Sans Cheese Pasta

I don’t like mac and cheese. Hear me out… I like mac… love mac! All mac, no cheese, please.

I’ve despised cheese since I was about 3 years old. My mom’s convinced she caved into my cries for string cheese one too many times and I eventually got sick of them.

As a kid, I loved Kraft (obviously I loved Kraft, everybody loved Kraft), Stouffer’s mac, goldfish, and my great grandmother’s cheesecake. Oh, and cream cheese, both on bagels and in frosting. If you know anything about cheese, you’re probably laughing at the fact that the only cheese I liked was not even good, and maybe not even real, cheese. The only thing I know about cheese is I don’t know a thing about it. If there were a level less than novice to describe my credibility in discussing cheeses, I’m there.

Nowadays, I prefer finer meals than Kraft mac and cheese and stick to my stubborn guns, refusing cheese in all instances aside from cheesecake (and the homemade spinach and ricotta lasagna I had at a dinner party back in Germany. That was a beautiful home-cooked meal that I’m happy I took a chance in tasting. I think the main ingredient was love, could hardly taste ricotta).

Jokes aside, I’m weirdly a fan of cheesy goods that have no trace of cheese in them. Vegan pasta? I’m in.

I’ve made a few variations of this dish following my taste. Below I shared the ingredients I used. I eyeball most things and let my tastebuds decide if my eyes deceived me or not. Adjust the ratios as needed!

Sans Cheese Pasta

Things I used:

A box of Banza

1/2 cup plant milk: I used this one

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 tbsp stone ground mustard

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Paprika

1/2 tsp Turmeric

Black pepper

Sea salt

How I did it:

Blend all the ingredients together

Cook some pasta (shape is totally up to you… but shells are a wise choice) , strain it, and place back into original pot

Over low heat, stir the sauce and cooked noodles together and heat slowly, adding more milk or seasonings if needed

If feeling fancy and in the mood for a bit more nutrient value, add some steamed broccoli into the mix

Garnish with fresh parsley because this elevated mac and cheese deserves it… even though the noodles of choice were not macaroni and these is no cheese present. Is this even mac and cheese??

Voilà, enjoy!!