• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
amberitas kitchen
  • Order
  • Cart
  • Checkout
  • My account
  • recipes
    • sandwiches
    • sauces
    • lunch
    • dinner
    • mexican
    • pasta
    • potato
    • dessert
    • veganuary
  • English
    • Español
    • Nederlands
    • English
  • contact
  • about me
  • privacy policy
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

boozy vegan mac ‘n cheese

by Amber 2 Comments

This boozy vegan mac ‘n cheese has a surprise ingredient. Can you guess? It’s a shot of tequila. I know, wild. These days I don’t seem to be drinking tequila anymore. So I decided to put it in my food.

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

booze vegan mac 'n cheese seem from above with a serving spoon in the right bottom corner

Autumnal mac & cheese comin’ in hot.

Tequila? Are you mad?

Let me put your worries to rest. No it doesn’t make the mac ‘n cheese taste like tequila. It’s just one of the many flavours we’re adding. If you really don’t like tequila, or if you’re staying away from alcohol altogether; feel free to leave it out! Obviously, cooking with booze makes the alcohol evaporate. What’s left is a nice depth of flavour. Like adding a red wine to a bolognese. Or white wine to a creamy mushroom sauce. Or penne alla vodka.

the boozy vegan mac 'n cheese before going into the oven with bits of kale seen from above

Sneak in a bit of kale if you’d like!

The mac ‘n cheese sauce

I’ve been testing a mac ‘n cheese recipe here and there for a while now. And I’m very happy with the end result. This sauce is completely soy and nut free. Which makes it great for people with common allergies. We’re using a few vegetables and some other flavour inducers to make a lovely, creamy, rich sauce. A fall classic.

the mac n cheese sauce after blending in a silver bowl

The sauce after blending.

A very important part of making this sauce is the deglazing. That’s the part where you incorporate all the nice bits in the pan into the liquid. It’s what gives the dish a depth of flavour and that umami we’re looking for. I’m also using Marmite again (I also did in this recipe). If you’re more of a Vegemite fan, no problem. If you don’t like either of them or you don’t have access to the product; also fine. You could maybe use a stock cube instead. The reason I like adding it, is it’s salty, umami, and provides that yeasty, cheesy goodness in the flavour palette.

mac n cheese being sprinkled with crispy onions before going into the oven with a right hand holding the bowl and sprinkling

Sprinkling the crispy onion on top before hitting the oven.

Finally, we’re topping the mac ‘n cheese off with a bit of crunch and baking it in the oven. In my opinion mac ‘n cheese should always be baked. Who doesn’t love those crunchy bits on top?? When baking a pasta dish, make sure you cook the pasta very al dente. It’ll be cooking through a bit more in the oven and overcooked pasta is.. just.. no. I love using these penne from Barilla.

Like always, save this recipe for boozy vegan mac ‘n cheese, pin it to your Pinterest, share with friends and family, and enjoy!!!

front view of a serving of the boozy vegan mac n cheese on a white plate with the oven tray in the back

Serve right away with some spring onion on top!

booze vegan mac 'n cheese seem from above with a serving spoon in the right bottom corner

Boozy vegan mac 'n cheese

An autumnal, plant-based version of the classic mac 'n cheese with a twist: tequila!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr
Course Dinner, Pasta
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • oven
  • Hand mixer
  • Pan

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp margarine
  • +2 tbsp olive oil (i used my chilli infused oil)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 red pepper, finely diced (bell pepper/capsicum)
  • 1 tbsp tequila (gold)
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée (concentrate)
  • 1 tbsp Marmite
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar (other vinegar works too)
  • 5 sun dried tomatoes (finely diced)
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 400 ml unsweetened oat milk (or any other milk of your preference)
  • 100 ml water
  • 1 small butternut squash, in small cubes
  • 1 carrot, in small cubes
  • 1 small sweet potato, in cubes
  • 1 small potato, in cubes
  • cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 25 grams nutritional yeast (½ cup)
  • 500 grams penne lisce (pasta of your choice)
  • 2 stalks of kale optional!
  • 30 grams crispy onions (±2 tbsp)
  • 30 grams bread crumb (±2 tbsp)

Instructions
 

The Mac 'n Cheese sauce

  • Get a pan on a medium high heat, add the margarine and olive oil and when hot, add the onion, garlic and a sprinkle of salt. Cook down a bit.
  • Add the red pepper and let this cook down more and lightly brown while you chop the rest of your vegetables.
  • Once it's started to lightly brown in the pan, we're going to move in a few quick steps. First we're deglazing with the tequila. Then in goes the tomato purée, Marmite, the rice vinegar, the sun dried tomatoes, and the flour. Stir it all well to incorporate and then add the milk and water.
  • Make sure you scrape down the bottom of the pan to incorporate all those nice bits into the sauce. Now add all the other veggies; the butternut squash, carrot, sweet potato, and potato. Turn down the heat to a low-medium heat.
  • Add the pepper, oregano, nutmeg, turmeric, paprika, and smoked paprika. Cover with a lid and let this cook until the veggies are tender for 15 minutes.
  • In the meantime, get your hand mixer or blender ready and do a bit of cleaning up.
  • Once the 15 minutes are done, transfer everything from the pan into a bowl. Set aside while you give the pan a quick rinse and get the pasta water to a rolling boil.
  • While you wait for the water to boil, add the nutritional yeast, and blend the sauce until it's smooth. Stir the crispy onion and bread crumb together in a small bowl.
  • Pre-heat your oven to 200 °C (392 °F)
  • Add the pasta to the pot and cook al dente. I use the penne lisce and they cook al dente in 8 minutes so I cook them for 7. Get a baking tray ready with a bit of olive oil.

Assembling the Mac 'n Cheese

  • Drain the pasta and add to the baking tray. Stir in the sauce, add the kale if you want, and top with more sauce. Top with the crispy onion and bread crumb.
  • Bake for 10/15 minutes, until golden brown on top.
  • Serve with some fresh spring onion on top.

Notes

This recipe can easily be made gluten free if you use GF pasta and GF bread crumbs. and flour! You could sub for rice flour for example. 
Keeps in the fridge up to around 5 days. You can re-heat in the oven. (or microwave).
Keyword GF, Nut Free, Pasta, Plantbased, Soy Free, Vegan
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Filed Under: dinner, lunch, pasta, recipes

Previous Post: « Enchiladas with roasted vegetables
Next Post: Crispy Polenta Two Ways »

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. miso sweet potato & quinoa bowl - oh so plantiful - recipes says:
    at

    […] The sweet potato and vinaigrette add a lot of flavour to the dish. Hence we’re keeping the rest fairly simple. A good handful of spinach. (Use another leafy green vegetable if you’re no fan of spinach). Quinoa, chickpeas, a quickly pickled red onion, sesame seeds, and crispy onion bits. As you’ll learn, I love crispy onion bits. (I also used them on my Mac ‘n Cheese). […]

    Reply
  2. Pasta with Creamy Vegan Basil Sauce - amberitas kitchen says:
    at

    […] Loved this pasta recipe? I’m sure you’d also LOVE my vegan mac and cheese recipe. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Products

  • Tuesday - Thursday (3 meals for the week) 25,00 €
  • Tuesday - Thursday Sandwiches 24,00 €
  • Tuesday - Thursday PLUS 32,00 €
  • Sourdough loaf 5,00 €
  • Thursday 9,00 € – 16,00 €

Newsletter

Sign up to keep up to date with Amberita's Kitchen: get exclusive discounts, the first look at new menu items, and more!

Archives

check these out!

two tofu bowls with sesame vinaigrette seen from a front view with half an avocado, a halved lime, spring onion, a skillet with tofu, and a book in the background

Tofu Bowl with Sesame Vinaigrette

flatbread with roasted chickpeas seen from above

Roasted Chickpea Flatbreads

The enchiladas with roasted vegetables seen from above with lime, avocado, coriander, spring onion

Enchiladas with roasted vegetables

recipe archives

  • January 2023
  • September 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020

order lunch here or tap the ‘order’ page

  • Tuesday 8,50 € – 9,00 €

outrageously delicious recipes

cast iron skillet seen from top down with spicy curried butter beans against white tablecloth backdrop

Spicy Curried Butter Beans

vegan butter chicken curry seen from above against a white back drop with silver vintage cutlery

the best vegan butter chicken

a cast iron skillet of vegan sicilian bean salad against a dark backdrop with mustard, parsley, and a lemon in the background

Vegan Sicilian Bean Salad

a cream white bowl of the creamy basil pasta seen from front view with a spoon and fork in the back

Pasta with Creamy Vegan Basil Sauce

VEGANUARY

a cream white bowl of the creamy basil pasta seen from front view with a spoon and fork in the back

Pasta with Creamy Vegan Basil Sauce

Vegan Apple Crumble with Oats

Vegan Mushroom Tomato Ragú

Categories

MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES

White Bean Garlic Oil Dip

By Amber 1 Comment

bowl of white bean chili oil dip seen from above with wooden spoon and a hand dipping a bit of flatbread in the dip and small bowl of chili oil in the top right corner

...

Read More

Vegan Cheesy Hummus Pasta

By Amber 2 Comments

a bowl of cheesy hummus pasta held by two hands seen up close

...

Read More

Footer

recipe developer and passionate plant-based chef. i create all my recipes with a lot of love so when i say that i love what i do, i mean it!. have a look →

my faves

front view of a blue and white plate with a portion of lasagne and a little side salad against a dark backdrop
three vegan tofu and shiitake gyros seen from above with a hand grabbing one.
a close up of the vegan garlic tear and share bread

Copyright © 2023 amberitas kitchen on the Foodie Pro Theme

SPECIALS WEEK! Your fave dishes highlighted. Dismiss