We had some friends over the other night and wanted to make them some vegan comfort food. One of our favorite places to eat dinner with them before we went vegan was Macaroni Grill, and we would always get the adult portion of their macaroni and cheese.

Let me emphasize: you really can veganize anything.

Here’s the recipe we used and the substitutions: (I could not find the link anywhere online, my friend found it and sent it to me over text. I’ll link it here if I find it):

• 400g macaroni
• 50g butter // earth balance vegan butter
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 cups (500ml) milk // silk unsweetened cashew milk
• 2 cups (250g) grated cheese (gruyère) // we used a combination of vegan cheeses: Follow Your Heart smoked gouda cheese (make sure it’s the vegan one!), Chao Creamery original creamy tofu cheese, and a few slices of Daiya cheddar style slices for color
• Chopped parsley (we omitted it, but would be really delicious with it!)

First, we melted the butter in a pan. Once it was melted we added in the flour and mixed it together until everything was combined and creamy. Next we stirred in the milk slowly. Once that was heated and bubbly, we added the cheeses. We broke the slices of cheese into smaller pieces to make it easier to melt. Once all the cheese was added we covered the pan and let everything melt for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

And that’s it: super simple and delicious vegan mac and cheese that was a lighter and cheaper replacement of Macaroni Grill’s macaroni and cheese.

We were nervous making our non-vegan friends vegan mac and cheese. We wanted it to be flavorful and taste like the version they were used to. This recipe was a success, and they really liked it! Next time we make it we’re going to use the Follow Your Heart American style slices instead of the gouda to try to make it more “authentic”, but I personally really liked the smoked gouda flavor.

Add a splash of cashew milk when you reheat it in the microwave to make it creamy again. I also like adding some Frank’s Hot Sauce to make it spicy. You could also top it with basil, crushed red pepper, or nutritional yeast.