No Boil Gluten Free Vegan Mac and Cheese- With Butternut Squash

Nothing says comfort food like a big plate of mac and cheese. Being gluten free and dairy free and without access to vegan soy free cheeses like Daiya, it's not so easy to make yummy mac and cheese. It usually involves a bunch of steps, and a bunch of pots, which I don't always have the energy for.

And there's the added aspect that many of the gluten free noodles that are sold locally taste good, but don't hold their shape beautifully once mixed with the cheese sauces.

I had this theory that if I took my gluten free pasta and made a no-boil mac and cheese recipe- I'd be able to have a yummy and easy mac and cheese, without the noodles falling apart. I converted a "yes boil" vegan mac and cheese recipe and turned it into a no boil one, that made one pan dirty and that's it... I made it last Sunday, when we had no running water in the house, so the added bonus was that it didn't require separate boiling water, then more water to rinse... (P,S. We got our water back thankfully!.)

This mac and cheese recipe tasted delicious, and I highly recommend it!

No Boil Gluten Free Vegan Mac and Cheese- With Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
1 cup butternut squash puree (either canned pumpkin or 1 whole mashed butternut squash)
4 cups rice milk or other alternative, non dairy milk (I used homemade rice milk, using this recipe, which I honestly don't recommend- I'm still looking for a better method)
6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
6 cups raw gluten free noodles (I use Sam Mills corn noodles)- or you can also use wheat noodles if gluten isn't an issue for you
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups boiling water

Instructions:
1. If you're using canned pumpkin, skip this step. If not, stick a whole butternut squash in the oven, and bake until soft. Then cut it, scoop out the seeds, then scoop out the squash into a 9x13 pan; finely mash the squash with a fork. If you don't mind making more dishes, you can also puree with a blender, blender stick or food processor, but just mashing also works.

2. Mix the squash with the non dairy milk, nutritional yeast, dijon mustard, onion and garlic powders, lemon juice, salt, oil, and boiling water, until uniform.

3. Add the noodles to the pan.

4. Cover well (I use aluminum foil), and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, or until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the noodles are soft.

5. If you want, remove the cover, and bake for another 5-10 minutes for the top to crisp up.

Enjoy!

Are you a fan of mac and cheese? How do you make yours? Does this look like a recipe you'd try? Have you ever made a no-boil mac and cheese before?

Linking up to Allergy Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday