1 pound elbow macaroni
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 containers (3 cups) plain vegan creamer (I use Silk)
2 tablespoons garlic powder, divided
2 tablespoons onion powder, divided
2 tablespoons paprika, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon parsley, divided
2 (8 ounce) packages vegan shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup vegan breadcrumbs
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Boil macaroni until cooked very al dente, according to package directions. The pasta will cook more in the oven. Drain, place back in the pot, drizzle some olive oil on it to prevent sticking and set aside.
2. In a medium size saucepan, add garlic and creamer on medium heat. Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1 1/2 tablespoons onion powder, 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika, salt, pepper and 1/2 tablespoon parsley.
3. Slowly stir in 8 ounces vegan cheese and turn up heat slightly until it turns into a gooey confection of garlic, cheesy yumminess. Stir cheese mixture in the pot with the macaroni and toss well.
4. For layering, I use a medium size Pyrex lasagna pan, but you could use a larger one if you want. Start making layers by scooping the macaroni into the pan, sprinkle a pinch of each remaining spice, sprinkle with remaining vegan cheese, and repeat. You can get 2-3 layers out of it.
5. At the very top, after you sprinkle on the vegan cheese, sprinkle bread crumbs, cover with nonstick aluminum foil, and bake for 25-35 minutes. It depends on your oven, but I like to leave mine in a little longer so it bakes brown.
This is the closest that I have ever come to old fashioned, deli-style macaroni and cheese while being a vegan. I hope you will enjoy it and thanks for bearing with me being I've never written a recipe before.
Source of recipe: I've been a vegetarian for 24 years and became a vegan around a year ago. The one thing that I've missed the most was macaroni and cheese, and every vegan recipe called for tofu as a base. I love tofu, and I love to cook with it, but it just does not taste right in macaroni and cheese as it overpowers it. I decided to use my regular macaroni and cheese recipe from my vegetarian days and instead of using heavy cream, I used soy creamer and it worked like a charm.