Mac and Cheese in 2 Ways

Many people enjoy mac and cheese as a classic comfort dish. It blends delicate macaroni and creamy, melted cheese to create a filling and tasty dish. This time-tested favourite is versatile and customizable, making it a on-the-go option for a quick and delicious meal.

In this article we have a two varieties of mac and cheese for you. One is baked mac and cheese, and the other is vegan mac and cheese.

Baked Mac and Cheese

So, let’s start with our first variant, baked mac and cheese.

Ingredients

Elbow noodles
Butter
All-Purpose flour
Prepared mustard
Garlic Powder
White pepper with salt

Procedure

Let’s see the steps to make baked mac and cheese.

Start by shredding some cheese, probably 8 ounces, while a big pot of water is heating up. You can combine any cheese that melts nicely, although cheddar is the traditional choice. Thus, chop up the entire 8-ounce block. You may need a substantial cheese pile in the end. But, for now, we’ll put the cheese aside and go to the burner.

Bring water to a boil in a pan to cook the pasta. It will take around 7 minutes to cook 1 pound of dry elbow noodles. Some recipes call for cooking the pasta right in the sauce. But I’m not a big fan of that method since the sauce tastes starchy and better when we cook the pasta separately.

You should ensure the pan is good and large since this is where we will cook all of the pasta and add it to the sauce. Melt 1/2 cup of salted butter at first over low heat. Then, add half a cup of all-purpose flour. You will now use 1 1/2 teaspoons of powdered mustard, 1 1/2 teaspoons of onion powder, one teaspoon of salt, and the last 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper.

Next, cook the above combination, known as a roux, for one to two minutes. After that, we’ll add 3 cups of milk. I prefer to use 2% milk for this. Then we’ll boil this for a while. Simply wait until bubbles form; turn off the heat, add all of our cheddar cheese, and stir until the cheese melts.

We’ll now add the pasta into our cheese sauce, combine everything, and call it good! The whole family will like your quick, delectable, cheesy macaroni and cheese.

Vegan Mac and Cheese

Below are the ingredients and steps to prepare vegan mac and cheese.

Ingredients

Whole-grain elbow macaroni – 8 ounces
1 head of broccoli, roughly 1 ½ to 2 cups of finely chopped broccoli florets (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil – 1½ tablespoons
Chopped yellow onion – 1 small or around 1 cup
Peeled and shredded russet potato – 1 cup or 4 ounces (ideally organic)
Minced or pressed garlic cloves – 3
Garlic powder – ½ teaspoon
Onion powder – ½ teaspoon
Dry mustard powder – ½ teaspoon
Fine sea salt – ½ teaspoon or more as desired
Red pepper flakes – a small pinch
Raw cashews – ⅔ cup
Water – 1 cup or more if needed
Nutritional yeast – ¼ cup
Distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar (to taste) – 2-3 teaspoons

Instructions

Let’s see the steps to make a vegan mac and cheese recipe.

Take a big pot and boil the pasta in salted water. Cook the pasta as directed on the package. When there are only 2 to 3 minutes left, mix in the broccoli if using. After draining the liquid, transfer the mixture to a large serving bowl.

Meanwhile, in a medium to large-sized saucepan, heat the oil on medium heat. Now, add the chopped onions and a little salt, and simmer, frequently stirring, for about 5-6 minutes or maybe until the onions become soft and translucent.

Add the shredded potatoes together with the garlic, onion, mustard, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. To bring out their flavors, combine everything and simmer for about a minute while constantly stirring.

Add the water and cashews and mix well after adding them. Simmer the mixture for a while. You should simmer the potatoes for another 5 to 8 minutes or until they are thoroughly soft and cooked through. Stir constantly and reduce the heat as required to avoid a quick boil.

Put the mixture into the blender carefully. Add 2 teaspoons of vinegar and the nutritional yeast. Blend till the mixture is perfectly smooth for around 2 minutes, frequently stopping to wipe down the sides if required. If the mixture is difficult to blend or you would like a thinner texture, add water in increments of 1/4 cup, blending after each addition.

Taste and add more salt as needed till the sauce is completely seductive. You can add the extra teaspoon of vinegar if you think it needs a bit extra zing. Blend it again.