High Protein Mac & Cheese

Additional Information:

• You could easily make this recipe gluten-free if you substituted macaroni pasta with a red lentil or chickpea pasta.
• If you don’t have TVP on hand, feel free to use Panko or standard breadcrumbs; this will change the calorie and macros a bit though!

This High Protein Mac and Cheese uses silken tofu and nutritional yeast for the sauce. It’s topped with TVP breadcrumbs! If you haven’t used TVP as a high protein breadcrumb substitution before, it actually works really well. I like to season them the way I would normal breadcrumbs (don’t re-hydrate them). The only caveat is that when you heat up your leftovers (assuming you have any), it’s best to heat them up in the oven, because the breadcrumbs will get less crispy when they’ve sat in the fridge overnight.

If you’re interested in some other creative ways to use TVP, be sure to check out my Blueberry Muffins, Stuffed Mushrooms and Crispy Tofu!

Ingredients

Mac & Cheese

• Extra Firm Silken Tofu – make sure you’re using silken tofu for this recipe, otherwise the texture and taste will be very not what I intended 🙂 Silken tofu can be found at most grocery stores and can also be purchase online. I like the brand Mori-Nu – it’s shelf-stable.
• Nutritional Yeast – this is a shelf-stable ingredient used often in vegan cooking to give food a savory and cheesy flavor. You can find it at most grocery stores and also buy it online. Nutritional Yeast also has a decent amount of protein!
• Soy Milk – this is my preferred plant-based milk, because it is the most protein dense. Other plant-based milks will work as well. I would try to use a more creamy one like Oat Milk if you plan on not using Soy Milk though.
• Onion, garlic – I think these add a lot of flavor to the sauce (and some hidden veggies). Unless you really hate one of these, I would keep them.
• Lemon – I use fresh lemon juice, but bottled lemon juice works too! One lemon has about 2 tablespoons of juice, for reference.
• Garlic powder, onion powder, salt, turmeric, ground mustard.
• Shredded vegan cheddar – I really prefer the brand Violife for shredded cheese, but you can use your favorite!
• Elbow macaroni – I used normal elbow macaroni, but if you’re gluten-free or just trying to get more protein, you could use a red lentil or chickpea pasta here instead.

“Breadcrumb” Topping

• Vegan Shredded cheese – I use Violife for this too.
• TVP – Textured Vegetable Protein – this is a shelf-stable protein that is used often in vegan cooking. You can find it at most grocery stores near the gluten-free flour options, and you can also purchase it online. If you don’t have TVP, you could also just use normal breadcrumbs or panko – this will change the calories/macros from what’s lited in the recipe card.
• Vegan butter – I used Miyokos, but any brand will work.
• Salt, smoke paprika, onion powder, garlic powder – this is to season the “breadcrumbs” so that they add some flavor to the meal.

Directions

• Pre-heat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
• Cook the pasta per package instructions.
• In a medium-low heat skillet, saute onions until translucent. This will take 3 – 5 minutes. Stir regularly to avoid burning/sticking.
• Add in the garlic and saute for another 2 – 3 minutes (stirring regularly to avoid burning).

• In a blender, mix onion/garlic, tofu, nutritional yeast, milk, lemon juice, 1 cup of the shredded cheese and all of the spices listed in the Mac & Cheese ingredient section.
• Once the sauce mixture is super creamy, combine with the cooked macaroni noodles.

• Put in a large casserole dish. (If you are concerned with the food sticking, you can spray the casserole dish with oil).
• Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

• For the “breadcrumbs” – in a smallish bowl, mix together the TVP (use dry), melted butter, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and smoke paprika.

• Once well combined, evenly spread the breadcrumbs on top of the mac and cheese.

• Bake in the oven for 15 – 18 minutes. I prefer baking with aluminum foil on top to get the vegan cheese to melt better.
  • Side note: if you have leftovers, re-heating in the microwave will result in the breadcrumbs being much more soft. I would recommend re-heating in the oven so that they keep that crispy texture.

Silly Little Haiku

Tofu Mac and Cheese

Is there anything better?

TVP breadcrumbs