Vegan

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Mac and Cheese

https://www.chicvegan.com/vegan-shepherds-pie-mac-and-cheese/

If you enjoy both vegan shepherd’s pie and nondairy mac and cheese, chances are you’ll love this nontraditional union of the two in one delicious casserole. Shepherd’s Mac from Vegan Mac and Cheese by Robin Robertson is the ultimate cold weather comfort food.

Shepherd’s Mac

If you enjoy both shepherd’s pie and mac uncheese, chances are you’ll love this nontraditional union of the two in one delicious casserole.

Ingredients

Lentils

1
tablespoon
(15 ml) olive oil
21/2
cups
(175 g) chopped mushrooms
21/2
cups
(495 g) cooked lentils
21/2
cups
(338 g) frozen mixed vegetables
steamed
2
tablespoons
(30 ml) tamari
divided
1/2
teaspoon
onion powder
1/2
teaspoon
garlic powder
Salt and ground black pepper
to taste

Pasta

16
ounces
(454 g) radiatore
or other small pasta

Sauce

21/2
cups
(600 ml) water
1
large russet potato
peeled and diced
1
small carrot
chopped
3/4
cup
(105 g) unsalted raw cashews
1/2
of a small yellow onion
chopped
2
garlic cloves
smashed
Salt
to taste
1/2
cup
(30 g) nutritional yeast
2
tablespoons
(28 g) vegan butter
1
tablespoon
(15 ml) fresh lemon juice
1/2
teaspoon
prepared yellow mustard
1/4
teaspoon
ground turmeric
1/4
teaspoon
smoked paprika
Ground black pepper
to taste

Topping

Toasted panko bread crumbs

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
To make the lentils: In a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the lentils, mixed vegetables, 1 tablespoon (15 mof the tamari, the onion powder, and garlic powder and season with salt and pepper. Stir well to mix. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend the flavors. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To make the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain well and set aside.
To make the sauce: In the same pot over high heat, combine the water, potato, carrot, cashews, onion, and garlic and season with salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, cover the pot, and cook until the vegetables are soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully transfer the contents of the pot to a high-speed blender.
Add the nutritional yeast, butter, lemon juice, remaining 1 tablespoon (15 mof tamari, mustard, turmeric, and paprika and season with the pepper. Blend until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides, as needed.
Return the pasta to the pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta and gently stir to combine.
Transfer the lentil mixture to a 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33 cbaking dish, spreading it evenly. Spread the pasta mixture on top.
To finish: Sprinkle the top with the toasted panko bread crumbs. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

About Robin Robertson

Robin Robertson is a vegan chef and award-winning cookbook author whose culinary experience spans nearly thirty years. She has been a chef, caterer, cooking teacher, and food columnist. Her cookbooks include the best-selling Vegan Planet, Quick-Fix Vegan, Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker, Vegan on the Cheap, 1,000 Vegan recipes, and Vegan Fire & Spice. Robin blogs at RobinRobertson.com.

Vegan

Mushroom Parmesan Pasta Bake (1-pan, nut-free, with soy-free and gluten-free options)

Cozy, hearty spinach cheese stuffed Mushroom Parmesan, is a one-pan dinner that your family is going to love! Even the orzo pasta bakes up in the pan with the cheesy mushrooms and marinara sauce! 1 pan, 1 baking Step!

close-up of a fork taking a bite of mushroom parmigiana

I wanted to make a simple mushroom parmesan pasta bake, because I had plenty of mushrooms on hand. And I wanted to reduce the pans and time in the kitchen. Enter this cozy 1 Pan Orzo bake!

The mushrooms are stuffed with this delicious spinach-tofu-cheese mixture that I often use to make stuffed shells, then I top it with a cruncy breadcrumb topping and pair it with a pasta, I use orzo, but other shapes will work too! The pasta and the sauce at the bottom, topped with cheesy stuffed mushrooms, and a crisp breadcrumb topping. Everything cooks in just one pan and one baking step!

close-up of mushroom parmesan in the pan after baking

The prep is very simple. Just make your spinach-tofu-cheese mixture by adding everything to a bowl and mixing it. Prep your mushrooms by removing the stems, and that’s it!

It’s an easy recipe that’s pretty flexible, too. You can add some veggie grounds or vegan ground meat substitute in with the pasta sauce to add extra protein to the meal. The recipe is already nut-free, and it’s easy to make soy-free and gluten-free, too.

You want to use about two- to three-inch mushrooms. Larger mushrooms take longer to cook, and pasta will overcook in that much time, so medium-sized works best here. I also use the mushroom stems in the recipe, so don’t discard them. Just trim away the tough end of the stem and discard that, but save the rest of the stem to chop up into the pasta sauce.

close up of mushroom parmesan on a plate

I paired this mushroom parmesan with orzo pasta, because it cooks up really easily in the baking dish and it works out just amazing. You can add a different pasta of choice, as well, just bake a few minutes longer until the pasta is cooked to preference.