Tabitha Brown Finally Unveils The Secret To Her Vegan Mac And Cheese - Exclusive
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When thinking of delicious, creamy comfort food, vegan anything is probably not the first dish that comes to mind — and it's no surprise that many people may be skeptical of the idea that vegan mac and cheese could ever truly hit the spot. But if you ask the ultimate vegan foodie herself, Tabitha Brown, she'd say you're missing out. The actress, best-selling author, and social media icon is well known for her creative and crave-worthy plant-based spins on all our favorite classics. That includes everyone's favorite cheesy pasta dish.
If anyone knows how to make vegan magic with this dish, it's Brown. "I was making this mac and cheese before I went vegan because I'm allergic to dairy," she told Tasting Table. Now, she can confidently say she has "mastered the mac and cheese over the years," and she even boasts "a couple of different mac and cheese recipes" that are all vegan and all mouthwatering.
When we got the chance, we had to ask Brown about her vegan cheese secrets. In an exclusive interview, the foodie revealed exactly how she packs so much cheesy flavor and creamy texture into her mac and cheese — all without using any actual dairy products.
Squash and cashews are the heroes of vegan mac and cheese, says Tabitha Brown
Whether you strictly follow a plant-based diet or just consider yourself curious in the kitchen, you can make yummy vegan mac and cheese that will either fool you into thinking you're eating the real thing or taste so darn good that you don't even care. As Tabitha Brown told Tasting Table, there's more than one way to do it. One way is to start totally from scratch. "If you want to create your own cheese, you're going to have to use nutritional yeast, carrots, potatoes, and cashews to make a really good vegan cheese," said Brown.
Of course, if you don't have the energy for desire or that, Brown says you can probably find what you're looking for in the grocery store, believe it or not. "Now, there's so many amazing [vegan cheeses] you can buy at the store that are made with chickpeas, or they're made with almonds, or they're made with cashews," she said. You can also load up your pasta dish with a variety of different vegan cheeses, which is what Brown does to create a depth of flavor in her mac and cheese. She likes "a little bit of sharp, a little bit of medium, maybe a little bit of mozzarella." She added, "Always season the cheese with a little garlic powder. You got your little herbs and spices in there so that it heightens the flavor."
Finally, Brown said she likes to add "a little bit of butternut squash, because it gives it the color of cheese, that rich orange look, but it also adds that heightened flavor of a little bit of sweetness to go with the savory." Mix it all together, and you've got all the classic flavors and textures that we know and crave from this beloved comfort food, but in a uniquely healthier, plant-based form.
Find this recipe and more in Tabitha Brown's new cookbook, "Cooking from the Spirit." Click here to get your copy.