Perfecting vegan mac and “cheese” has been my personal challenge/project for years now, and I’ve pretty much nailed it at this point. I like a mixture of white beans and cashews to create the ultra creamy sauce flavored with savory onion, garlic and “cheesy” nutritional yeast. From there I get creative and have fun with different variations. For this spicy buffalo version, I use hot sauce for the heat factor and for ranch-y flavor, dried parsley and dill.
I created this Buffalo Cauli Mac + Cheese in honor of the Super Bowl coming up. To be real, I couldn’t care less about the Super Bowl, football is not my jam. But I can get behind any event with good food, especially bar-style food which is one of my favorite cuisine genres. Give me spinach artichoke dip, pretzels with beer cheese and seven layer dip and I’m a happy camper. And now I’m adding this creamy, spicy pasta dish to that list too.
Buffalo Cauliflower Mac + Cheese
serves 6
Ingredients
for the cauliflower
1 large head cauliflower, cut into big bite-size florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt, fine grain
1/4 cup hot sauce
for the sauce + pasta
1 lb dry elbow macaroni pasta
1 large sweet onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed/peeled/roughly chopped
olive oil
sea salt, fine grain
1 teaspoon paprika
1 can white beans, drained/rinsed
1 heaping cup raw cashews
2 cups water
2 cups oat milk (or other non-dairy milk)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 cup hot sauce + more for topping
for the topping
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried dill
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
To Make
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When water comes to a boil, add pasta and cook to al dente. Reserve 1+ cups cooking water before draining.
Toss cauliflower in olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Spread onto a lined baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl and toss with hot sauce. Reduce heat to 375 when finished roasting. Set aside.
While cauliflower cooks, make the sauce. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan over medium-low. Add roughly chopped garlic cloves. When they start to brown, add onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook on medium until onion is soft and starting to brown, 8 minutes. Turn off heat. Add 1 teaspoon paprika, stir to coat. Deglaze pan with a splash of water.
Transfer onion/garlic mixture to a blender with white beans, cashews, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and nutritional yeast. Blend until super smooth. Add oat milk and dried parsley. Blend at medium-low speed until just combined.
When the pasta is drained, add the sauce to the pot and pour in the cooked pasta, 1 teaspoon salt, hot sauce, 1 cup pasta water and roasted cauliflower (reserving 10-12 florets for the top).
Transfer pasta mixture to a large baking dish. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Top with reserved cauliflower, nestling them into the top. Combine bread crumb topping ingredients. Top with bread crumb mixture, broil until golden. Douse with more hot sauce.
Radiate Food Vibes 
This looks hearty and delicious!
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