Cheezy Vegan Baked Pasta (GF)

Well, I am so excited to share this recipe with you, which I’ll admit was a total accident!

I was craving something cheezy and comforting, but wanted to keep it healthy as possible. So, I threw a bunch of things together, and what came out was pure magic!

This recipe is:

Vegan
Gluten-free
High protein
Easy to make
Healthy
Soy-free
Delicious
& Can easily be made nut-free

I’ve found this recipe to be a huge hit amongst our friends who are ‘dairy connoisseurs’ as they love the cheesy taste and stated ‘they can’t even tell the difference’.

This recipe is also highly kid-rated and kid-approved.

Best part? As the cheese sauce is literally made from potatoes and carrots, you are sneaking in extra veggies for yourself and them!

Cheezy Vegan Baked Pasta (GF)

PREP TIME
15 Minutes

COOKING TIME
20 Minutes

YIELDS
6-8 Servings

INGREDIENTS

2 boxes Chickapea penne pasta
2 medium broccoli crowns

Cheese Sauce

1 cup carrots
2 cups potatoes
1 cup water
2/3 cup avocado oil
4 tsp lemon juice
1 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp pink Himalayan salt

Parmesan Cheese

1 cup cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to instructions until it is al dente. Drain and rinse.

STEP 2: While pasta is cooking, place carrots (peeled and chopped) and potatoes (peeled and chopped) in another large pot of water and bring to a boil. Cool until fork tender.

STEP 3: Drain potatoes and carrots and place in blender with the remainder of the cheese sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth.

STEP 4: Chop broccoli into bite size pieces and steam 2-3 minutes, until a bright green dolour but not too soft.

STEP 5: Lightly grease a large casserole dish with avocado oil.

STEP 6: Combine pasta and broccoli, coat with cheese sauce. Spoon mixture into casserole dish, being gentle to avoid breaking noodles into smaller pieces.

STEP 7: Combine Parmesan cheese ingredients into a food processor. Process until it becomes a fine powder. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

STEP 8: Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. You can alternatively choose to place on broil for a few minutes at the end- which I did myself!

NOTES

Allow to cool a bit before digging in.
If broiling, watch closely as it can burn fast.
To make nut-free, simply eliminate the parmesan topping at the end.
If your cheese appears really thick after blending, add a bit more water to make it closer to the consistency of a ‘drinkable yogurt’ versus a pudding.
If gluten-free isn’t required, this will work with any pasta.

Love,

Brianne xx

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