Homemade Vegan Cheddar Sauce Recipe- Tastes Like Boxed Macaroni and Cheese- Gluten Free

You know what’s crazy? How much people really love boxed maraconi and cheese. See, the thing is, usually it’s entirely a chemical concoction, and the cheese isn’t even really cheese, just some orange powder that you mix with milk and pour onto the noodles… But it just tastes soooo good, that long after I switched to a healthier and less processed food lifestyle, I still went and occasionally bought boxed mac and cheese for that yumminess only found in that processed junk…
And I’m not the only one who, for some explicable reason, finds boxed mac and cheese to taste better than the homemade stuff, who just love that powdered cheese taste…

I was in the mood for some macaroni and cheese today, and decided to try making a coconut milk based “cheddar cheese” I’d seen on the internet way back when, only I didn’t have all the ingredients at the time. I recently acquired some liquid smoke, and yes, I feel comfortable using it, don’t considered it a bad, unhealthy, processed food, knowing how it is made…
So anyhow, back on topic.
I decided to play around with the cheddar cheese recipe, because I didn’t want to use agar agar, an expensive ingredient, especially when I didn’t need a lump of cheese- I just wanted a cheese sauce to use for mac and cheese…
And when I made the recipe for cheese sauce, and then turned it into mac and cheese… I was so surprised when I tasted it, because the thing it reminded me most of is boxed mac and cheese. You know, the chemically powdery yummy kind? I mean, I’m not promising a replica of that- but this is close enough that that is the first thing that comes to mind when taking a bite of this mac and cheese. And I think it is even cooler that I managed to accomplish that while making mac and cheese that is entirely gluten free and dairy free…

This is the recipe for the Cheddar sauce. Feel free to use it any way you’d use regular cheese, like in lasagna, on pizza, in quesidillas, on veggies like broccili, etc…
To use it to make mac and cheese, simply take half the cheese sauce, mix it with half a cup of coconut milk and 1 pound of cooked gluten free (or regular) pasta- I used Sam’s Mill corn pasta– then salt to taste. It’s out of this world!
Just a note- if you’re trying to make a spreadable sauce, use less potato starch. If making mac and cheese and mixing with coconut milk, use the larger amount.