Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan Macaroni and Cheese, or, Sure, There’s Therapy, But Have You Tried an Unhealthy Attachment to Food?

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Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan Macaroni and Cheese, or, Sure, There’s Therapy, But Have You Tried an Unhealthy Attachment to Food?

May 28, 2009 by Bad Mama Genny

There’s pretentious food, and experimental food, and food you make to show off…but Macaroni and Cheese is none of these. I think I’d call it nostalgic, comforting face-stuffing food. You know what I’m talking about–food that takes you back, makes you feel young and low-maintenance again. Like peanut butter and jelly, for instance. Hot dogs and chips. A pile of pierogies (okay…maybe that one has less universal appeal). Yes, Macaroni and Cheese takes its place among all these most American (minus the pierogies) of food icons. Unfortunately, vegans and lactards and all manner of non-cheese-eaters are frequently left with poor substitutes. DAMN SHAME.

What happens to a person who is denied comfort food? Sure, for a while you scrape by…but I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. Sometimes you needses your feel good foods.

Yesterday was one of those times.

After working from dawn’s buttcrack until 9 PM, your BMG wanted a shower, a manicure, some food, a tall beer, a therapy session, a massage, a helicopter ride over some volcanos, a bigger backyard, a personal assistant to deal with my family for me, a new wardrobe, shoes that didn’t hurt, some orphans like Angelina’s, and why not, a motherfucking pony, too.

But, hey, I was willing to settle for food.

It was a “blue box” moment if I’d ever seen one. I frantically began slapping together food, much to the dismay of the Boy, who felt that my nonsensical ranting was probably incompatible with boiling water and santoku knives. He promptly steered me to the shower, and ten minutes later, I emerged ready to handle big girl tools again.

This recipe is cheap and easy, just like you like me. Fact is, most dairy-free mac and cheese recipes tell you to make your own cheese using cashews and agar flakes and all other manner of ridiculous processes that I’ll admit to having done but hey listen let’s save that shit for days when we aren’t feeling homicidal, shall we? Still other recipes instruct you to use a storebought soy cheese that’s packed full of preservatives, soy, and even milk-based products, which, again, I’ll admit to having done, but OH HELLZ BELLZ sometimes you don’t want that compromise. So sweet, great, awesomesauce, this is not one of those recipes. If you can boil water, you can do this. And I’m not saying that to make you feel better about your cooking skills, like a lot of food people do….I really mean it. Yeah, no problem. You’re welcome.

Thank God we develop irrational attachments to our food. Now I don’t have to go to therapy, take a helicopter trip, adopt orphans, or find that goddamned pony. I can just fill up a bowl, grab a spoon, and eat those feelings away! Mmm, refreshing!

Want another low-effort wonder of a meal while you’re at it? Check my Vegan Spinach Lentil Soup.

[UPDATE: Wanna turn this recipe into little, giftable macaroni-and-cheese kits? Click on over.]

Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan Macaroni and Cheese
Makes 4-6 Servings

Go Get:
1/2 cup flour
1 cup nutritional yeast
3/4-1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. onion powder (not onion salt)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (not garlic salt)
2 1/2 cups almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
12 oz. fun pasta (you can use a whole pound, but it’ll be less “saucy”)

Go Do:
Cook your pasta in salted water until it’s al dente, then drain. In your large pasta pot, whisk together all remaining ingredients (told you this would be easy). Turn the heat onto medium and whisk constantly to keep things smooth. When you have a thick sauce, toss the pasta back in, and use a large wooden spoon to fold it all together. When the pasta’s thoroughly coated and the sauce is the as thick as you like it, take the pot off the heat, and you’re done! I like to serve this with Southern greens and a stiff drink, but feel free to experiment.

Posted in Main Dishes, Nutritional Yeast, Pasta | Tagged comfort food, dairy-free, macaroni and cheese, soy-free, things you cook when you're on the verge of a breakdown, vegan | 17 Comments

17 Responses

on September 10, 2009 at 2:42 am Angela

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! My daughter, son, and i are sensitive to dairy on 2 levels (lactose and protein), and my daughter is also sensitive to soy, so cheese if becoming an enemy we love around here!!! Also, a neighbor has a baby like us and she is nursing, so she has also given up cheese and soy.

I am making this recipe tomorrow!!! I am so excited!

Thanks so much!! God bless!
Angela
on September 10, 2009 at 5:38 pm alchemygen

Hi, and thanks so much for your kind comment! I’m glad I’m able to help. Just a quick note–I used Earth Balance spread in the recipe, which does contain soy (I’m not soy-sensitive). If you want this to be soy-free, feel free to substitute olive oil (or any other healthy oil) instead. I actually just had this for dinner a few nights ago–it’s my go-to, once a month, no-guilt comfort food. You’ll find the sauce on its own is also great for vegetables and nachos (try adding some sliced jalapenos and a shake or two of cumin–yum!).

Do enjoy it!

All the best,
on May 11, 2010 at 4:03 pm Jen

Whole Foods sells soy free Earth Balance now!!! I have never had the original Earth Balance, but the soy free is what I use and it is awesome! I always bake with it.

I can’t wait to try this recipe because I miss macaroni and cheese so much!
on July 19, 2011 at 12:17 pm DD

Do you think instead if the garlic and onion powder that you could fry some finely chopped onion and garlic first and add to the sauce?
I think ill try this soon and let you know! Thanks for the recipe !
on July 19, 2011 at 3:08 pm alchemygen

Hi, DD! Yes, you can use freshly sauteed onion and garlic, and in fact, that’s what I often do myself. The other version is just a little closer to the “blue box” and may be better suited to picky kid eaters because there aren’t “pieces.” That being said, while The Boy and I are definitely children, we’re decidedly unpicky eaters, so we often toss in sun-tomatoes, peas, sauteed peppers, mushrooms, salsa, jalapenos, blah blah blah. Go nuts!

I certainly have.

Thanks for reading, and definitely do check back with us!
Gen
on July 27, 2011 at 8:57 pm Ask Bad Mama Genny: Dairy-Free, Vegan Caramel Sauce, or, That Nude Photo Shoot Will Probably Surface in Sweden Someday « The Alchemist

[...] Dairy-free, Soy-free, Vegan Macaroni & Cheese [...]
on October 11, 2011 at 7:56 pm Rachel

I’m loving this! My only problem…the only dairy-free milk I had was vanilla (gifted to me by a friend who left town)! So my sauce has sweet undertones (which my husband did not even notice…). I was just so ready to try the recipe that I didn’t want to wait until I had regular almond milk.

I added edamame and carrots to my pasta water with a couple minutes left. Yum.

I can’t wait to try it again with unflavored “milk.” Thanks for sharing this recipe!
on October 12, 2011 at 10:12 am Bad Mama Genny

Thanks for the comment, Rachel–and I’VE TOTALLY DONE THE EXACT SAME THING BEFORE (by accident, though)! I tried to mask it with a little extra garlic powder, a dribble of prepared mustard, and a little extra salt (you know, salty and sour to counteract the sweet), but just as in your case, The Boy didn’t even notice. Yay for added veggies–we really like some sauteed mushrooms up in there.

Don’t be a stranger!
BMG
on December 5, 2011 at 2:25 pm Homemade Gift Idea: Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan Macaroni and Cheese Kits, or, Let’s Discuss Human Sacrifice on a Mountaintop « Bad Mama Genny

[...] sticking with Bad Mama Genny for a while now, you know that I’ve already covered how to make this macaroni and “cheese.” Yeah, you’re welcome. No [...]
on December 5, 2011 at 8:39 pm Victoria

Um so I don’t know why this appeared in my google reader today (but it did) but I would just like to say that pierogies should have universal appeal, they are amazing, and I’m so mad there aren’t more/accessible Polish Delis out here. I go through withdraws, but I do make a damn fine kolacky.
Victoria recently posted..Pip-pip Cheerio!
on December 6, 2011 at 9:47 am Bad Mama Genny

ARGH! It showed up in my reader again because I’m dealing with an ongoing glitch that nobody seems to know how to fix. But ANYHOW it brought us closer together. I can have no regrets about that.

When I was living on the East coast I was so sad at how hard it was to get good Polish. Chicago? Different story–good delis on every corner in some neighborhoods. But HOW can you beat a homemade kolacky HOW I ASK YOU. I think you need to post that one on your blog…

Bad Mama Genny
on February 27, 2012 at 3:26 pm Heather

ok so I know some people don’t count calories, but do you have the nutritional info on this recipe?
thank you
on February 28, 2012 at 11:41 am Bad Mama Genny

Hi, Heather,

I’ve not done the nutritional calculations, but one calorie cutting move I’ve pulled in the past is replacing some of the pasta with broccoli or cauliflower florets. Just toss them into the pasta cooking water for the last few minutes of boiling.

Hope that helps!
BMG
on August 29, 2012 at 7:51 pm angelique

Yee haw, can’t wait to try this. Some notes, my girlfriend and I are are also gluten free, and she’s milk and soy allergic. Talk about challenging to us foodies! Gluten free flour to the rescue. I have found an awesome milk substitute called Vance’s made with potato. It’s the only non sweet milk alternative I’ve found. And so far I’ve only found it online. Thought I’d share. Great fun blog!!!
on August 31, 2012 at 5:32 pm Bad Mama Genny

I’ve never heard of that! Potato milk just sounds like a good idea–I bet it’s awesome for making creamy soups.

Thanks for telling us about it!

BMG
on November 16, 2012 at 11:25 pm Stephy

Could this be made ahead of time and reheated? I need to make vegan mac&cheese for my friendsgiving next week and I’m trying to do as much beforehand as possible!
on November 24, 2012 at 11:32 am Bad Mama Genny

I’m sorry for the late response on this, Stephy! How was Friendsgiving? You can absolutely make this ahead and reheat it, just add a bit more almond milk and stir over low heat until it’s all creamy again.

Happy Mac-ing,
BMG

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Bad Mama Genny

Like a mommy blog. Except I'm not a mommy. And it's about extreme DIY and homesteading. And food, food, food. And gardening in fishnets. And moonshine makin'. And the fine mess I've gotten us into this time. So not at all like a mommy blog. Ok, you know what, just read the damn blog.