Cheese lovers: do you think your body really enjoys all that grease, cholesterol, and hard to digest lactose? Of course not! I know it tastes amazing, but so does my lactose free mac’n’cheese.
Well, I didn’t actually use macaroni, but I did use hearty whole wheat penne! Unsweetened almond milk brings this dish to life, along with vegan butter and lactose-free cheese. It has a couple of secret ingredients that you would never have guessed: egg and dry mustard. Topped off with flavorful french fried onions! It will make you wonder if this isn’t the real thing. How can I ever miss mac’n’cheese again?
I can recommend a few lactose-free cheeses to choose from. Trader Joe’s has a shredded soy cheese that’s a blend of mozzarella, cheddar, and jack flavors. I used that for this dish. It’s not vegan and has milk protein in it, so beware if you are allergic to milk protein. It’s great if you are just lactose intolerant. If you are looking for dairy-free, soy-free, and vegan, then I recommend using Daiya Shreds in cheddar.
Parmesan is an aged cheese and has very little lactose. If you can tolerate this, use the real thing. If not, I recommend a product called Parma!, or use nutritional yeast instead. GO Veggie also makes a soy-based parmesan topping.
Follow the directions according to pictures or scroll to the bottom for an easy to follow printable recipe.
What you need:
1 pound pasta
1 egg
4 tablespoons vegan butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese alternative
1/3 cup parmesan cheese alternative
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Topping:
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese alternative
1/2 cup to 1 cup french fried onions, alternatively you can use breadcrumbs
Directions:
Cook pasta until firm but not done. Knock off about 2 minutes of cook time. Drain and keep in warm, covered pot.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Beat egg in small bowl and set aside.
Melt vegan butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add flour, whisking constantly. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Pour in almond milk. Add mustard and whisk until smooth. Cook for 5 minutes or until thickened.
To temper egg, slowly pour 1/4 cup of the almond milk sauce into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the egg.
Slowly pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking until smooth. This will create a nice, thick mac’n’cheese.
Add lactose free cheese and 1/3 cup of parmesan alternative, stir until melted.
Mmm creamy, cheesy goodness.
Add sea salt and pepper plus more to taste. You can also add any other spices at this point.
Pour cooked pasta into sauce and stir to combine.
In a large casserole dish sprayed with cooking oil, add pasta and cheese mixture.
Top with french fried onions and 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese alternative.
Bake 5-10 minutes or until the surface is lightly browned. Taste approved by cheese lovers!
- 1 pound pasta*
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter**
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour***
- 2 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese alternative
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese alternative****
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese alternative
- 1/2 cup-1 cup french fried onions or breadcrumbs
- Cook pasta until firm but not done. Knock off 2-3 minutes of cook time. Drain and keep in warm, covered pot.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Beat egg in small bowl then set aside.
- Melt vegan butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add flour, whisking constantly. Cook for 2-3 minutes, careful not to burn.
- Whisk in almond milk. Add dry mustard and whisk until smooth. Cook for 5 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low.
- To temper egg, slowly pour 1/4 cup of the hot almond milk sauce into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the egg.
- Slowly pour egg and almond milk mixture into sauce, whisking until smooth. This will create a nice, thick mac'n'cheese.
- Add dairy-free cheese and 1/3 cup of parmesan alternative, stir until melted.
- Add sea salt and pepper plus more to taste. You can also add any other desired spices at this point.
- Pour cooked pasta into sauce and stir to combine.
- In a large casserole dish sprayed with cooking oil, add pasta and cheese mixture.
- Top with french fried onions and 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese alternative.
- Bake 10 minutes or until the surface is lightly browned. Taste approved by cheese lovers!
- *I used whole wheat penne, but macaroni works of course! I also recommend Tinkyada's gluten-free brown rice elbows.
- **I used Smart Balance Light.
- ***Use cornstarch to keep this gluten-free.
- ****You can also use nutritional yeast.
I’m so glad you are going to try it! I get all of my dairy free ingredients from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Just ask a salesperson where the dairy free sections/items are in the store and you’ll be pointed in the right direction. There are a surprising amount of options!
Emily this looks so yummy I am sooooo trying it as I love mac and cheese but can’t always have it……where do you get most of the ingredients? Some I have never heard of….