It’s been a stressful day (or week – or month) and we are all in the same boat. We want great, big, steaming bowls of creamy comfort food.
If you want ultimate satisfaction without dairy or wheat, then try this plant-based version on mac-n-cheese. It contains no cholesterol or dairy, and yet, my boys were eating it by the bowlful and asking for more!
Nothing is better for saving money during the summer months than relying on locally grown produce from farmers’ markets, bought at terrific prices! Plus, the fiber will fill you up without adding to your waistline. Trust me, when you base your weekly meals around fruits and vegetables, your grocery bills will plummet!
Both people striving to reduce carbs and those increasing consumption of plant-based meals, will find this recipe to be appropriate for their dietary restrictions.
Ingredients:
- Double batch of oil-free hummus (Here’s my favorite recipe)
- 2 Tbsp of dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp of smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2-3/4 cup plant-based milk
- 1 large yellow onion – diced
- 3 cloves garlic – minced
- 3 large zucchini or yellow summer squash (I used one of each) – sliced very thinly
- Water
Directions:
“Cheese” Sauce:
Begin by making a double batch of oil-free hummus. My very favorite is Get2Droot’s delicious, spicy hummus. Add an additional 2 Tbsp of dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp of smoked paprika, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, and 1/4 cup nutritional yeast. So, all you are doing is adding more of the spices that the recipe already calls for. Thin it with a little plant-based milk, until it is pourable “cheese” consistency.
Vegetables:
Dice 1 large yellow onion and 3 minced cloves of garlic. Place them in a large pot with enough water to keep them from burning. Saute until the vegetables are softened – 5 to 7 minutes. Add the zucchini to the pot. Add 1/2 cup of water to the pot so that the zucchini doesn’t burn, while it is cooking. Reduce heat, place lid on pot, and cook for 10 minutes. The volume will be reduced by about half.
Assemble:
Pour off almost all of the water from the bottom of the pan. Then, pour the thinned hummus over the top of the vegetables. Mix with a large spoon, until the sauce is fully incorporated with the veggies.
Continue to cook until heated through.
Makes enough to serve 8 hungry people as a main dish or 10-12 as a side dish. *Credit for the inspiration for this recipe goes to https://get2droothealthandwellness.com/
Grab your free PDF of Zucchini “Mac-n-Cheese”.
If you make this, let me know what you thought. Leave a message in the comments section.
Hi Hope, Mac and Cheese is one of my most favourite meals, my substitute for the cheese sauce is to cook cauliflower stalks and all, then add a little milk (I like Soy milk it feels “creamier”) with some Nutritional yeast and blend in my smoothy maker. I use this for my Mac and Cheese and for Lasagne, or mousakka. I sometimes add breadcrumbs to the top to make that crispy too.
Love this idea! We always try to use every bit of our veggies, too. If it’s too tough to cook in a recipe, it goes in the “veggie stock” bag and into the freezer. When that bag is full, we make a batch of broth in the pressure cooker. We have a lemony “alfredo” recipe on the website that uses white beans as the base. We use it in a broccoli casserole that is very similar to your mac and cheese recipe.