Vegan Thanksgiving Recipe

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m so grateful for all of you, and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families. One of my really good friends told me that I should blog about a vegan recipe that I made for Thanksgiving dinner, so I’m sharing my vegan mac and cheese recipe today!

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces whole-grain macaroni elbows

• 1 ½ tablespoons avocado oil or extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 small yellow onion, chopped (about 1 ½ cups)

• 1 cup peeled and grated russet potato (4 ounces, about 1 small or ½ medium potato), preferably organic

• 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ½ teaspoon onion powder

• ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste

• Small pinch of Frontier Co-op red pepper flakes

• ⅔ cup raw cashews**

• 1 cup water, more as necessary

• ¼ cup Frontier Co-op nutritional yeast 

• 2 to 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar, to taste

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain, and transfer the contents to a large serving bowl.

2. Heat up the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender (~5 minutes).

3. Add the spices and stir to combine, and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute to enhance their flavors.

4. Add the cashews and water, and stir to combine. Let the mixture come to a simmer. Continue simmering, stirring frequently and reducing heat as necessary to avoid a rapid boil, until the potatoes are completely tender and cooked through, about 5 to 8 minutes.

5. Carefully pour the mixture into a blender. Add the nutritional yeast and 2 teaspoons vinegar. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary. If the mixture won’t blend easily or if you would prefer a thinner consistency, add water in ¼ cup increments, blending after each one.

6. Taste, and blend in additional salt until the sauce is utterly irresistible (I typically add at least another ½ teaspoon). If it needs a little more zip, add the remaining teaspoon of vinegar. Blend again.

7. Pour the sauce into the bowl of pasta. Stir until well combined, and serve immediately.

Let me know if you guys enjoyed this recipe! Happy holidays!

Find full recipe on Cookie and Kate.