Who doesn’t love mac and cheese? If you say you don’t you are LYING and I do not believe you for one second. It’s so comforting and delicious, making it a hard thing to pass up. My intent for this dairy & gluten free version was not eve necessarily to be ‘healthier’. It’s because I’ve noticed when I eat dairy my skin breaks out almost immediately. I [thankfully] don’t have any other effects like stomach ache’s or anything but pimples on my face isn’t fun either. I try to eat gluten free things because it makes me feel better. When I eat gluten I feel headache-ey and bogged down. Granted I live insanely close to NYC and the food scene is AMAZING so I do eat gluten on the weekends.
Anyway, I really love the two gluten free pastas I’ve found. The first is Banza, I’m sure you’ve heard of it, it’s made out of chickpeas and very minimal ingredients (I think that might be the only ingredient) and the second is the red lentil pasta from Trader Joes. Both are pretty move the same in taste and texture to real pasta but they have more plant based protein in them for you HOORAY!
On to the recipe. I made this cheese sauce out of cashews, YUP. It’s almost the same process as this cashew queso recipe except I’ve added some different spices and seasonings. The sauce will legit take you 5 minutes to make and everything is just dumped into a blender or ,in my case, NutriBullet. The bacon adds a little smoky, crispy, decadent vibe and I’m here for it. Feel free to do it without if you’re not someone who eats bacon, you can also add a multitude of other things on top for crunch like gluten free breadcrumbs, nuts, etc.
This Bacon Mac and Cheese is saved on my Instagram highlights as a step by step process if you’re confused about anything! Ask me any questions and tag me if you make it!
Bacon Mac and Cheese, GF, DF
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1/2 cup cashews soaked for atleast 30 minutes
- 2.5 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1 pinch cayenne
- 1/2 tsp salt add to taste
MAC
- 1/2 box gluten free pasta
- 3 slices cooked bacon
Instructions
- Set a medium pot filled half way with water on high heat on the stove. Cover and wait for it to come to a rolling boil before adding your pasta. Once the pasta is in, leave the top off and add some salt.
- In the meantime, drain your cashews and add to a blender along with the remaining ingredients EXCEPT FOR THE BACON.
- Adjust seasoning as you go for the way you like it. If it is too thick, add more hot water by the tablespoon.
- Strain cooked pasta and add it back into the pot. Pour your ‘cheese’ sauce over the pasta, add half of your crumbled bacon and mix until combined. Sprinkle the rest of the bacon on top and enjoy!
