Description
Easy dairy free cauliflower mac and cheese is the most delicious way to satisfy your comfort food cravings!
Ingredients
Scale
for cauliflower base
- 1 very large head of cauliflower or 2 small heads
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- black pepper
for cauliflower cashew cheese sauce
- 1/2 cup cashews, soaked in hot water
- 1 cup very soft cooked cauliflower (reserved from 1st step – cauliflower base)
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup hot water + more as needed
for garnish
- paprika
- black pepper
- fresh herbs
- any additional add-ins (see notes)
Instructions
- Soak cashews in boiling water for at least 30 minutes while you prepare the cauliflower.
- Cut cauliflower into equal, bite size pieces.
- Bring about 1/4 inch of water to a boil in a large, shallow pan. Add 1/4 tsp salt and cauliflower florets.
- Turn heat down to medium high, cover and cook for about 6-8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes so, until fork tender but not falling apart.
- Remove all but 1 cup of the cauliflower using a slotted spoon. Set aside to drain in a colander or on a cutting board lined with a towel. Cook remaining cauliflower for another 3 or so minutes, until very soft, and falling apart. Add more water if the water in the pan starts to evaporate too quickly and pan is becoming dry.
- Move soft cooked cup of cauliflower to a blender or food processor along with soaked and drained cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder, turmeric and sea salt along with the first 1/3 cup of hot water. Blend on high until smooth, adding more hot water if needed. You want the final consistency to be pourable, but still thick. I only ended up adding about 1 additional tablespoon.
- Wipe out skillet that you used to steam cauliflower and heat to medium heat with 1 tsp olive oil. Add drained cauliflower florets back to the pan along with 1/4 tsp salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir to coat in olive oil and salt and pepper.
- Pour sauce over cauliflower, toss gently with a spatula to coat. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Top with a little cracked black pepper, paprika and fresh herbs if using. Serve hot, but can be made ahead and easily re-heated.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Category: dinner
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: american