Chef notes
Lighten up mac and cheese with sweet potatoes in this vegan version of the classic American comfort food.
Ingredients
- 1 sweet potato (1¼ cup)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- 1 cup unsweetened plain soy milk or other non-dairy milk, divided
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil, canola oil or vegan butter like Earth Balance
- 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- 1/2 pound macaroni noodles (1/2 pack)
Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 375°F.
2.Roast the sweet potato and garlic for 30 minutes.
3.In a small bowl, add the arrowroot with ⅓ cup of the non-dairy milk. Stir to combine until there are no clumps. Set aside.
4.In a 3-quart saucepan, warm the oil or melt the Earth Balance on medium heat. Add in the remaining soy milk along with the mustard, onion powder, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper and salt. Whisk to combine. Stir in the arrowroot soy milk mixture, and continue to whisk to combine over medium-low heat to thicken the sauce, about 3 minutes.
5.Meanwhile, cook your macaroni noodles al dente following the package instructions. Strain the noodles and place in a deep 9-by-9-inch baking dish to cool.
6.Transfer the sauce to a blender, then add the roasted sweet potato and garlic. Blend until smooth, and season with more nutritional yeast and salt to taste. It should be pretty salty to balance the noodles. Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles, and stir well to coat every noodle. Serve immediately.
