No matter how many recipes you have for mac and cheese, I’m willing to bet you can make room for another. One of humankind’s greatest culinary achievements, it’s both hard to mess up and hard to improve. Even mediocre mac usually makes for an acceptable meal. While I never set out to make “the best” or even a “better” vegan mac and cheese, I think that quite accidentally, that’s exactly what I did. For that, I have one giant container of Naked Pea protein powder to thank, or curse.
Protein Profusion
The danger of having a five-pound tub of pure pea protein at your disposal is that there’s no boundaries that it can’t cross. At some point, it becomes a challenge: just how much protein can I add into one meal? If one scoop is good, how about two? My goal, of course, is always to put flavor first, so this game has necessary limits. Fortunately, the losses have been few, and the spoils of victory are great.
Naked Pea, Candid Comforts
Naked Pea unflavored, unsweetened protein is ripe for innovation. The base itself, that single ingredient foundation, provides all the inspiration I need to dream up a thousand different directions to explore. Last time, we went all-in on green peas, which make another appearance here, but the real star of the show are yellow split peas. If you think classic stove top-style mac and cheese has nothing to do with beans, think again. At the heart of this stunningly gooey, silky-smooth, umami cheese sauce, the legumes add body to the easily blended pure protein infusion. Cashews come in with natural richness, allowing the blend to be unbelievably oil-free, too.
Proteinmaxxing Your Mac
To maximize the nutritional profile of this dish, the choice of noodles is key. Standard semolina pasta is surprisingly high in protein, but we can take it one step further by using a chickpea- or lentil-based pasta, which has the added benefit of being gluten-free, for all our celiac friends to enjoy. These noodles range from 7 to 15 grams of protein per 2-ounce serving, so if you’re serious about optimizing your macros, choose your fighter wisely. You’ll find a similar set of options for soymilk; while any non-dairy milk will do, soy will always deliver the strongest protein punch, with brands weighing in at 7 to 12 grams of protein per cup.
Just the Cheese, Please?
A good plant-based cheese sauce is absolutely indispensable. One that’s as healthy as it is tasty is worth its weight in nutritional yeast, transforming everything it touches into pure comfort with a buttery, golden glow. You may think this recipe makes way too much sauce, and it certainly would be an ample blanket to smoother your noodles, there’s a million other ways to enjoy it, should you choose to hold some back.
- Vegan Queso: Add diced pickled jalapeños, fire-roasted tomatoes, green chilies, and/or a dash of chipotle powder for a smoky, spicy dip, worthy of a bottomless basket of tortilla chips.
- Loaded Baked Potatoes: Pour it over baked potatoes or sweet potatoes and finish with steamed broccoli, scallions, shiitake bacon, or black beans for an effortless dinner.
- Cheesy Vegetable Gratin: Toss with roasted cauliflower or broccoli and rice or sliced potatoes before baking until bubbling and lightly browned on top.
- Creamy Soup Starter: Thin with vegetable broth to create an instant cheddar-style soup base for broccoli cheddar, corn chowder, or beer cheese soup.
- Deluxe Tofu Scramble: Fold into scrambled tofu and enjoy straight up, or wrap it in a tortilla to make breakfast burritos for a savory morning upgrade.
Saucy Hot Take
Between you and me, and the entire internet, because I’m not shy about making my opinions known, 99% of foods do not need more protein added to them and suffer for the attempt. This sauce, this freaking sauce, is obscenely good. Infuriatingly good. I found myself licking utensils mid-photo shoot, then surreptitiously slicing crudité to help “clean” the sides of blenders and bowls. It’s so good that it makes me angry that anyone would heedlessly toil through a lesser bowl of dairy-free mac and cheese, regardless of nutritional stats.
Protein with a Purpose
When it has to be high in protein, it has to be worth eating, too. Start with whole foods, building on ingredients that bring genuine flavor and substance to the table, and the numbers tend to work themselves out naturally. Creamy split peas, rich cashews, savory nutritional yeast, and a generous scoop of Naked Pea come together as the foundation for something truly crave-worthy. Every forkful delivers the sort of comfort that will have you coming back for seconds, long after the macros stop mattering.
High Protein Mac and Cheese
Your favorite comfort food just got a serious protein upgrade. More potent than a sweet snack bar and exponentially more delicious, this high protein mac and cheese makes it easy to get your gains, without making compromises. This is a healthy meal for everyone, young, old, fitness bros, working families, and solo eaters alike.
Ingredients
High-Protein Cheese Sauce:
- 1/2 Cup Yellow Split Peas
- 1/2 Cup Raw Cashews
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion, Diced
- 2 Medium Carrots, Scrubbed and Diced
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 2 Cups Water
- 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 Cups Plain, Unsweetened Soymilk
- 2/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 Cup Naked Pea Protein Powder
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Teaspoon White Miso Paste
- Salt and Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
To Serve:
- 16 Ounces Pasta, High-Protein or Gluten-Free* if Desired
- 3 - 4 Cups High-Protein Mac and Cheese
- 2 Cups Frozen Green Peas, Thawed
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the yellow split peas, cashews, onion, carrots, garlic, and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 - 45 minutes, until the split peas are tender. The water should be mostly, if not entirely, absorbed. Do not drain!
- Transfer the mixture to your blender and add the remaining ingredients for the sauce. If you have a smaller blender, you may need to do this in batches, or add everything to the saucepan and use an immersion blender instead. Start with 2 1/2 cups of soymilk and adjust accordingly, bearing in mind that it will continue to thicken as it cools. Season fairly aggressively with salt (1 - 2 teaspoons); it's a lot of sauce and it will be incredibly bland otherwise.
- To serve, cook your pasta al dente if using a traditional semolina noodle. If using a legume-based noodle, undercook the pasta by 2 minutes and let it finish in the sauce to prevent it from turning into mush. Drain the pasta thoroughly and return it to the pot. Add the sauce until it reaches your desired level of gooey-ness, and fold in the peas. Serve hot!
Notes
*Specialty pasta, like high-protein or gluten-free variants, are often sold in smaller boxes of either 8- or 12-ounces, so be sure to check the net weight before dumping in the sauce.
Extra sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 - 7 days. Because it will continue to thicken as it cools, you may need to whisk in additional soymilk when reheating.
Nutritional information was calculated using 4 cups of sauce with chickpea-based pasta.
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 585Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 350mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 18gSugar: 7gProtein: 44g
All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.