Our house is free of all of Ollie’s allergens. For the most part, I don’t even notice this anymore. After two years of nursing with no dairy, I didn’t have much of it in my diet anyways. The one thing I know I miss? CHEESE. We live in Vermont. Cabot cheddar is a part of life here. This vegan mac and cheese recipe combines the best of many recipes we’ve tried over the years to create a healthy, savory, indulgent mac and cheese that actually doesn’t have a drop of real cheese (or any other dairy for that fact). It’s a healthy and delicious favorite in our house.

You start by roasting butternut squash, which makes your house smell amazing. If your child is like mine, they’ll also happily snack on some of the extra squash as well. Win! He actually ate three small bowls full while we were cooking this recently.

This dish isn’t inherently gluten-free, but our usual pasta of choice is Trader Joe’s brown rice and quinoa pasta. My husband always finishes this off with a homemade cracker crumb topping. You could just as easily use a safe panko, but we don’t have those or much bread in our house. Crackers work just as well for us. If needed, you could easily use a gluten-free cracker or breadcrumb to make this vegan mac and cheese work for you.

We often top this off with a little bit of balsamic drizzle. So good! Ollie opts to skip this and still inhales giant bowlfuls, so it’s by no means necessary, but I know the adults in my house love it!

Print Recipe

vegan mac and cheese

Delicious mac and cheese, without the cheese and with a lot of hidden health!

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

40 min

Passive Time

40 min

Servings

people

Ingredients

• 3 cups roasted butternut squash
• 1 T earth balance organic buttery spread
• 1 T coconut sugar
• 8 oz penne pasta
• 1 sweet potato - peeled + diced
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 cup yellow onion - chopped
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 3 T nutritional yeast
• 1 T montreal chicken seasoning
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup coconut cream
• 1 T soy sauce

topping (optional)

• 3 T earth balance organic buttery spread
• 1 T italian seasoning
• 1 cup crackers - crushed
• 1 bottle balsamic glaze

Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 40 min Passive Time 40 min Servings people Ingredients 3 cups roasted butternut squash 1 T earth balance organic buttery spread 1 T coconut sugar 8 oz penne pasta 1 sweet potato - peeled + diced 1 T olive oil 1 cup yellow onion - chopped 1 tsp dry mustard 1 clove garlic - minced 1/2 tsp paprika 3 T nutritional yeast 1 T montreal chicken seasoning 1/2 cup vegetable broth 3/4 cup coconut cream 1 T soy sauce topping (optional) 3 T earth balance organic buttery spread 1 T italian seasoning 1 cup crackers - crushed 1 bottle balsamic glaze

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut butternut squash lengthwise. Remove seeds. Coat inside with butter, and sprinkle coconut sugar on top. Roast for 45-55 minutes, or until fork tender.
3. Cook pasta al dente in a large pot with salt. Drain and set aside.
4. Bring another pot of water to boil. Add squash and sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until tender - about 8-10 minutes. Drain and add to blender.
5. Add oil to skillet and cook onion until soft.
6. Add garlic for 1 minute.
7. Add dry mustard, paprika, salt and pepper.
8. Remove from heat, add broth, and pour in to blender.
9. Add coconut cream, soy sauce, and nutritional yeast. Puree.
10. Pour sauce over pasta in 9x13 glass pan.

cracker crumb topping (optional)

1. Heat butter in skillet.
2. Add crushed crackers and italian seasoning, stir, and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.
3. Sprinkle over pasta.
4. Optional: drizzle with balsamic glaze.