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Ingredients:
For the Cheese Sauce:
¼ C Red bell pepper (typically the top of the pepper)
1/2 Carrot, peeled and chopped
2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
½ sweet yellow onion, peeled and chopped
½ C cashews
2 tsp salt
1 C nutritional yeast (more as needed)
Reserved cooking water
For the Macaroni:
2 lb macaroni shells
6 tbsp butter OR vegan butter
7 oz vegan cheddar shreds (the kind that melts!)
For the topping:
2 tbsp butter OR vegan butter
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Fill a large stock pot ¾ of the way with water. Place over high heat. Once the water begins to boil, heavily salt the water and add the macaroni. Cook according to the package’s instructions for al dente. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water and strain the pasta. Mix the pasta with the dairy-free cheese sauce, vegan cheddar cheese shreds, and a fat splash of pasta water (more if needed---aka, if the pasta isn’t creamy enough). Mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated and the dairy-free cheese shreds are melted. Pour the pasta into a 9x13 baking pan. Top the macaroni with panko bread crumbs and small pieces of cubed butter, spreading out everything evenly.
Bake for 25 minutes. Serve immediately. Bottoms up!