Where are my pasta lovers at? I have this comforting and tasty Broccoli Mac and Cheese that you will absolutely love. Made with a creamy cashew sauce, steamed broccoli, and your favorite pasta. This bowl of goodness can be made in 30 minutes or less. Make this entire meal gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta.
TIPS WHEN MAKING THIS CASHEW SAUCE
- I recommend soaking your cashews for at least 3-4 hours before making your sauce. You can soak them even longer for an extra creamy sauce.
- If you are using a very powerful blender like a vitamix blender you don’t need to soak the cashews as long. I blended the cashews in my vitamix after I soaked them for 2 hours and it still was smooth and creamy.
- All of the spices I added for this cashew cream sauce gives it that cheesy flavor, so I highly recommend using all of them.
- This recipe calls for one cup of unsweetened plant milk. I used soy milk for this sauce but almond, oat, coconut, or cashew will also work. Just make sure to check that it is unsweetened.
- Blend your sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce is smooth and creamy. The amount of time will also depend on how powerful your blender is.
- If you want your sauce to be thinner, add additional unsweetened plant milk to your sauce.
- The sauce will start to harden and dry up if left out after 30 minutes. I recommend tossing the pasta with the sauce right before you eat it. Do not heat the sauce up prior to adding it to the pasta, instead heat up the pasta.
- Leftovers will last 2-3 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Your cashew cheese will thicken up when cold. Add dairy-free milk to thin it before reheating it and adding it to your pasta.
You will notice that the noodles will soak the sauce right up. I LOVE to add a lot of sauce to my noodles. So, if you are like me I would recommend only pouring half of the sauce with the noodles instead of all of it. Then save the additional sauce to drizzle on top of your noodle bowl right before you eat them.
SUBSTITUTIONS
I wanted to share some of the recipe ingredients that you can swap out in case you do not have the ones I listed in your pantry or refrigerator.
Garlic Powder- Chopped Garlic
Unsweetened milk- oat, soy, cashew, or almond milk.
Broccoli- Any type of vegetables that you have on hand.
Are you gluten-free? Substitute the pasta to make the entire dish gluten-free. For this dish I used macaroni pasta but any type of pasta you have in your pantry will work. Some of my most common pastas I used are penne, fusilli, and farfalle. I recommend that you toss your pasta in this creamy sauce then drizzle additional sauce on top of the pasta before eating.
Want to add Garnishes?
Below are some of my favorite garnished to add to my noodle bowl.
Fried Sage
Chili Powder
Nutritional Yeast
Crushed Red Peppers
Vegan Cheese
This bowl of Broccoli Mac and Cheese is:
Creamy
Dairy-free
Family Friendly
Packed with Flavor
Can be made gluten-free
When you make this pasta I would love it if you would snap a photo of your food and share it with me on instagram @itsallgoodvegan.com. I can’t wait to see how you like it!
Broccoli Mac and Cheese
Made with a creamy cashew sauce, steamed broccoli, and your favorite pasta. This bowl of goodness can be made in 30 minutes or less. Make this entire meal gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta.
Cheesy Cashew Sauce
- 1 ½ cup cashews, soaked for at least 3-4 hours
- 1 cup unsweetened dairy-free milk, add more to thin out your sauce
- ½ small lemon, seeded and juiced
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
Broccoli
- 3 Tbsp water
- 2 cups fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
Pasta
- 1 box of macaroni pasta (I used a 16 ounces) substitute for gluten-free pasta, cooked according to the back of the package.
Directions
- In a high powered blender or food processor combine all of the Cheesy Cashew Sauce ingredients together. Blend for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add additional dairy-free milk to thin your sauce.
- Bring a medium pot of water (3 Tbsp) to a boil. Once boiling add your broccoli. Decrease the heat and cover your pot. Steam broccoli for 5 to 6 minutes or until tender.
- In a bowl combine your pasta and broccoli together. Drizzle your cashew sauce on top of the pasta and toss. Top with your favorite garnishes.
- Taste pasta and add additional seasoning (salt, pepper, or crushed red pepper) if needed.
- Leftovers will last 2-3 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Your cashew cheese will thicken up when cold. Add dairy-free milk to thin it before reheating it and adding it to your pasta.
- The sauce will start to harden and dry up if left out after 30 minutes. I recommend tossing the pasta with the sauce right before you eat it. Do not heat the sauce up prior to adding it to the pasta.
- Add additional vegetables to this pasta bowl.
- Do you like spicy foods? Add 1-2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper to the sauce.
This was super easy and delicious! I made it with brown rice pasta and everyone enjoyed 🙂
Thank you so much Crystal!