Bacon-Infused Mac ’N’ Cheese
As a child of the ’90s, Makenna consumed many boxes of store-bought mac ’n’ cheese. It’s a pantry staple for many people, because it’s such a quick and easy meal. Homemade Paleo-friendly mac ’n’ cheese might sound daunting, but we’ve worked hard to make this dairy- and gluten-free meal cheesy in taste and simple to make. Not to mention that the addition of bacon really takes this dish to flavor-town. Mac ’n’ cheese is back on our dinner rotations, and we could not be more excited about it!
Ingredients
yield: 4 servings
- 1 cup 146 g raw unsalted cashews
- 1 cup 240 ml water
- 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp 22 g nutritional yeast
- 1½ tbsp 23 ml fresh lemon juice
- 1½ tsp 8 ml fish sauce
- 1 tbsp 15 ml reserved bacon fat
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 oz 112 g cassava-flour macaroni
- 3 to 4 strips cooked bacon roughly chopped, plus additional for garnishing
- 1 tbsp 3 g finely chopped fresh chives, plus additional for garnishing (optional)
- Black pepper as needed
Instructions
- In a high-powered blender, combine the cashews, water, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, fish sauce, bacon fat and salt.
- Blend the ingredients until all of the cashews are pureed and the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a small saucepan, and then set the saucepan aside.
- Follow the package instructions for preparing the macaroni.
- When the pasta is nearly finished cooking, warm the “cheese” sauce over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring it occasionally, until it is warmed through.
- Drain the macaroni, then return it to the pan it was cooked in.
- Pour the warmed sauce over the top.
- Add the bacon, chives (if using) and black pepper to taste.
- Stir to combine them with the sauce and pasta.
- Serve the mac ’n’ cheese garnished with the additional bacon and chives (if using) on top.