Super thick, incredibly cheesy, surprisingly comforting, undeniably satisfying — these are some of the characteristics of mac and cheese that makes everybody crave this traditional treat every so often.
However, a bowl of mac and cheese is something that you have no choice but to dodge especially if you are a vegetarian and gluten is something that gives you all sorts of digestive issues.
Well, this article is for you if you are evading mac and cheese due to the above reasons. That’s because it will teach you how to make vegetarian mac and cheese that is absolutely devoid of gluten.
The recipe below yields 4 servings of mac and cheese that is just like the real deal. And if it tastes just like the real deal, you will keep on cooking it, which will delight not only your taste buds but also your wellbeing.
Here’s the easy-to-follow recipe:
Ingredients:
1 head of garlic
12 ounces of penne (gluten-free variant)
10 cups of water
2 cups of almond milk (unsweetened)
1/2 cup of vegetarian parmesan cheese
5 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
4 1/2 tablespoons of arrowroot starch
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper (finely ground)
Directions:
-Get your oven preheated to 400°F, which is equivalent to about 200°C.
-In the meantime, chop off the top of the head of garlic. Place a small amount olive oil on the top and sprinkle with a little salt. Loosely wrap in foil and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes. You will know that the head of garlic is ready when it’s light brown and super fragrant. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool.
-At the 30-minute mark of roasting the head of garlic, cook gluten-free penne according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
-Grab an oven-safe skillet and heat on the stove using medium heat. Add olive oil and minced garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes until garlic is lightly browned. Keep on stirring while waiting for the garlic to cook.
-As soon as the garlic is cooked, add arrowroot starch to the skillet. Whisk for about a minute.
-While still whisking, slowly pour unsweetened almond milk into the skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes. Worry not if the mixture looks clumpy because it will be blended later on anyway.
-Reach for the roasted garlic head and apply an upward pressure on the base — this will make the cloves come out without trouble.
-Toss them into a blender and pour in the mixture. Add nutritional yeast, vegetarian parmesan cheese, sea salt and ground black pepper. Blend on high until it’s looking creamy. If necessary, stop blending from time to time to scrape the sides of the blender with a small rubber spatula.
-Pour the contents of the blender into the skillet you used earlier. Using low heat, allow the mixture to thicken. Keep on stirring — in about a couple of minutes it will become super rich. If too thick, add a little almond milk. But if you want your vegetarian and gluten-free mac and cheese sauce to be just as rich, leave it like that.
-Switch off the heat and add cooked penne into the sauce. Stir very well.
-Transfer to a large plate and sprinkle a little vegetarian parmesan cheese on it. Serve.
Every spoonful of this mac and cheese that you put in your mouth will surely get you asking yourself if it’s indeed the vegetarian and gluten-free version of a well-loved treat — it’s just like the real deal texture- and taste-wise!
