So many things I miss since becoming gluten and dairy free, most important of those things is cheese. I find nothing more comforting the ooey gooey taste of Velveeta shells and cheddar, and I have yet to find a good option in the market or in even the nicest food-intolerence-friendly restaurants.

I have discovered the very BEST recipe for Baked Mac-n-Cheeze at The Gluten Free Vegan, which itself was based on a recipe from the Daiya site, as the recipe calls for Daiya cheese. I know this because I searched and searched for something that had just the right combination, and tested several. This was my favorite and no compromises had to be made. This recipe is 100% gluten and dairy free, it only takes about twenty mins to prepare, and will have everyone who tries ask for thirds, never mind not realizing there is no dairy in the entire dish. I made this version my way, but as long as you have the key ingredients feel free to add or remove any types of spices or flavors you may enjoy. Bon Appetit!

Gluten and Dairy Free Incredibly Easy and Cheezy Mac and Cheese

What you need:

• A package of any flour of Gluten-free (brown rice) noodles you prefer. I used Gluten Free pasta shells
• 3 tablespoons vegan margarine
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (had to search around for this, but ultimately found it at Whole Foods, Bragg’s makes it and it’s yellow and has a cheese-like taste. Note: this is not the same as Brewer’s Yeast which tastes nutty and is brown.)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• Garlic power to taste
• 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy or almond milk based on your preference)
• 3 cups Daiya shreds
• 1/2 cup gluten-free and vegan bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

What you need to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt vegan margarine.
3. Add nutritional yeast and black pepper.
4. Pour in non-dairy milk and add Daiya shreds.
5. Whisk to mix and reduce heat to medium-low–(make sure you keep the burner on a medium low, so you don’t over cook the sauce)
6. Continue to whisk occasionally while shreds melt and sauce becomes nice and smooth
7. Once the sauce is smooth and heated-through, pour over pasta.
8. Pour into a casserole dish.
9. Mix up the bread crumbs, garlic powder (my added touch), and paprika then sprinkle on top.
10. Bake for ten to fifteen minutes in preheated oven until sauce is bubbling and topping browns a little.
11. Remove from oven and savor the moment. (I added some Louisiana hot sauce to mine when It was done cooking. It gives it that extra flavorful irristiable kick. My friend added Hunt’s organic Ketchup to his (Hunt’s doesn’t use high fructose corn syrup)

Tags: Bragg's, dairy free mac and cheese, gluten free mac and cheese, nutritional yeast