Vegan Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower and Lentils

I frequently sing in restaurants. I rarely pay attention to the food while I sing, but yesterday my attention kept wandering toward the plates of pasta being served at the tables near me. I don’t eat pasta often these days, but today it called out to me.

When I saw the beautiful cauliflower Mark brought home from the market, I decided on a mac and cheese with a cauliflower-based sauce. The cooked lentils I had in the fridge provided inspiration to up the protein and fiber in the mac and cheese by adding some lentils to the sauce. I hadn’t made a cauliflower-based sauce in quite a while, so I checked a few recipes and then winged it.

I used an Instant Pot for the sauce: it’s soooo much faster and easier. If you don’t have an electronic pressure cooker, steam the cauliflower and onion until very tender, then mix with the other sauce ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes before blending. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid with either water or an unsweetened non-dairy milk.

I’m not a fan of breadcrumb-topped mac and cheese. If you are, sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top before baking.

I am a fan of baking the mac and cheese to give it a chewier top layer. If that’s not your thing, or if you want to cut the preparation time a bit, or if you just don’t want to turn on the oven, you can serve the mac and cheese straight from the pot after combining the pasta and sauce.