MoFo '14 Day 1 - Favourite Mac and Cheese Recipes Redux

Mac and Cheese, or Macaroni Cheese, as we call it here in the UK, was always up there with my favourite foods before I went vegan and it's still right up there now. Hence the Mac 'n Cheese Monday theme! I wrote the original version of this blog post during VeganMoFo last year but my favourite macs are a constantly evolving thang so I wanted to update y'all on my favourite mac and cheeses as of right now.

As a student I used to eat the kind that comes out of a can and when I met my husband it was one of the only things he could cook so he made it for me a lot. When I first went vegan I avoided trying to make a macaroni cheese for fear of disappointing myself but once I threw myself off of the nutritional yeasty deep end I realised I didn't need to worry, vegans can have cheesy pasta fun too!

Here are my favourite macaroni cheese recipes in no particular order...

New Farm Cookbook Mac and Cheese

One of the first vegan mac recipes I ever tried and still up there with my favourites. This recipe is all over the internet and it's totally worth making.

Mac and Trees - Appetite For Reduction

I eat a lot, both when I travel and when I'm reviewing restaurants and eating out locally, so when I cook at home I occasionally eat foods at the low fat end of the scale, y'know, for balance. AFR is by far my favourite healthy cookbook and the Mac & Trees is one of my go-to dishes when I need to make a fast healthy meal, I love the high broc content and easy to throw together sauce.

Mac Daddy - Veganomicon

Only the second Mac recipe I ever tried and still a favourite today. I love the creaminess of the tofu ricotta, the cheesy sauce and the overall creamy baked deliciousness of the recipe. I like to add peas to this one!

Five-Cheese Baked Macaroni and Cheese - Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites

This book, now known as Home Cooked Vegan Comfort Food, contains one of THE MOST EPIC macaroni and cheeses in the history of veganism. You really do need five cheeses to make it, Daiya (or FYH / Veganic Pizza Cheese), Toffuti Cream Cheese, noochy sauce, a tofu ricotta and walnut parmesan sprinkles. It's insanely delicious and totally worth the effort. If I had these ingredients to hand more often I would have made it many more times than I have currently. Joni posted the recipe for this on her blog, here's a link. Go make it!

Best Ever Mac and Cheese from Crafty Earth Mama

Photo Credit : Crafty Earth Mama

This recipe was posted during Vegan MoFo 2011 and it's seriously one of the best mac and cheeses I've ever made. It's also Nick's absolute favourite. We'd eat it more often if laziness and bad planning didn't often prevent us from buying and roasting a red pepper!

Cheezy Mac - Vegan Diner

Similar in style to Crafty Earth Mama's mac this creamy cashew based sauce gets the majority of its flavour from smoked paprika rather than roasted red pepper. It's delicious and one I come back to over and over again.

Last year I wrote about a whole host of mac's that I hadn't gotten around to making yet which included Isa's Chipotle Mac & Cheese with Roasted Brussels Sprouts (minus the chipotle's!), Isa's Mac & Shews, Allyson Kramer's Smokey Butternut Mac and Cheese and VegNews' Vegan Macaroni & Cheese. I still haven't made the majority of these (c'mon Jojo, sort our your mac game!) but I did make...

Isa's Mac & Shews from The PPK Blog

Whilst this was similar in texture to the Mac Daddy from Veganomicon it had a much deeper flavour thanks to the sauerkraut. It even made Nick admit that sauerkraut isn't all evil! You can find the recipe online here.

One recipe that hadn't come into my life last year is this next one, also from Isa.

Roasted Red Pepper Mac & Cheese - Isa Does It

This new cashew based mac recipe has quickly become a favourite in my house, it's rich and creamy and I find it impossible to stick to the portion size! The sauce also comes together super easily in the blender which is a bonus and makes me inclined to gravitate towards this recipe when I fancy something quick, warm and comforting. Luckily Isa has posted the recipe for this one on her website so even if you don't have Isa Does It yet you can give this recipe a whirl. 

I really need to try the Sunflower Mac from Isa Does It too, it looks and sounds delicious and I've heard rave reviews. The BLT Mac & Cheeze from the PPK blog also looks fantastic. I think Isa might be a mac & cheese machine! Did I list your favourite mac here? I'd appreciate any and all mac recipes that you can bring into my life so do let me know what yours is in the comments. Happy MoFoing!