drizzle one of Skinny Girl dressings. Just a little, too much makes the taste turn odd. An evenly shaped sweet potato is another favorite meal of mine. Just scrub, throw in the microwave on a paper plate, 6 min, slice open, I recommend Walmart brand pumpkin pie seasoning (perfect balance of ingredients) that’s it, very filling. I also like frozen veggies without seasonings (Birdseye). Throw in the microwave, cut open, eat out of the bag. (I live alone, I only have to please myself). You can eat well without a lot of $$ and without a cookbook. Also, I love Taco Bell. Hit Customize on any item and swap out the meat for black beans or refried beans (they do not use lard) and remove or lighten any other ingredient. I don’t juice, too much to clean and I prefer the crunch, chew and the time it takes to eat raw. Anyway, I hope you’re doing well. I know I feel so much better even though my doctors don’t believe that’s why my liver has gone from cirrhosis to stable, my gut stopped bleeding, no more edema and no more diabetes. Keep moving forward, Laura T.