Recipe by Gretchen Tseng
For a printable version of this recipe click here.
My kids LOVE macaroni and cheese. When my family became dairy free and my daughter became gluten free on top of that, I knew I needed to come-up with a yummy dairy and gluten free version. Thank goodness for Daiya brand cheese! It melts so well and provides my mac and cheese with such a great flavor. This recipe is also made that much better by the fact that So Delicious makes an amazing unsweetened coconut milk that totally replaces the "regular" milk in this recipe (and any other recipe). I can't give So Delicious enough praise...their products are truly amazing!!!
I know this is a good mac and cheese recipe because the neighborhood boys (neither dairy OR gluten free) completely devour it whenever I make it.
One word of caution...Daiya is high in fat (at least it is not the animal-based kind!), but not nearly as high in fat as dairy based cheese. This is definitely a "treat" meal in my house. I recently spent some time up in Northern California because my dad had a DOUBLE knee replacement (he is such a rock star!). My kids were troopers while I was gone, so I promised I would make them this mac and cheese recipe when I came home. I think they thought it was a very fair trade-off for having mom gone for so long.
INGREDIENTS
16oz package of elbow macaroni (I used Quinoa)
2 pkgs shredded Daiya Cheese (I use one pkg cheddar and one mozzarella)
2 1/2 cups Unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste ( approx.1-1 ½ tsp)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta about 5 minutes until it’s just tender. Don’t cook all the way or it will fall apart when you bake it.
3. Drain pasta and transfer to glass baking dish.
4. Bring the Unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk to a low boil.
5. Add the Daiya cheeses, pepper, and salt to the warmed milk. Allow everything to melt (stir constantly so it does not burn).
6. Pour the melted milk/cheese mixture into the pasta and mix well.
7. Put in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.
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Gretchen Tseng is a Nutrition Specialist with Certification in Plant-Based Nutrition through Cornell University. At a young age she experienced a series of illnesses which propelled her to seek nutrition based solutions. Gretchen is absolutely passionate about sharing the health benefits of a plant-based lifestyle and can be found doing so through her website Veggie Grettie (www.veggiegrettie.com), as a Columnist for Chic Vegan (www.chicvegan.com), as a freelance writer, and as a Brand Ambassador for NEXT by Athena. Gretchen lives in Southern California with her husband, two children, and 4 legged best bud. She dreams of living on a farm someday surrounded by animals and an amazing organic garden.
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