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Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh ‘meat’. Vegan Recipe. Can be made soy-free with cooked chickpeas or beans instead of Tempeh. Serves 3 to 4
 
 
Vegan Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | Vegan Richa

One evening, hubbs gets home as usual very hungry and sees the casserole ready to eat. I hand him a medium sized helping. He starts off with mmm it looks funny with those chips.. after 2 bites.. mmmm, interesting.. It does taste like nachos, but theres the pasta in it.. so I am confused or rather my tastebuds are confused.. mmmm interesting… mmmmmmm this is amazing.. (huge spoon fulls in).. mmmmmmmmm, can I have another helping? .. lets add more of those jalapenos.. mmmm mmmm.. this is awesome.. AAWwesome! Is there anymore left..mmm mm. gobble .. gobble..

One word.. Make it 🙂 I mean seriously, this is a filling one pot deliciousness that you have to eat to believe. I just had to have my mac with the nacho cheese and all the fix-ins and make it into one delicious and healthy meal:)

You can also put this whole thing on a pizza! or in sloppy burgers. There is just so much flavor going on in the dish. The sauce tastes like Nacho cheese. There is layers of Mac in Nacho cheese sauce, Tempeh taco/nacho meat, salsa, cheddar, more Mac and cheese, chips, jalapenos. Lets hear it for a Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole.

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat. Vegan Recipe. Can be made soy-free with cooked chickpeas or beans instead of Tempeh | VeganRicha.com

Those chips look funny but they actually work well to slow you down.. When you eat a bite with a chip you think snack and slow down, else you will want to finish the whole helping without stopping. You can omit the chips or other layers. The cheese sauce and tempeh meat are amazing by themselves. 

You dont need the Daiya cheddar in this casserole. The cheese sauce has enough Nacho cheesy flavor profile. And no fear, there will soon be a melty stringy Nacho cheese cheese on the blog. 
Without the Daiya and Chips, this Casserole is refined oil-free. It can be made Gluten-free by using glutenfree pasta and replacing the flour in the sauce with a gf flour or more cashew flour. 

You can add some cauliflower in the cheese sauce like this Mac and Cheese.
For more bakes, pastas and such see the Collection here.

In other news, if you missed the crazy pinning frenzy(see the pin counts on them posts!), it is because of Vegnews featuring my Lentil and Cauliflower Burger in their Awesome things to do with Cauliflower Roundup here.
And my Roasted butternut, Sriracha Mayo Sandwich in Must eat Spicy round up here. 😀 I think I should keep making them burgers:) Thanks for the features Vegnews! and Thank you to everyone who made the burgers and loved them:)) me = super happy!

Virtual Vegan Potluck(VVP) sign up is now open. If you can cook vegan, want to connect with a bunch of awesome bloggers and win some prizes doing so.. Sign up here!


Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat. Vegan Recipe. Can be made soy-free with cooked chickpeas or beans instead of Tempeh | VeganRicha.com

Steps:

Mix everything for the Tempeh Nacho meat and cook covered for 25 minutes. Also in another pan boil the water to cook the Macaroni.

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

Chop up, gather and Add the cheese sauce ingredients to the blender.

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

Blend away until smooth. Taste and adjust salt and spice.

By this time the Mac must be cooked. Strain and add the cheese sauce to it. Mix and let sit. The heat for the pasta will thicken the sauce a bit.

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

In a casserole dish, layer the Mac and cheese. The tempeh should be almost done by now. Or take a break, play with your dog, eat some chips, and make some Salsa.

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

Then layer the cooked Tempeh filling.

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

Layer with Salsa.

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

then Daiya cheddar.

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

then more mac and cheese

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

then corn chips and pickled Jalapenos. Humor me.

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

Layer with more Daiya cheddar.

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

Bake for 25 odd minutes. Let cool for a few and dig.

Vegan Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole



Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh meat | VeganRicha.com #vegan #nacho #mac

Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh 'meat'. Vegan Recipe

5 from 4 votes
By: Vegan Richa
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: casserole
Cuisine: fusion
Nacho Mac and Cheese Casserole with Taco Tempeh 'meat'. Vegan Recipe. Can be made soy-free with cooked chickpeas or beans instead of Tempeh. Serves 3 to 4
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Ingredients 
 

Nacho Cheese Sauce

  • 1/4 cup Cashew flour, ground raw Cashew
  • 1/4 cup flour, I use unbleached white
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1-2 roasted/canned pimiento , or roasted 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 1 roasted Jalapeno, optional
  • 1/2 medium tomato chopped
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 teaspoons onion flakes , or a 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 3-4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon aleppo pepper flakes, optional
  • 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, optional

Tempeh Nacho/Taco "meat"

  • 4 oz tempeh crumbled
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons liquid aminos or tamari
  • 1 tomato chopped , or 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/3 tsp salt
  • Or you can use salt, tomato paste and taco seasoning mix to add to tempeh+water

Other

  • 1 cup dry Macaroni pasta
  • 1/2 cup Salsa of choice, or chopped roma tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, salt and lime juice
  • Corn chips
  • Pickled Jalapenos
  • Daiya Cheddar shreds

Instructions 

  • Tempeh:
  • In a large pan, add crumbled tempeh, water and rest of the ingredients. Mix and cook covered on low-medium heat for 25 minutes or until dry. Stir twice in between. You can marinate the tempeh in the wet before cooking if you like for a deeper flavor.
  • Mac:
  • Boil the water for the pasta and cook until al dente.
  • Nacho Cheese Sauce:
  • Add the nacho cheese sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Mix the sauce into drained hot Macaroni pasta.
  • Bake:
  • Layer the Mac and cheese.
  • Top with Tempeh Nacho meat.
  • Top with Salsa. (Or top the chips with salsa later).
  • then some Daiya cheddar.
  • Add the remaining Mac and Cheese.
  • Top with Chips, Jalapenos and cheese shreds.
  • Bake at pre-heated 370 degrees F  / 190ºc for 25-30 minutes.
  • Cool for a bit before serving.

Notes

To make Soy-free, use lentils to make the meat layer. Soak 1/2 cup dried brown/whole red lentils for 2 hours, and cook in 2 cups water, and the rest of the ingredients under Tempeh nacho meat, partially covered, until tender and almost dry.
To make Gluten-free, use gf pasta and substitute flour with Cashew flour or gf flour.
Nutritional values based on one serving

Nutrition

Calories: 424kcal, Carbohydrates: 61g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 810mg, Potassium: 531mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 605IU, Vitamin C: 15.4mg, Calcium: 157mg, Iron: 3.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Richa

Hi, I'm Richa! I create flavorful plant based recipes that are inspired by my Indian upbringing, including many gluten-free, soy-free, and oil-free options.

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5 from 4 votes

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65 Comments

  1. Nina Windhauser says:

    5 stars
    This recipe is AMAAAAZING! Even my foster children, who have just been introduced to plant based eating, couldn’t get enough of it! You can’t imagine how happy that makes me to find a recipe they love! I made one dish without the added vegan cheese shreds and one without. The one without tasted just as good! I even had it for breakfast the next day, just couldn’t hold out for lunch time, LOL! I marinated the tempeh for 48 hours : )

    1. Richa says:

      yay!! so awesome!!

  2. Kalpa says:

    5 stars
    Is there a substitute for sesame seeds? I would like to make this today but I’m out! Thanks

    1. Richa says:

      use more cashews

  3. Mae says:

    5 stars
    I just made this…omg it is incredible. SO cheesy!! Just perfect…I couldn’t find chipotle or allepo pepper flakes, so I just used hot smoked paprika for the spice. Seriously life changing Mac and cheese recipe. Thank you!

    1. Richa says:

      yay thats awesome!! this recipe doesnt get as much love as its an old one. but its soo good!