Part of my palate is still a small child and one of my favorite comfort foods is mac and cheese.  I used to love eating that wonderful blue box delicacy, just like most kids in America.  I can’t remember the last time that I had “regular” mac and cheese and given the recent recall on top of the fact that there isn’t any real cheese in there, I don’t think I will be indulging any time soon.

There are plenty of dairy free versions of mac and cheese out there, I actually have two of my own versions on the blog.  I like those versions, but I was missing the smooth and creamy texture of the boxed variety.  Many versions use cashews in the sauce and because I don’t have a fancy schmancy high powered blender, I usually end up with a slightly grainy texture.  It tastes like mac and cheese but it doesn’t feel like mac and cheese.  So I set out to make a “cheese” sauce that didn’t use cashews for those of us who have to suffer without a Vitamix or Blendtec.

While this does have a cheesy taste to me, don’t expect it to be an exact replica of Kraft or any other regular boxed version.  It will have that nice and creamy texture though and that is enough for me!

Fusilli N’ Cheeze

• 1 package of brown rice fusilli (I get mine from Trader Joes.  It’s awesome!)
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (I have used coconut and almond milk with great results)
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup nutritional yeast (this is your cheese flavor so if you want a cheesier taste, use up to 1 cup)
• 3 tbsp tapioca starch (you can also use corn starch)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp tahini (you can also use sunflower seed butter)
• 1 tsp miso (I used red but you can use white or whatever you have on hand. if you don’t have miso, use extra salt)
• 1 tsp brown mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp turmeric

1.  Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. While that is cooking, prepare the sauce.

2.  Ready for this?  Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until everything is combined.  It will seem really watery but don’t worry, it’s going to thicken.

3.  Put the pasta back into the pot you used to cook it in and pour the sauce over the noodles.  Stir everything to coat the pasta and turn the heat on to medium high heat.  Keep stirring and as the sauce heats up it will begin to thicken.  Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes.

The other awesome thing about this?  It takes less than 30 minutes to make.  So when you have the urge for some good old comfort food you can whip it up just as fast as the box kind.  This version though won’t have fake chemicals or pieces of metal in it.

Happy first day of Spring (even if it doesn’t feel like it) and have a great Friday!