Vegan High-Protein Mac and Cheese

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This week I asked in my new group: "Cooking and Eating with Hagay Lefler" which recipe you'd like to see on the blog?

A bit about vegan Mac and Cheese

As mentioned, the sauce is based on cooked cauliflower and silken tofu.

Silken tofu is a very soft tofu with a texture similar to panna cotta. It contains a higher liquid content than regular tofu and therefore fewer calories.

You cannot replace the silken tofu with regular tofu in this recipe. Sorry.

Oh, and not the cauliflower either.

Maybe it's just better to choose a different recipe (just kidding!).

To give it a beautiful orange color like in non-vegan Mac and Cheese recipes

(they use orange cheddar cheese), I added one small sliced carrot. You can replace it with a bit of sweet potato or pumpkin, or omit it entirely.

The cheesy taste is provided by spices like nutritional yeast, nutmeg, and mustard. You can also substitute with a bit of white miso or some cashews soaked in water.

Now, the highlight: the pasta.

I used red lentil pasta from Felicia (this is not sponsored content).

The pasta contains a nice amount of protein and is gluten-free.

But no matter how much you cook it, it will always (it seems to me) maintain an al dente texture. Meaning it doesn't get really soft.

If you really don't like it, try checking how much protein is in whole wheat pasta – I promise you a surprise! :)

Nutritional Values:

A serving of pasta (sauce + pasta) out of 4, weighing 350g, contains:

• 380 kcal
• 42g carbs
• 26g protein
• 12g fat

Values for a serving of sauce (without pasta) weighing 250g, contains:

• 107 kcal
• 11g carbs
• 11g fat
• 10.5g protein

Want another sauce for pasta? Click here

Print

Vegan Mac and Cheese

Prep time 10 minutes

Cook time 15 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 380 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 unit Small cauliflower 700g
• 1 unit Small peeled carrot 50g
• 1 pack Silken tofu 340g
• 1 tsp Olive oil 10ml
• 2 tbsp Nutritional yeast 20g
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard 20g
• 1 clove Garlic, crushed
• 1/2 level tsp Nutmeg
• A pinch of salt
• 250 g Lentil pasta - dry weight I used pasta by Felicia

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to medium heat (180°C).

2. Break the cauliflower into florets.

3. Slice the carrot into rounds.

4. Cook the cauliflower and carrot in a pot with boiling water for about 10 minutes until soft.

5. The carrot and cauliflower should be very soft.

6. In a food processor or blender, add the tofu, olive oil, nutritional yeast, mustard, crushed garlic, nutmeg, and salt.

7. Drain the cauliflower and carrot from the water and transfer to the food processor.

8. Blend well until you get a smooth, orange, and creamy sauce.

9. Transfer to a bowl.

10. Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer's instructions.

11. Drain the pasta and transfer to the bowl with the sauce.

12. Mix well until the sauce completely coats the pasta.

13. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes until the top of the pasta browns slightly.

14. Devour while hot!

Recipe Video