Get ready to curl up with the ultimate comfort food! This creamy, decadent mac and cheese is the definition of cozy, featuring a rich, velvety pumpkin cheese sauce and a golden breadcrumb crust that hits the spot every single time. It is perfect for this season, whether you're watching the leaves change or warming up on a chilly evening. Best of all, it's a total crowd-pleaser that is perfect to enjoy with a group of people, and because it can be prepped in advance, you can do all the heavy lifting early. Just assemble it ahead of time, keep it in the fridge, and pop it into the oven when your guests arrive so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time hanging out!
Vegan, nut free | Serves 4 | MAIN
Ingredients:
Pasta:
- 300g macaroni pasta (aka elbow pasta or shrimp pasta)
Crunchy topping:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
- A pinch of garlic granules and oregano
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons crispy fried onions
Plant-based mince:
- 225g vegan mince
- 1 teaspoon fajita seasoning
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of each garlic granules and oregano
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Pumpkin cream:
- 150g pumpkin puree
- 300g silken tofu
- 500ml pasta water
- 25g butter
- 150g grated green vie mozzarella (or any other plant-based cheese you prefer)
- 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon of each garlic granules and oregano
- Salt and pepper
- Pinch of nutmeg
Serve with:
- Fresh parsley or coriander
Steps:
1.Cook the pasta al dente in a large pot filled with salted water.
2.While the pasta is boiling, in a wide pan, add all the ingredients for the toppings (except the crispy fried onions) over a medium heat and saute until the breadcrumbs become golden. This will only few minutes, keep an eye on them and stir them frequently, else they might burn.
3.Once the breadcrumbs are ready, place on a bowl and keep the pan to cook the mince.
4.Once the pasta is ready, drain them, keep 500ml of the pasta water and keep it aside. We will re-use this pot too.
5.Add the plant-mince in the pan, over a medium heat, and break it down into small pieces while it cooks.
6.Add the spices and soy sauce and once it has browned remove from the heat.
7.For the pumpkin cream, in a blender or food processor, blend the pumpkin puree and silken tofu until everything is well combined.
8.In the large pot that we cooked the pasta earlier, add the pasta water you reserved, the pumpkin tofu cream you blender in the previous step, along with the reaming ingredients for the cream.
9.Whisk over a medium heat until the cheese melts.
10.Then add the cooked pasta and mince along with some fresh parsley or coriander, mix to combine and cook for few more minutes.
11.Optionally, serve over a pyrex and top it up with the golden breadcrumbs, crispy fried onions and fresh herbs.
Enjoy!
Notes:
*You can prepare all the components a day before and assemble the day you want to serve.