Vegan Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

October means PUMPKIN EVERYTHING!!! This Pumpkin Mac & Cheese is just PERFECT for the Fall season (it’s also one of my Holiday favorites). This recipe has all the yummy fall flavors and is just a big ol’ plate of happiness 😀

Every October, I look for different ways to incorporate pumpkin and other Fall flavors into my recipes. This Pumpkin Mac & Cheese is soooo damn good, I even prefer it over plain mac & cheese. All the ingredients I used are linked below and can easily be found at your local market or Amazon.

Where does the ‘cheesy’ flavor come from?

Nutritional yeast is PERFECT for vegan cheese sauces, that mixed with cashews is the best combination.

Notes for this recipe:

• Soak your cashews either overnight or in boiling water for 15 minutes – this will help soften the cashews and make your sauce even smoother
• Don’t omit the miso paste – it gives that extra kick needed for this recipe
• You can use any kind of non dairy milk even canned coconut milk. I preferred low fat so opted for unsweetened almond milk
• It’s very important to be sure you are using Pumpkin Puree NOT Pumpkin Pie filling – they’re very different and will change the taste of your mac & cheese
• Optional ingredients you can add: MORE paprika or cayenne if you like heat, Vegan GF bread crumbs if you are baking your mac & cheese, broccoli and other veggies.

My sauce is too thick/too thin – Troubleshooting

Not a problem – if the sauce is too thick for you liking add 1/2 tbsp of non dairy milk at a time to thin it out. If it’s too thin, transfer it to saucepan and cook it for a few minutes on medium heat until it thickens up a bit.

Print Recipe

Vegan Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Author: admin Courses: Entrees, Holiday, Main, Pasta Recipe Keys: Dairy Free Gluten Free Oil Free/No Added Oil Vegan

Description

Ingredients

• 16 oz package GF elbow pasta

sauce:

• 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup whole cashews (soaked overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp white miso paste
• 1/2 tbsp tapioca flour

Ingredients

Servings

• GF elbow pasta
• pumpkin puree
• cashews
• garlic
• paprika
• ground cinnamon
• nutritional yeast
• black pepper
• ground nutmeg
• onion powder
• ground mustard powder
• almond milk
• miso paste
• tapioca flour

Instructions

Video

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1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions
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2. Add all the sauce ingredients to a high speed blender (I only trust my Vitamix) and blend until smooth

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3. Transfer the cooked pasta to a baking dish or cast iron skillet and pour the sauce over. Mix well to ensure all the pasta is covered in the sauce

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4. Serve hot
   
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Note

• Soak your cashews either overnight or in boiling water for 15 minutes - this will help soften the cashews and make your sauce even smoother
• Don't omit the miso paste - it gives that extra kick needed for this recipe
• You can use any kind of non dairy milk even canned coconut milk. I preferred low fat so opted for unsweetened almond milk
• It's very important to be sure you are using Pumpkin Puree NOT Pumpkin Pie filling - they're very different and will change the taste of your mac & cheese
• Optional ingredients you can add: MORE paprika or cayenne if you like heat, Vegan GF bread crumbs if you are baking your mac & cheese, broccoli and other veggies.