For my second Mac Down competition we decided to tweak the recipe in order to pack a little more flavor and achieve a smoother, creamier texture.  Violife took the vegan scene by storm, with their creamy, flavor filled cheese that melts really well.  Their cheddar is on point flavor wise, so we decided to test that out and I was very pleased with the extra cheddar like flavor it added.  Potatoes can make this recipe gummy at times, so we swapped that out for another vegetable that was on fire in the vegan culinary circles – cauliflower. And you know what? It works really well in this application.

I recently did a food demo using this recipe for Peace Advocacy Network‘s Vegan Pledge. PAN is an organization that promotes a peaceful existence through veganism, social justice, and respect for the Earth’s inhabitants and resources. They offer a Vegan Pledge in several cities throughout the US, in which people who are interested in learning about veganism pledges to eat a vegan diet for 30 days. They are given a mentor, and attend weekly meetings with various speakers and food demos.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. One woman brought her son, who was NOT interested in eating mac and cheese with vegetables in it! However, she convinced him to give a try, and he LOVED it!! She now has an easy way to get her kids to eat their veggies.

So while this recipe entry didn’t do better than the original-this took 3rd place- I stand behind my belief that this is better than the original Mac & Miso Cheesy  I hope you give this one a try and let me know what you think.

• 1 head cauliflower
• 3-4 carrots
• ½ small onion
• ½ shallot
• 1 cup cashews
• 1 ½ cups nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 block Violife Mature Cheddar
• 2 tbsps miso paste
• 1 cup cashew milk
• Pepper to taste
• 1 box macaroni

Bring pot of water to a boil. Cut the cauliflower and carrots into 1 inch pieces, slice onions and shallots, and place in boiling water. Boil for about 15 minutes or until soft (pierce with a knife; if the knife goes in easily, it’s done).

Add to blender with cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, grated Violife cheese, miso, pepper and cashew milk, and blend. If it’s too thick, add a little cashew milk.

Pour over cooked pasta

You can also casserole this! Place in casserole dish, cover top with panko bread crumbs and nutritional yeast.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, You can broil the top for a minute if you want it a little extra crisp.

I was so happy to share the Winners’ Circle with my  friends L.J. who took 1st Place and Alice who took 2nd Place!