As you probably have already noticed, we often talk about nutritional yeast here on Orion’s blog. We use it in many of our recipes at Orion Cafe since it reminds us of the taste of cheese. It’s definitely an important ingredient to have in your pantry if you decide to go vegan, or if you enjoy eating healthy once in a while. Those amazing flakes give the best taste to salad dressings, pasta sauces, and all sorts of fillings. I sprinkle it on pretty much everything!
One of our favorite recipes with nutritional yeast is definitely the Mac n’ cheese, inspired by the website Oh She Glows! Although, we make them a bit lighter than the original. It is made with baked butternut squash, but you could also make it with pumpkin. It will taste as delicious. We also love to add raw greens to our Mac n’ cheese just before serving to give the dish an extra health boost. Mixing them up with the pasta will make them a bit tender, without cooking them.
Butternut squash mac n’ cheese
1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
Virgin olive oil
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
6 tbsp nutritional yeast, or more!
2 tsp old fashion dijon mustard
1/4-3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2-1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2-1 tsp sea salt & ground black pepper
brown rice macaroni
Greens of choice (kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, pumpkin seeds, etc)
1.Preheat oven to 425F. Mix chopped squash with oil and roast for 40 minutes, uncovered, or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the cheese sauce in a pot on the stovetop. Whisk together milk and nutritional yeast, dijon, garlic, lemon, and S & P). Whisk over low heat until thickened (about 5-7 minutes or so).
3. Cook your pasta.
4. In a blender, blend the sauce with 1 cup of roasted squash.
5. Add cooked, drained, and rinsed macaroni into the pot, along with cheese sauce & some greens. I love this mac n’ cheese with baby spinach or kale. Serve the rest of the baked squash with your pasta!
