Nov 13, 2015

VEGAN Crock-Pot Smoky Macaroni and Cheese


I LOVE macaroni and cheese. I grew up on Kraft and Velveeta and never, ever, for one minute, lost the love affair. Thanks to Daiya, I can enjoy macaroni and cheese as a vegan just as much as I did growing up.

There are all kinds of vegan boxed macaroni and cheese on the market now, which is great in theory. We are definitely headed in a great direction (Vegan Wonderland). But I have tried every single one, and they are all awful. Like, even disgusting, in most cases. If I had to choose, the Daiya one is the greatest of all the evils, and I have bought it a few times, but it's still not ringing my bells (sorry, Daiya, I love you so much!). The boxed stuff just doesn't taste anything like what I'm used to.

The only commercial vegan mac and cheese that I love so much that I would marry if I could, is Amy's (frozen) Dairy-Free Rice Macaroni & Cheese (GF/Vegan), which uses Daiya cheese. If they ever stopped making it, I think I would cry and go into serious mourning. Only one of my children likes mac & cheese, and the only one she will eat (besides my homemade stuff) is Amy's. We love, love, love it!

Fortunately, Daiya makes cheese shreds that you can use to make your own delicious stuff.

For this recipe, I took some ingredients from my all-time favorite macaroni and cheese recipe (coming soon!) and blended it with a crock-pot recipe inspired by one in The Vegan Slow Cooker to make this new and awesome adaptation.

Ingredients

4 c. soy milk
1 lb. uncooked small shaped pasta (elbows, small shells, whatever)
1 package Daiya Cheddar cheese shreds
1 c. Daiya Mozzarella cheese shreds (or more Cheddar)
2 Not-Chick'n bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp. mustard
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric

Spray crock-pot well with cooking spray. Add all ingredients into the pot and stir to combine. Cook on High setting for approximately 90 minutes (more or less, depending on your desired pasta texture... mine always comes out great at the 90 minute mark), opening to stir every 30 minutes. The bouillon cubes will dissolve eventually, as things get melty. Mix them in well when you open to stir. The edges will stick to the pot, so scrape those down every time you stir.

This mac and cheese is so creamy and flavorful and addictive!  It also freezes really well too!