Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Cracker Crust
Ingredients
- 16 oz. pasta noodles
- 2 cups cashews
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup canned butternut squash or pumpkin
- 5 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Cracker topping
- 1 package (3.5 oz) of crackers of your choice
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Soak the cashews in boiling water for 20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 375F and grease a 10.5 x 7.5 dish with a little olive oil.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package, leaving it a little al dente; it will continue cooking in oven.
While cashews soak, make your cracker topping.
In a pan over medium heat, add vegan butter and thyme and let sit until fragrant.
Add your crushed crackers and coat entirely, tasting and adding a bit of salt and pepper as needed, then remove from heat and set aside.
Drain and rinse cashews and transfer to a blender with almond milk, butternut squash, spices, mustard, garlic and nutritional yeast.
Blend until completely smooth and taste to adjust for seasonings per your liking.
Drain pasta and toss in your vegan cheese sauce.
Add mac and cheese to prepared dish then top with toasted onion cracker topping.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and devour!