Vegan Buffalo Mac + Cheese
Lately I’ve been craving some of the EDS staples. Rather than creating new concepts, I personally love to revisit older recipes and tweak them to perfection whether it be thru images or flavor, I find it’s a win win.Â
I’ll be honest, my strong suite is recipe development while my weakness is photography. I took a brief course at NYU, but it simply ran through the basics and left many unknowns after. That being said, photography has been a journey and I had to learn through trial and error what works and what doesn’t. Believe it or not, photography is everything. You could take a terrible recipe, but capture it in a way that draws people in. On the flip side, you could have an amazing recipe, but you can’t discern the quality, because of the underwhelming pictures.Â
Simply put, photography is powerful and testing recipes multiple times is everything, and what I’m really enjoying right now! A better image or a single ingredient can alter an entire recipe.Â
Back to THIS recipe from 2017!! Long before my culinary days, I loathed all things with heat. I have no idea why, but I found heat to just be overpowering for me. Fast forward to today, I crave all things with heat. Heat makes me slow down on the speed of eating so I savor each bite, it’s good for the metabolism, and it truly enhances the flavor of dishes just like salt!
Years ago when thinking of the next best recipe, I knew I had to do something buffalo, and the vegan Buffalo Mac + Cheese was born! Many times we create limitations with foods we love. However, if you enjoy the texture or flavor of something, take that and get creative, the options are endless with food.Â
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What I love about this dish, is everything! It’s quick, easy, affordable, flavorful, fun, great for entertaining, has aesthetic appeal, can easily be made in bulk, you can add carrots for a nutrient and color boost, it’s perf for any season, non vegan approved, the breadcrumbs add additional texture, you can top with vegan blue cheese if you’re wanting to take this next level.Â
For those who love fresh modern vegan eats or simply love all things buffalo, you have to try my vegan Buffalo Mac + CheeseÂ
Why this recipe is great:Â
Easy
Minimal ingredints
Effortless
Cheesy
Spicy
Can be made in bulkÂ
The perf side
Vegan Buffalo Mac + Cheese
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked pasta
Sauce:
- 1 cup cashews (soaked, drained.)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot)
- 3/4 cup almond milk (add more as needed to achieve desired consistency)
- salt/pepper as desired
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
Toppings:
Garnish:
- 1 tbsp chives, chopped
Instructions
- To make the sauce soak cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes, drain and toss in a high powered blender with the remaining sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- In a large pan over medium heat add the breadcrumbs and vegan butter. Cook for 3-5 minutes until slightly golden. Remove from the pan, set aside.
- In that same pan combine the buffalo sauce with the cooked pasta over medium heat to heat all the way thru.
- Remove from heat and top with the toasted bread crumbs and chives.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: Side
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
How much buffalo sauce?
Hey Kate! Sorry I used about 1/2 cup! You can always use more if you desire!
What buffalo sauce do you use?o
Hi Nicole! I used Frank’s Red Hot as it’s my favorite lol
This was very tasty and easy to make! A great alternative to traditional mac and cheese.