Loaded Irish Vegan Mac and Cheese with Guinness Cheese Sauce
This loaded Irish vegan Mac and cheese is the ultimate bowl of comfort food that is LOADED with flavor. This Irish inspired recipe consists of shell pasta smothered in vegan Guinness cheese sauce and peas, topped with sauerkraut, chives, and crushed pumpernickel pretzels!
Equipment
- sauce pan
- pot for pasta
- blender
Ingredients
- 4 servings Shell pasta can substitute pasta of choice
- water to boil pasta
- 1 tsp salt used to season pasta water
Ingredients for Vegan Guinness Cheese sauce THAT GO IN THE BLENDER
- 1 container of silken or soft tofu
- 1 1/2 cups vegan cheese I used Daiya's vegan shredded cheddar. Add more for a cheesier flavor
- 1/2 cup non dairy milk soy milk, oat milk, and cashew milk work best
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp turmeric options, added for color
- 1 tsp Dijon whole grain mustartd
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Ingredients for Vegan Guinness Cheese sauce THAT DO NOT GO IN THE BLENDER
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped small
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil can substitute any neutral oil
- 1/2 cup Guinness beer I used Guinness Extra Stout for boxer flavor. Can substitute beer of choice
- 1 cup frozen peas
Toppings
- 2 tbsp chives, sliced
- 1/4 cup pumpernickel pretzels, crushed can substitute pretzel of your choice
- 1/2 cup sauerkraut
Instructions
Prepare the pasta
- Begin by preparing you pasta. Add 4 servings of dried pasta, water and salt to a pot. Follow instructions on pasta box for specific instructions on timing
- When pasta has finished cooking, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water to add to cheese sauce. Drain the rest of the water and set pasta aside.
- **while pasta is cooking, use your time wisely and move ahead to the cheese sauce
Prepare the vegan Guinness cheese sauce
- Begin by adding all of the ingredients list under "Ingredients for Vegan Guinness Cheese sauce that go in the blender" into a blender. Blend on high until smooth. This will take around 30 seconds. Set aside
- Next, add 1/2 tbsp olive oil and chopped garlic cloves to a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the ingredients that have been blended, along with 1/2 cup of Guinness beer. Stir until thoroughly mixed and bring heat down to low
- Allow sauce to cook for other 15 minutes. Stir often with a spatula so sauce does not stick to the pan and burn.
- When pasta has finished cooking, add 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the sauce and cup of frozen peas. Stir to incorporate. Allow peas cook until hot. Remove from heat
Prepare your toppings
- Crush pretzels by placing them in a plastic bag. Seal bag. Using a rolling pin crust the pretzels by rolling over them. Set aside
- Slice chives into small pieces. Set aside
Put it all together
- Add cooked pasta to pan of vegan cheese sauce. Stir until evenly mixed
- Now it's time to plate! Evenly distribute pasta and cheese sauce into four bowls (makes for servings).
- Top vegan Mac and cheese with crushed pretzels, sliced chives, and sauerkraut.
- Serve and enjoy!