

Then spread the pasta out in a 9x13 inch pan.
#Cauliflower and cashew mac and cheese free
To make the final dish gluten free, choose gluten free noodles. ~ To make this nut free, use white beans (cannelllini or Great Northern) instead of cashews. ~ For an extra “cheesy” flavor, try adding 1 tablespoon of mellow white miso (note: contains soy) or 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast. ~ If you are making this sauce on it’s own without the noodles, you can use water, unsweetened plain non-dairy milk, or the cooking liquid from the squash/onions in place of the pasta cooking water. ~ Use a high speed blender to ensure the sauce blends up silky smooth. ~ Don’t forget to save ½ cup of the pasta cooking liquid before draining the noodles! The starch in the water helps create the silky creamy texture. ~ To save time, feel free to use pre-chopped butternut squash found in the produce section of the grocery store. ~ Although the peel of butternut squash is edible, peel it! The end result will be much creamier without the peel. Roasted salted cashews will be too strong. They blend up super creamy and have a mild sweet flavor that complements the other flavors of the butternut squash mac and cheese. Love butternut squash? You’ll love my vegan butternut squash risotto and baked butternut squash fries! Pumpkin or sweet potato can be used instead though both will give slight flavor variations to the final dish. It costs more to buy the pre-chopped kind, but it can save you time for sure.

I buy a whole one and prep it myself, but most grocery stores now sell pre-chopped butternut squash in the produce section and you can often find it frozen as well. It blends up super creamy when paired with the other ingredients. It’s nutty and earthy with a slight sweetness. Our favorite is by far the Tinkyada noodles! They stay al dente, they don’t clump up, my kids can’t tell the difference between these and regular pasta, and its made from just organic brown rice and water! Try it!īutternut Squash ~ This healthy veggie gives us the classic golden color of mac and cheese. *Pro tip: After learning of our daughters gluten sensitivity, we have tried nearly every kind of gluten free noodle out there. Use gluten free noodles, if you need/want. Small shells, penne, and rotini are our other faves for this dish.
#Cauliflower and cashew mac and cheese for mac
Noodles ~ Elbow noodles are classic for mac and cheese, but this sauce will work with any of your favorite noodle shapes.
