Casserole: Vegan Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

For the Cheese Sauce:

• ½ cup (112 g) Vegan Butter
• 6 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
• 5 cups (1200 ml) Coconut Milk (unsweetened)
• 1 cup (240 ml) Vegetable Stock
• 3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
• 1 cup (60 g) Nutritional Yeast Flakes
• 3 teaspoons Onion Powder
• 3 teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons Smoked Paprika
• 1 ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper

For the Macaroni:

• 16 ounces (450g) Elbow Macaroni

For the Breadcrumb Topping:

• 3 Thick Slices White Bread Toasted, or 1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
• 2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter Melted

Directions

1. Melt the vegan butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once it's fully melted, stir in the all-purpose flour and mix well until you have a smooth paste.
2. Gradually pour in the coconut milk and vegetable stock. Use a whisk to blend the mixture and remove any lumps. Keep whisking as it heats up until it starts to boil, then continue whisking for a few minutes until it thickens. It will thicken further as it cools, so it doesn't need to be fully thick when you remove it from the heat—just noticeably thicker than when you started.
3. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together until smooth. The sauce is now ready for the macaroni.
4. Cook the macaroni according to the package instructions, then drain and rinse. Add the cooked macaroni to the sauce in the pot and stir well to coat the pasta evenly with the sauce.
5. Transfer the macaroni and sauce mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish, spreading it out evenly.
6. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
7. For the breadcrumb topping, toast 3 thick slices of white bread, then break them up and pulse them in a blender to create crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a mixing bowl, pour in the melted vegan butter, and toss until the crumbs are evenly coated.
8. Spread the breadcrumbs over the macaroni in the baking dish, making sure they cover the surface evenly.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crispy.