I try to keep dishes in the fridge that the family can grab anytime we get hungry. This veggie mac and cheese bowl fits the bill. Apart from being easy to make, it’s fine to eat cold, nutritions, and actually feels light.
Veggie Mac and Cheese: Plant-Based
PrintIngredients
- Elbow pasta (16.0z)
- salt
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 1 tbs. vegan butter
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 sprig of oregano or if using dried, 1 tsp.
- 1 green bell pepper, small dice
- 1 red bell pepper, small dice
- 1 1/2 cups of cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 tbs. tomato paste
- 1 zucchini, small dice
- 1/2 cup of vegan parmesan cheese
For vegan cheese: In the blender, pulse the following ingredients: 1 cup raw almonds, 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup garlic powder, salt.
Instructions
- Boil water with salt for pasta. If you don't have vegan parmesan cheese, make now and set aside.
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In a separate sauté pan, heat olive oil in medium-low heat. Add garlic and vegan butter and sauté for a minute. Don't burn the garlic, but cook them just enough to flavor the oil.
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Add oregano, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and salt. Sautéed for about 3 minutes.
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Water for pasta should now be boiling. Cook pasta. The elbow pasta I use requires 5-7 minutes to cook. I boil them for 4 minutes, 1 minute before the recommended early cook time.
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While the pasta is cooking, lower flame for the sauce and start mashing cherry tomatoes gently. Be careful that they don't squirt on you.
- Pasta should now be almost done. Take an empty bowl and add 1 1/2 cups of the pasta broth.
- Drain the rest of the pasta water and add pasta to the sauce.
- Add the 1 cup of the pasta broth and tomato paste to the sauce. Mix. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Add the rest of the pasta broth if sauce is getting dry.
- Add the zucchini and vegan parmesan cheese for mix well, for about 1 minute. It's important that the zucchinis (in fact all the veggies) are diced small, so they soak in the flavors and the right texture. Turn off flame. Zucchini should not be mushy.
Notes
This recipe requires multi-tasking.
Pasta choice will require different cook time, so make sure you follow instructions for your pasta brand.
