I made this slow cooker mac & cheese a couple weeks ago, and my reaction was mixed.
There’s not any dairy in this recipe which is interesting. The “cheese” sauce is made with white beans and cashews and while creamy and tasty, it doesn’t taste cheesy. For me, that’s a not-so-good thing. For others, I think the creamy texture is what they’re looking for in a mac & cheese dish.
This picture is actually the concoction that’s about to go into the slow cooker, which is unfortunate because I think this is when the dish was at its best.
I’m sharing the recipe because I do think this is one that’s worth trying. I will be tweaking it to my liking, because it could be a nice go-to for comfort food days.
Mac & Cheese Florentine
from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker
Ingredients:
8 oz elbow macaroni
10-oz package frozen chopped spinach (cooked and well drained)
2 T olive oil
1 med yellow onion, chopped
1/2 c unsalted, raw cashews
1 3/4 c ater
1 15-oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 T white miso paste
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp dry mustard
pinch of nutmeg
salt
1/2 c dry bread crumbs
Directions:
Cook the macaroni until al dente. Drain. Toss in the spinach and set aside.
Heat 1 T of oil in a medium skillet and sauté the onion. Set this aside.
Grind the cashews to a powder in a blender or food processor. Add 1 c of the water and blend until smooth. Add the onion, beans, miso paste, the rest of the water, the lemon juice, mustard and nutmeg and season with salt. Blend this until it’s smooth. Pour the sauce over the macaroni and spinach and mix well.
Transfer this to a lightly oiled crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours.
Before serving, sauté the bread crumbs in the remaining oil for 3 to 4 minutes or until they are toasty. Sprinkle these over the top of the casserole.
