Enjoy this healthy spin on your favourite classic with my Vegan Oregano Mac & Cheese! When it’s vegan, high in protein and low in fat, you’ll have no choice but to do a happy dance!
What a wonderful weekend it’s been! I couldn’t be more excited about the success of my pop up market. Seriously guys, it was the most amazing experience I have ever had in my entire life. I actually almost sold out of all my healthy treats and also got a lot of traffic on my website and my social media channels. Plus, since this was my very first pop up ever, it was definitely shocking how well it went. The future is definitely looking bright for me!
Although my pop up market was a hit, it required a lot of prep work which made me quite exhausted. Luckily I had some leftovers of this vegan oregano mac & cheese to rely on since I had out baked myself this entire weekend! Now some of you might wonder, how on earth can you have vegan mac and cheese? Well I’ll tell you. The answer is cauliflower! Yup, cauliflower. It’s actually quite amazing how versatile cauliflower is.
You can make a lot of delicious recipes with this healthy vegetable that is packed with nutrients like vitamin C, protein and fibre! I for one have made tons of recipes using cauliflower. From pizza crusts to bread buns and tortilla shells, the possibilities are endless!
Another amazing thing about this recipe is also how much protein is packed in the penne. For those of you who may be concerned about the absence of protein, don’t be! Each serving contains 16g of protein which makes this a great post workout meal.
So go ahead and dig into this vegan oregano mac & cheese goodness!
- 2.5 cups Barilla protein plus penne (cooked according to package instructions)
- 1 small cauliflower head (florets cut out and rinsed)
- ¼ cup red onions (minced)
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- 1.5 teaspoons dried thyme
- 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk (I use silk because of its creamy texture)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- Fresh oregano
- After you’ve cooked your penne, set it aside. Chop the cauliflower florets into small pieces making sure the stems are cut off completely and set aside in a large bowl. Place a skillet over medium heat and sauté your onions and coconut oil until fragrant. Set aside.
- Place a large pot over medium heat and bring the broth and water to a boil. Add the cauliflower florets and cook for 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Using a small or medium strainer, place only the cauliflower in the blender, then add 1 cup of the broth, almond milk, onion mixture, thyme, salt and pepper and puree until smooth. You may add more broth and puree depending on how thick you want it.
- Pour cauliflower mixture 1 cup at a time into the cooked penne until all areas of the penne are creamed together. You don’t have to use the entire cauliflower sauce depending on how creamy you want the penne. Top with fresh oregano and serve. You can store any leftover cauliflower sauce in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
