If you like cheesy and spicy dishes, you are going to love this one!
It’s basically the spiced up version of Mac & Cheese, except it’s vegan, dairy-free, and cashew-free! The sauce is super creamy, quite spicy, and cheesy. Plus it’s drizzled with a garlicky yogurt tahini sauce to balance with the spiciness!
The whole recipe takes a bit less than one hour to prepare.
First, we boil the cauliflower and the carrot until tender, this will make the base of our sauce. Cauliflower brings the creaminess and carrots some sweetness as well as nice yellow color.
Once your cauliflower and carrots are tender, drain and transfer to a blender. It’s time to prepare the sauce!
Add nutritional yeast for cheesiness and umami, apple cider vinegar for tanginess, onion powder, garlic, vegan butter for flavor, and obviously a lot of sriracha! Blend until smooth and the sauce is ready!
For extra cheesiness, add a cube (about one tablespoon) of fermented tofu. It is a condiment that adds a more authentic cheesy flavor. You can usually find it sold in jars at Asian stores, or you can learn how to make your own here!
Finally, coat your cooked macaroni with the sriracha sauce, cook for a few minutes, and serve!
To balance with the spiciness, drizzle with the garlicky tahini yogurt sauce and top with green onions. This pasta dish is comforting, sooo creamy, and packed with umami!
Looking for more pasta recipes? Check out this Deconstructed Falafel Pasta Salad, Cheesy Tikka Masala Pasta Bake, or this Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Caramelized Hazelnut Mushrooms!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Vegan Sriracha Mac & Cheese (with Cauliflower Sauce!)
Ingredients
- 3 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 medium carrot peeled and sliced
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt adjust to taste
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 cube fermented tofu (chao) optional
- 1 cup dry macaroni pasta
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions for serving
Tahini Drizzle
- 1/4 cup vegan yogurt
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the cauliflower florets and sliced carrots and boil for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Transfer to a high-speed blender. Add the water, nutritional yeast, onion powder, apple cider vinegar, sriracha, vegan butter, coconut sugar, salt, garlic, and fermented tofu if using. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust saltiness and spiciness to your liking.
- Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the macaroni and cook until tender, according to the package instructions. Drain the macaroni and add them back to the saucepan. Pour in the sriracha sauce and stir to coat. Heat over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, just to reheat the sauce.
- Serve warm with a drizzle of the tahini sauce and chopped green onions!
Tahini Drizzle
- Whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl until fully combined.
The recipe is missing the amount of cauliflower to use. Can you please add?
It’s 3 cups of cauliflower florets, it’s written in the recipe ingredients.
This is absolutely delicious! I especially love how the cool yogurt drizzle complements the warm, spicy sriracha mac and cheese!
Thanks for your feedback Keegan!
This sauce is tasty but man, way too much sauce for the g of pasta suggested. Would recommend upping to 4-5 servings of pasta for the sauce recipe. The yogurt tahini sauce is also too thick for a drizzle. Add more water or use a lower fat content yogurt.
Thanks for your feedback Therry!
Oh sorry about that, I will definitely re-test the recipe and update the proportions accordingly!
Yes, regarding the tahini sauce it really depends on the consistency of your vegan yogurt.