Roasted Red Pepper Mac And Cheese

Serves 4

_{Photo by Vanessa Rees}

This is one of those recipes I’m a little possessive of. It’s from Isa Does It and over the years it has become one of the most-loved vegan mac and cheeses I’ve ever put out. People come back to it. They make it for their omnivore boyfriends, their picky kids, their cheese-loving husbands, their book clubs. They write me about it years later. I’ve been approached by adults who say they were raised with it (!!) It is, by any measure, a winner.

It tastes like a really good slice of pizza. The sauce is a cashew cream blended with roasted red peppers, fennel, thyme, oregano, and tomato paste. Bright orange, creamy, faintly sweet, herby. I used to call it Pizza Mac & Cheese and maybe that was the right name. The roasted red peppers multi-task here. They bring sweetness, body, and that signature color, plus they pair beautifully with the pizza herbs. It’s the kind of recipe that converts skeptics. The “wait, this is vegan?” recipe.

I originally published it on the site alongside one of my Breville sponsored Make It Vegan video tutorials. The video is a little of-its-era (scroll down for it), but the recipe has held up beautifully and just keeps getting made. A few comment highlights:

“Tastes like pizza! I just made a bunch of it this morning and it was great for leftovers.” — Betsy

“My 11-year-old daughter said ‘whoever made up this recipe is genius!'” — Barbara

“Scrape-the-pot-clean-with-a-spoon creamy goodness.” — Sarah

If you love this one, check out my full roundup of the best vegan mac and cheese recipes for a creamy, cheesy mac for every mood.

What You’ll Need

• Cashews for the creamy base. Soaked or boiled before blending.
• Roasted red peppers for sweetness, body, and that signature bright orange color. Jarred is fine, homemade is great.
• Tomato paste adds tang to that thang, plus even more orange color.
• Pizza seasoning — fennel, thyme, oregano, garlic. The Italian flavor backbone. Penzeys Pizza Seasoning is the one I love, but any blend works (or mix your own, see below). I do like fennel in it so include some if your pizza seasoning doesn’t have it.
• Nutritional yeast just a touch, for cheesy savor.
• Cornstarch to thicken and make it even more silky delicious.

How to Roast Your Own Red Peppers

A jar of roasted red peppers is what I use most of the time and they’re great. But if you want to roast your own, throw a few peppers on a small baking pan whenever the oven is on for something else, anywhere between 350°F and 425°F. Roast whole for 20 to 30 minutes, until they look collapsed and a little blistered. Transfer them straight to a paper bag and close it up. The steam loosens the skins so they slip off easily once cool. Open up, discard seeds, toss out stem, done.

Pizza Seasoning, From Scratch

If you don’t have pizza seasoning on hand, mix your own with ¼ teaspoon fennel seed or ground fennel, ¼ teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon thyme, and ½ teaspoon granulated garlic. That’s all, no worries.

Tips for the Best Roasted Red Pepper Mac

• Soak or boil your cashews. Soaking for 2 hours gets the creamiest sauce. If you forgot, boil them for 15 minutes instead. With a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, you can skip the soak entirely.
• Want it baked? Transfer the whole thing to an 8×8 casserole and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes for a crispier top.
• Reheat with a splash of water or broth. The sauce sets up in the fridge and loosens beautifully when warmed.
• Tastes better the next day. The pizza herbs deepen and the sauce thickens nicely.

Check out the video from approximately one million years ago

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Roasted Red Pepper Mac & Cheese FAQ

Can I make this without nutritional yeast? Yes, according to the comments. I haven’t done it myself. One commenter, Barbara, made it without nooch and said it tasted like a creamy pepper-tomato sauce — less cheesy, still really good. So if you’re out, don’t sweat it.

Can I make the sauce ahead? Yup yup yup. Blend the sauce and refrigerate it for up to 3 days before cooking and tossing with pasta. Just give it a stir and warm it up when you’re ready.

My leftovers got thick. What do I do? Splash of water or vegan milk and a quick reheat brings it right back. The sauce tightens in the fridge and loosens beautifully when warmed.

Can I use a food processor instead of a blender? A blender will give you a much smoother sauce. Food processors tend to leave the cashews a little gritty. If you only have a food processor, make sure to soak the cashews well and blend longer than feels reasonable.

Where do you buy cashews? I buy them in bulk or at Trader Joe’s. Indian markets often have great prices on cashew pieces too, which work just as well for blended sauces.

Can I sub the pizza seasoning? You can, but the pizza herbs are kind of the whole personality of this dish. Taco seasoning would make a different (but probably good) mac. If you swap, you’re making a new recipe more than this one.

Can I make it baked? For sure. Transfer the whole thing to an 8×8 casserole and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.

How did I end up here? You searched for a vegan mac and cheese with personality and the algorithm sent you to the orange one. You’re in good hands.

Roasted Red Pepper Mac And Cheese

Isa Chandra

A creamy, pizza-flavored vegan mac and cheese with cashew cream, roasted red peppers, and Italian herbs. A reader favorite from Isa Does It, on the site since 2013.

5 from 5 votes

Notes

If you don’t have pizza seasoning on hand, mix your own with ¼ teaspoon fennel seed or ground fennel, ¼ teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon thyme, and ½ teaspoon granulated garlic. That’s all, no worries.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Pasta

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 lb macaroni or other small pasta
• 3/4 cups unroasted cashews soaked in water for 2 hours
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion diced medium
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 tablespoon organic cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 roasted red pepper (jarred or homemade, about 1/3 cup)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pizza seasoning (see note)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• fresh black pepper to serve

Instructions

 

• Preheat a 2 quart sauce pot over medium heat. Saute onions in oil with a pinch of salt for 5 to 7 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so, then transfer to a blender or food processor.
• Boil a large pot of salted water for cooking the pasta. Once boiling, cook pasta according to package directions.
• Drain the cashews and add them to the blender along with the vegetable broth, corn starch, nutritional yeast, red peppers, tomato paste, pizza seasoning, salt, mustard and turmeric. Blend until very smooth. Scrape down the sides every 30 seconds or so and test for smoothness.
• Transfer the sauce in the blender back to the sauce pot where you cooked the onions. Turn the heat up to medium and let cook, stirring very often, until thickened. This should take between 10 and 15 minutes. Taste for salt. It should taste slightly salty because you’re going to be pouring it on the pasta.
• The pasta should be done while the sauce is thickening, so drain and place pasta back in the pot you cooked it in. Set aside.
• When sauce is thickened, add it to the pasta in the pot, and use a large slotted spoon to mix well, taking care not to break the pasta. Serve with fresh black pepper.

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