Baked Sweet Potato & Broccoli Mac & “Cheese”

Feeling very motivated to keep up with my blogging and the only way to do that is come up with as many new recipes as possible. I was feeling especially inspired tonight, and was craving some serious comfort food. I had an entire bag of sweet potatoes lying around, and instead of roasting them like I normally do, decided to make them into a puree and use them as the “cheese” portion of a vegan mac & cheese dish. This meal was perfectly creamy, and the new Daiya slices made a phenomenal topping. Win!

1 lb whole wheat pasta, cooked

2 sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed (to make about 1 1/2-2 cups puree)

1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli, steamed

2 cups sliced yellow onion

3/4 cup almond milk or coconut milk (we used So Delicious coconut milk because it’s our fave)

3 oz. sliced Daiya Jack slices (or 1 cup any vegan cheese)

1/4 cup veggie broth

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp tapioca starch (or cornstarch or arrowroot powder)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cayenne pepper, minced

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a frying pan over medium heat, cook 1 tbsp olive oil with the cayenne pepper and onions for about 20 minutes, or until caramelized
• Meanwhile, whisk together tapioca starch and coconut milk until there are no lumps
• Heat the other 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan over low/medium heat for 1 minute, then add coconut milk mix
• Whisk continually for 3 minutes
• Add nutritional yeast, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, paprika and stir for 2 more minutes
• Stir in sweet potatoes and veggie broth and continue stirring for 3-5 more minutes, until everything is creamy and blended
• Remove mixture from heat and stir into pasta along with the broccoli and onions
• Transfer to a casserole dish and layer Daiya slices on top
• Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
• Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes
• For crispier cheese, place under the broiler for 2 minutes, or until cheese browns and bubbles