I made a vegan version of this meal. I didn’t have experience with nutritional yeast before but I loved the taste of this “cheese” sauce. It’s healthy, savory, creamy and makes you want more.
I used Hokkaido squash to make it but you can use any kind of squash or pumpkin. Recipe adapted with some changes from Oh She Glows.
– 1 cup unflavoured almond milk (or oat/rice/soy milk)
– 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast (flake)
– 1 tablespoon tapioca starch (or corn starch)
– 3 cloves garlic, chopped
– 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
– 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
– 250 g penne
– 3 big leaves Swiss chard, chopped
– salt, pepper
– olive oil
– coconut oil
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Cut the Hokkaido squash in half. Scoop the seeds out of the squash with a spoon. Drizzle the squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 40-60 minutes or until tender. Then allow to cool.
Meanwhile prepare the cheese sauce. In a bowl whisk together almond milk and tapioca starch until clumps are gone. In a pot heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil, add almond milk + starch and whisk. Stir in the remaining ingredients: nutritional yeast, chopped garlic, mustard and season with salt and pepper. Whisk over low heat until thickened. Blend the sauce with 1 cup of roasted squash. Set aside.
Cook your pasta al dente in salted water according to package’s directions. Drain and set aside.
In a big bowl mix together cooked pasta with the squash-cheese sauce and chopped Swiss chard. Add the mixture into a pan and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes at 180C (350F). Serve with salad.