Vegan Buffalo Mac and Cashew Cheese

As a kid, my favorite after school snack was boxed Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I attempted to make it healthier by adding less butter (why on earth would it need half a stick of butter?) and not using the entire packet of the orange powdered cheese. It tasted delicious to my 10 year-old self but the neon meal left me feeling sick each and every time. It’s still engrained in my memory how my stomach felt afterwards; it was the epitome of a gut bomb and I couldn’t do much the rest of the afternoon aside from roll around on the floor, groaning. Oddly, it didn’t stop me from cooking it up again the next day after school and experiencing the same results.

Once I became an adult, I made what I thought was a fancier and healthier version of mac and cheese. I’d grate up fresh cheddar and pepper jack and add peas for a healthy splash of color. Same gut bombs, different decade.

This Buffalo Mac and Cashew Cheese is a whole different story! I can indulge in a bowl of this slightly spicy, creamy cashew mac with veggies and feel fabulous afterwards! I can go on a bike ride or roll out my yoga mat after this meal rather than having to be rolled onto the couch for recovery. And can we talk about the cleanup? Easy peasy. No more scrubbing greasy cheese out of the pot after it soaked overnight and wondering how to deal with the sloppy mess that’s sticking to the sponge. It all just wipes clean away!

Is this kid-friendly?

You bet! Just add the Frank’s Redhot Sauce (or other hot sauce) to the adult’s bowls after dishing up and it will be a hit with the kiddos!

Does Cashew Cheese taste like cheese?

Nope, because it’s not dairy. It’s made from cashews and has it’s own unique flavor profile since it’s a completely different food! If you take a bite expecting this to taste like cheddar then you’re setting yourself up for disappointment because it’s not cheddar. This is a creamy and tasty macaroni dish with delicious flavors of it’s own!

What’s wrong with cheese?

Everything. What isn’t wrong with cheese? The saturated fat, the pregnancy hormones including estrogen and progesterone,¹ insulin growth factor-1, the increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers²‘³ just to name a few. We don’t need cheese or any dairy in our diets at all and the quality of life is better without it!

If you’d like to read more on the topic, check out my article:

Brie and bread — Why is cheese so addictive?

Print Recipe

Vegan Buffalo Mac and Cashew Cheese

Creamy, spicy, delicious and nutritious! This vegan Buffalo Mac and Cashew Cheese is easy to make and a great (not guilty) pleasure!

Prep Time30

Cook Time20

Total Time50

Course: dinner, favorites, Pasta

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Comfort food, dinner, Pasta, spicy

Servings: 4 large bowls

Author: The Wandering Veggie

Ingredients

Cashew Cheese

1 cup Cashews raw
1½ cups Unsweetened unflavored plant milk (I prefer soy)
¼ cup Nutritional yeast
2 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
¼ tsp Cayenne omit and use paprika for kid-friendly
¼ tsp Turmeric powder
2 tsp White miso
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Lemon juice

Veggies

⅓ of a large Yellow onion chopped
2 Carrots sliced
2 cups Broccoli roughly chopped
1 cup Frozen peas defrosted
½ of a Red bell pepper finely chopped
2 Spicy veggie sausages sliced or broken into chunks (optional but so good!) I use Field Roast’s Mexican Chipotle!)

For Serving

¼-½ tsp Salt to taste
15 oz Elbow macaroni pasta
drizzle of Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce or other hot sauce (to taste)
dash of Paprika or cayenne

Instructions

Place 1 cup raw cashews in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Soak for 10-15 minutes. While cashews soak, prep veggies.
For cashew cheese: Add soaked cashews and everything else under “cashew cheese” to a high speed blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add anything more to-taste. Cashew cheese will thicken up after it rests.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook 15 ounces of elbow macaroni according to package directions until al dente.
While noodles cook, sauté onions in a large skillet (I use a splash of water instead of oil in my non-stick) until softened. Stir in the rest of the veggies and the spicy veggies sausages and cook until veggies are soft but not mushy!
When noodles are done, use colander to strain the water and return noodles back to pot. Pour cashew cheese on noodles and stir to evenly coat.
Add veggies to noodle pot and stir to combine. Add ¼-½ tsp of salt, a little at a time, to-taste. Serve immediately, drizzling Franks RedHot sauce on top and a sprinkle of paprika or cayenne pepper. Enjoy!