Air Fryer Vegan Macaroni Cheese

This comfort food favourite consists of baked macaroni in a dairy-free smoked cheese sauce, with a crunchy breadcrumb topping. You can make this cheesy, creamy pasta dish in just 20 minutes. This recipe is really simple to make, and uses no vegan cheese or cashews. You can whip up the sauce in a blender while the pasta boils, then it only needs a further ten minutes to bake in the air fryer. I love using tofu to make creamy or cheesy sauce with. I’ve used both silken and firm tofu in the past; this recipe calls for smoked firm tofu, which is available from most supermarkets

Yield: Four servings Cook time: 20 minutes

You’ll need:

350ml dairy-free plant milk
One 225g pack of smoked tofu, drained and diced. I used Tofoo, which is available from most supermarkets
Half a teaspoon of both onion granules and garlic granules
One quarter of a teaspoon of ground turmeric
Five tablespoons of nutritional yeast
25g plant-based butter
Half a teaspoon of dijon mustard
Salt and black pepper to taste
300g (this is the dry, uncooked weight) macaroni
One and a half tablespoons of breadcrumbs

Method;

Into a high-speed blender, add the plant milk, tofu, onion granules, garlic granules, turmeric, nutritional yeast, butter and dijon mustard. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth, then season to taste with salt and black pepper
Boil the macaroni as per the instructions on the packet, knock a minute or so off the cook time as it will continue to cook while it bakes. Once boiled, drain away the pasta water and return the pasta to the saucepan. Set aside 150g of the sauce, then pour the remaining sauce over the macaroni and give it a good stir
Spoon the pasta into a suitable oven/air fryer safe dish, and then top with the remaining sauce
Finally, top the sauce with the breadcrumbs, and a pinch of salt and black pepper
Air-fry at 180°C for ten minutes. Alternatively oven bake the macaroni at 200°C/180°C fan-assisted for 20-25 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs on top go crispy
Leave to stand for five minutes before serving