The Best Vegan Gluten-Free Mac 'n' Cheese

Ingredients

• Garlic

  raw

  100g

• Penne

  High Fiber - Trader Joe's

  1000g

• Mediterranean Blend Oil

  Blend of Canola, Olive, and Grape Seed Oil - Kirkland Signature

  4 tbsp or 60g

• Garlic

  2 cloves raw - Whole Foods Market

  4 cloves, raw or 12g

• Arrowroot

  raw

  ⁵⁄₁₆ cup, sliced or 34g

• Almond milk

  2 cup or 480g

• Salt

  table

  ¼ tsp or 2g

• White pepper

  ground

  ¼ tsp, ground or 0.6g

• Baker's yeast

  active dry

  5 tbsp or 60g

• Parmesan cheese

  low sodium

  ½ cup, grated or 50g

Directions

1. To roast garlic, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C) and cut off the very top of a head of garlic. Drizzle the top with a bit of oil, a sprinkle of salt and loosely wrap in foil.
2. Place directly on oven rack and roast for 45 minutes - 1 hour, depending on size of garlic. You'll know it's done when the garlic is very fragrant and the bulb is golden brown. Remove from oven, slightly unwrap, and let cool.
3. At the 40-minute mark, bring roughly 10 cups (2400 ml // use more or less if altering batch size) water to a boil in a large pot and salt generously. Once boiling, add pasta and stir to prevent noodles from sticking. Cook according to package instructions (usually about 8-10 minutes). Once fully cooked, drain and set aside.
4. In the meantime, begin preparing sauce. Heat a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add oil and minced fresh garlic. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until light golden brown. Immediately add arrowroot starch and whisk - cook for 1 minute.
5. Slowly add almond milk while whisking, then cook for 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently. The sauce will likely look a little clumpy - that's OK! We're going to blend it.
6. Transfer mixture to a blender, along with the roasted garlic. To extract garlic, simply push up from the base and the softened cloves should come right out - so gratifying (and delicious).
7. Next add salt and pepper, nutritional yeast, and vegan parmesan cheese and blend on high until creamy and smooth, scraping down sides as needed.
8. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed - you want it pretty well salted + cheesy, so don't be shy with the nutritional yeast, salt, and vegan parmesan cheese.
9. Return sauce back to skillet from earlier and cook over low heat until warmed and slightly thickened - about 2-3 minutes - whisking occasionally. As it warms back up, it will thicken and get super cheesy (see photo). For a thicker sauce, leave it as is. To thin slightly, add almond milk 1 Tbsp at a time until desired consistency is achieved. Turn off heat if it starts bubbling too aggressively.
10. Add cooked, drained pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Then top with 1 more Tbsp vegan parmesan cheese (amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size).
11. Optional: Heat oven to high broil and position a rack at the top of the oven. Broil pasta on high for 1-2 minutes (optional), or until golden brown (see photo). Watch closely as it can burn quickly.
12. Serve immediately. I love topping mine with an extra pinch of vegan parmesan cheese - I can never get enough of that stuff.
13. Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, though best when fresh. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop - add extra almond milk if it's dry.