Mac and Cheese. Cheeze? Yeast?
There are innumerable recipes for vegan mac and cheese on the internet. I’ve tried a lot of them. Some of them simply call for “slices of soy cheese” and some vegetable stock to be mixed over pasta. The majority, however, require nutritional yeast, and they usually also require making a roux. The recipe below is from my upcoming cookbook, and it’s one of my favorites. However, if you’ll indulge me for a moment, there are some things about vegan mac and cheeze I want to talk about.
Now, I’m the first to admit “Mac and Yeast” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. That’s why I tend to call it “Mac and Cheeze”. But I’m also the first to admit that these recipes, even the best of them, don’t really taste all that much like mac and cheese. Some get much closer than others, and a lot are downright tasty. But it’s not cheese. Your omnivore or veggie friend/spouse/child may love it as much as or even more than the real stuff (if you’re lucky), but they probably love it on its own merits, not because they really can’t tell the difference.
But you know what? It doesn’t have to taste exactly the same for me to love it.
A lot of people, myself included, are really interested in making vegan food that’s indistinguishable from the “real” thing. It’s a fun challenge, and oftentimes, a challenge where you can really and truly be successful. But there are many instances where you don’t create something identical, but what you do create is actually good. Different, but yummy. While vegan mac and cheese doesn’t taste exactly like non-vegan mac and cheese, it satisfies the same craving. It’s rich and creamy and salty and vaguely cheese-like. It’s a yummy, thick creamy sauce to top noodles with.
I think that sometimes it’s enough to satisfy your cravings with something similar, if you can’t find something identical. After three years of being vegan, I don’t even crave mac and cheese anymore; I crave mac and yeast.
I think expectation is important with food. If it looks like a grape, you expect it to taste like a grape. If I hand you a glass of sparkling wine and tell you it’s gingerale, you might be put off when you take a sip. You might even like wine, but you expected it to be, well, not wine. If I say, “here, try this mac and cheese” and give you mac and yeast, you might be disappointed when you tasted it. If you’ve never tried a mac and yeast recipe before, and you want to try this one, keep in mind that it doesn’t taste like cheese.
It just tastes like yummy. Well, it does to me and the vegans that tested the recipe for me!
Mac and Cheeze
Serves 2-3
1/3 Cup Earth Balance Margarine
1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 1/2 Tbs Low Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
1 Tbs Lemon Juice, fresh
1 Tbs Sweet/White/Mellow Miso
1 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Tomato Paste (not sauce!)
1 1/4 Cup Soy Milk
1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast
1 Pinch Salt
Black Pepper, to taste
Begin by heating a sauce pan and adding the earth balance. Once melted, add flour and whisk vigorously until a smooth paste forms, called a roux. Be careful not to add flour to a pan that is very hot, or your roux will be lumpy and you’ll need to start over. If you mix in the flour as soon as the margarine is melted and you should avoid any problems.
To this paste, add tamari, lemon, miso, tahini, and tomato paste and whisk until well incorporated. The mixture should still be paste-like. Then slowly pour in the soymilk, whisking constantly, until it is completely incorporated. Add the yeast and mix well. Cook the mixture until it thickens, whisking often. This should take approximately 5 minutes, but it’s flexible. Add salt and pepper to taste.
I like this the most baked. Cook 3 cups of dry, small pasta (like elbows or shells or rotini) and toss with the finished cheezy sauce. Add steamed broccoli (pictured) for a real treat. Top with fresh breadcrumbs and bake at 400º for 25 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
I’ve spilled so much ink so far (well, pixels) telling you that vegan cheese doesn’t taste like cheese, so I figured I’d close the entry with this: vegan cheese that, to me, tastes like mother forkin’ cheese! It deserves an entire entry devoted to it, so I’ll just leave you with this until part two of my vegan cheese post:
Holy moly! I just logged on to get this recipe and it’s like you delivered it to me. I love this version. I used two different ingredients the first time I made it and it was deliciously (disturbing?) like the tuna helper mix, but without the tuna helper. Or maybe I was just imagining it, like I imagine that FYH cheese is good. It is good to me, but my husband won’t get near it.
is that sheese?
No fair posting that cheese picture and then leaving me hanging! I need a cheese substitute to kick the dairy adiction!
This is my favorite vegan-mac-and-cheese. :)
See you at the Fest this weekend! (Well, in reality I won’t even know if I see you, but I’ll be working the Info/Water table from 12-2, anyway, if you wanna say hi.)
I think I’m being blind, but when is the yeast added to the recipe?
yum! is there something I can sub for flour, being gluten intolerant?
Oops, thanks Jamie! I added it into the directions, it’s one of the last things added.
Robin – You’ll have to wait and see! (Yes, it is!)
Jude – I’ll have to try your version!
Steph – Good question. I’m not sure! I’ll try to experiment and let you know. I’m not sure what the thickening properties of non-wheat flours are.
I will happily try the mac and yeast recipe – it sounds good. The picture of the “cheese” block, however, is freakin’ me out! My few experiences with vegan cheese have been horrifying.
Sounds good. Is the quantity for the Earth Balance one third of a cup? Think I’ll try this one.
I never liked “real” mac and cheese. But I can’t wait to try this one!
Isn’t sheese freaky? I tried the medium cheddar a few weeks ago as well and was shocked by its authenticity. Couldn’t get it to melt though.
Oh, and everyone, this Mac n’ Cheeze is one of my faves. :-)
Nicola is rigth, the earth balance measure is unclear..
Otherwise this looks amazing. Have to say I sort of gave up on the idea of Mac and Cheese since going vegan cos I was like “why go there if it ain’t the real thing”, but these pictures make me want to give it a try!
And yea, if you could tell us what brand this vegan cheese is, that’d be helpful. It looks freakishly real!
Nicola and Demian – I’ve fixed the earth balance measure, it was supposed to be 1/3 Cup. And Demian, as I mentioned above in the comments, the cheese is called Sheese, but I’m going to do another post devoted solely to it soon! I promise it will be full of info. :)
I’ve been meaning to make this since it was posted as a test recipe…now I’ll really have to!
I love it when people admit that their vegan substitue for x doesn’t exactly taste like the original thing, instead of pretending that it does. Thanks!
I love this post! I’m going to mark it and keep it somewhere. One of the ways I got my omni husband to try and enjoy my foodstuffs is by explaining that he should not expect it to taste just like “so and so” and enjoy the taste for its own merits. I agree that it is fun to try and replicate omni cooking as closely as possible from time to time, but sometimes people expect it when it’s just not necessary.
Yay for mac and yeast!! I agree that it is different, but that is good for me! I’ll definitely give this version a shot :-) can’t wait till part two….
I love that at Hillside Quickies in Seattle, they call it Mac n’ Yease. Good combo of the yeast and cheese.
This looks excellent, I’m going to go make it!
I’m really looking forward to your book!
Just wanted to compliment you on your pointing out that sometimes you need to go into things not expecting them to be exactly like the non-vegan counterpart. I have to tell my fiance this same thing all the time about soy milk. I was resistant to soy milk (grew up in dairy country, etc) until someone said “You can’t expect it to taste like dairy milk” and I just tried it with no expectations, and it’s great.
Thus I’m trying to get my fiance to start drinking it since he’s a bit lactose intolerant.
Also, compliments on the great vegan recipes. I have not yet made the leap toward going vegan but blogs like this one definitely make it seem way more doable than I’d ever imagined!
What a great post! Your mac and yeast looks so good. I bought nutritional yeast recently and am still kinda scared to try it. I need to just jump in there and give it a shot! I love the way you explained the taste of food too. I think it is great when you come across something that tastes good on its own merit, even if you are trying to mimic something else! It may not be exactly the same, but if it is good then even better! I think I am going to give this a try really soon! By the way, it is good to see you posting more often!
Tried this recipe last night mixed in with some rice penne and baked with breadcrumbs on top. Out of five, we had four who ate it (which is a good success rate)! However, I don’t think the kids liked it enough to have it again. They would prefer grated soy cheese or veganrella for their cheesy substitute.
Look forward to more of your recipes.
Oh my gosh, your mac & cheeze (yeast?) looks so good!!! I love the added broccoli and the baking. I can’t wait to make this. I also love the picture of what I take to be Sheese. That stuff is the best!
I find that the only ‘cheese’ product that actually tastes like cheese is Tofutti Cream Cheese. It’s cream cheese just the way I remember it, but a little sweeter.
It might seem like not such a good idea to put it in mac ‘n’ cheese, but I’ve used it in lasagna and you’d never know the difference. In fact, people have eaten it at family and friend events, people I don’t know, and they had no idea there wasn’t cheese in it. Somehow, the cream cheese took on the taste of ricotta when mixed with garlic tofu and, of course, nutritional yeast.
I wish I could break into their factory and snatch the secret recipe!
In any case, I’m not sure how it would work for plain, old mac ‘n’ cheese! In the meantime, I’ll definitely have to give your recipe a go!
That looks like it has a lot of texture and tastes great. Very much appreciated!
Just wondering, would you be interested in taking photos for a cookbook? I’m looking for someone to take pictures for my vegan cookbook, Delectable Vegetable. Please email me about this! Thank you!
Way too sexy. This looks awesome, even to a non vegan (of course it is much easier to swing that way than the other way around).
Just put something about you on my blog too!
Looks delicious!! Nutritional yeast = love.
I saw you at the Veggie Fest but it was SO crowded and I didn’t want to shout to say hello. I did grab a mini veganyumyum cookbook, though. Thanks!!
I think you made some really great points about vegan copies not being exactly the same and not really having to be. I just wanted to add that so many time food reminds us of comfort, family, friends and good times had in the past. I have been vegan for 3 years. as well, and I have found that I am starting to replace my memories that attach naturally to food with new ones that are vegan. The association is key.
I make a cheeseless pizza that is great, but I never call it that or many of my friends would be disappointed. I usually refer to it as grilled veggie flatbread or focaccia and they are thrilled!
I cannot *wait* to try this!
I actually wish everything had a different name. Like, I don’t want to call it mac and cheese because it’s not. I don’t even want to call it mac and cheeze because when I say that.. nobody can see the spelling. And when you say mac and cheeze they’re expecting mac and cheese and then they don’t like what they get because that’s not what it is. Or something like that. Ugh!
What a fantastic dish. I am already imagining how it melts in my mouth adn sticks up… yummm
finally a vegan blog with ‘professional’ quality images and food! well done.
Thank you for your comments about needing to satisfy the same craving. You’ve hit on what I’ve been having trouble both identifying and “treating” since I’ve had to give up dairy. And this recipe is way better than the boxed versions I’ve tried – hits much closer to the mark for me. Close enough to satisfy the craving, even. Yay! I can’t wait till the book is out….
Yeasty mac and cheese is awesome. I will definatly try this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
hey hey! i made this for the mister’s homecoming last night but he was still too full from his east coast jaunts to eat. shocking!
i love this version. bravo. i’m calling it pasta with creamy miso sauce b/c maybe i used too much miso? i don’t care, b/c it was forkin’ good.
OK, so I just made this recipe and all I have to say is I LOVE YOU. I’ve never had fake cheese that tasted so good. It doesn’t really taste like cheese, but it’s got all the qualities of a good comfort food. I inhaled mine in under five minutes.
I love mac and yeast and this looks absolutely delicious!!
I am so making this for dinner tonight! Can’t wait for your book!
1. Gluten-free version: try cornstarch for the roux instead of flour. Don’t know if you’d use the same amount, you’ll have to experiment.
2. I have the same nomenclature problem too. I settled on “mac & cheesy sauce” for my concoction.
3. I am with you on the sheese. LOVE.
This was so tasty – I was initially a little weary since my finace saw the miso and the tahini and was nervous…nervous that it would taste too *healthy*. Little did he know it would come out so damn good. We usually make a modification of a recipe from vegweb but it doesnt have much flavor – this was unbelievably good. The tomato paste added the right color and all the ingredients worked so well together. You really are my hero.
I know I’m late w/this comment – but I wanted to share what we call this concoction- we call it Mac & Geez, as in “Gee Whiz that’s delicious!” Okay, corny, I know.
This is THE best Mac & Chz I’ve had to date. My husband and I have tried many different recipes and have always been let down. We added a can of mushrooms and some green onion and used rye bread bread crumbs and it was quite delicious. We were both looking forward to leftovers the whole day and that’s saying alot for a macaroni and nutritional yeast recipe. Thanks for doing what you do! Looking forward to the cookbook…
I love this cheese sauce recipe! I made the mac & cheese, it turned out great.
Also this week I did a leek & potato bake (steamed the potatoes, fried the leek) then layered it in a baking tray and poured a pan full of ‘mac’ cheese sauce over the top, and roasted the whole lot. Made a great warming winter dish. (It’s bloody freezing in the U.K. right now!)
Thanks for this recipe ! x
I’m not vegan, but I had to try this because I can’t consume dairy…and it is a great way to satisfy a cheese craving! All of the cheese alternatives I’ve tasted have been horrible, so I’m really glad I found this. I mixed in a little spice mix (salt, pepper, citrus, garlic, herbs) with the breadcrumbs before baking as well–very yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
Yum! I’m not sure what I was expecting when I made this but I knew it tasted very familiar. DH tried it and realized it tasted like con queso dip. You know, the really unhealthy stuff in the jar that you hate to admit your secret love for. So I chopped up some jalepenos to toss in, made some “refried” black beans and I’m set. Just have to wait on him to get back from the store with the tortillas. So that’s a completely different direction than intended, but I really suggest trying it out sometime!
Delicious! I saw these pictures a while back and started craving M&C, and finally got around to making some the other week (and then again yesterday) and it’s so good!
There aren’t often decent vegan “cheese” products available around here, but I found some of the Galaxy Nutritional vegan “cheddar” the other day and thought I’d give it a try. It looks like cheese and slices like it, but still tastes odd on its own. I thought I’d try some on top of the M&C and while it got crispy instead of melting, it tasted better that way!
This is delicious and a very satisfying ‘comfort’ food.
I used a mini-penne, whole wheat pasta with a couple substitutions for the items I didn’t have on-hand. I used unsweetened almond milk instead of soy and organic ketchup instead of tomato paste (this ketchup is more tomato-y than typical brands). For a little flair I sprinkled it with herbed oat cracker crumbs.
And bonus: Unlike with cheese, It was easy to wash-up.
Thanks Lolo. This will become a regular for me.
Most of my fake cheese experience is with almond cheese. Unfortunately, a lot of fake cheeses still have casein added to them. Casein was the main reason I stopped eating dairy products in the first place! I hate feeling like I’m doing so much better by eating fake cheese, only to find out the same nasty ingredient I wanted to avoid has been added to it. Are there any fake cheeses out there without casein in them?
Jody, I don’t know if Lolo responded to your question by email, but at our local food co-op there are a couple of vegan cheeses that are decent. Vegan Gourmet has some shreddable cheeses that taste pretty good and have almost the same mouthfeel as dairy cheese. You can reach their website via Google.
Also, there is an “Uncheese Cookbook” by Joanne Stepaniak our family uses that has great recipes for cheesy sauces and such.
Hope this helps.
And Lolo — when are you going to post part two of vegan cheeses?