Comforting Baked Mac ‘n Cheese with Bacon

April 15, 2011 by Leanne Vogel September 1, 2014

This dairy free mac n’ cheese is a real crowd pleaser. Keep the kids happy with the deep orange color of the “cheese” sauce and surprise the adults of the group with the smoky, crunchy topping. Or, prepare on the weekend and pop in the freezer for a weeks’ worth of healthy frozen lunches!

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1 cup non-dairy milk
• 1/2 cup sweet potato, peeled
• 2 1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoon cashews
• 2 tablespoon yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon miso paste
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan rock salt

Add-ins

• 3 cups uncooked pasta — I used rice pasta shells
• 8 strips pork bacon
• 2 organic eggs
• 2 green onions, diced or 2 tablespoon freeze dried chives

Topping

• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan rock salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F and oil a 4 cup casserole dish with coconut oil. Prepare pasta as per package instructions. Be sure to leave it al dente.
2. To make the sauce: Peel the sweet potato, stab with fork a couple of times, and place in the microwave on ‘potato’ setting. Meanwhile, combine all sauce ingredients in a blender. Add cooked sweet potato, and blend until smooth. Transfer to a frying pan on medium heat and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes before removing from heat and setting aside.
3. Meanwhile, fry bacon in a large frying pan, cooking for 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from pan, dab with paper towel and cut into bits. Set aside
4. To make topping: combine all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
5. Whip eggs with hand held mixer until frothy. In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, prepared sauce, bacon bits, frothed eggs, and green onions/chives. Stir to combine.
6. Drop mixture into prepared casserole dish and top with topping.
7. Cook in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information Per Serving