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vegetarian friendly apple mac & cheese

★★★★★ 1
Megan213 avatar
a recipe by
Megan Todd
@Megan213
Warren, OH

While sifting through my monthly subscription of Food Network Cooking magazine, I came across a recipe titled 'Apple-Sausage Mac-N-Cheese,' though the recipe seemed it would be perfect for my family.... I have my vegetarian who is also allergic to dairy, so some modifications were necessary to see if this would be a hit.my kids LOVE mac n cheese, so it was a must to come up with an alternative. And it was a hit. I'm posting this recipe using natural cheese in the ingrediants, but you can substitute dairy free products such as daiya brand cheese (a dairy free cheese)! Have fun with it!

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★★★★★ 1
serves 6-8
prep time 30 Min
cook time 35 Min

Ingredients For vegetarian friendly apple mac & cheese

  • 4 Tbsp
    butter, unsalted, plus some for dish
  • kosher salt
  • 1 lb
    medium pasta shells, or a fun pasta of your choice
  • 1 md
    onion, diced
  • 1 Tbsp
    mustard powder ( i omit due to allergy)
  • 1/4 tsp
    cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 c
    all purpose flour
  • 3 c
    apple juice
  • 1 lb
    montery jack cheese, shredded (can use daiya brand)
  • 1/2 lb
    extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups total) (can use daiya brand)
  • 1/2 c
    sour cream, lite (or non-daity)
  • 1 lg
    granny smith apple, or more to add to your liking
  • 1
    sleeve ritz crackers, or butter crackers, get creative here :)
  • 1 lb
    meat of your choice to make a main dish! original recipe called for apple-sausage, sliced. i've used turkey kielbasi, but you can add whatever you like if you so choose!

How To Make vegetarian friendly apple mac & cheese

  • 1
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pasta as directed, al dente. Drain and set aside. ( I add a small amount of EVOO, & mix through to keep pasta from clumping together). Prepare baking dish, cover inside dish with melted butter or pam spray, butter flavored.
  • 2
    Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add chopped apples, mustard powder, cayenne, and 1 tsp salt to cook, stirring until apples are half cooked. About 3 minutes.
  • 3
    Stir in the flour and cook, stirring until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the apple juice and cook, stirring occasionally until thickened slightly. About 8 more minutes.
  • 4
    Slowly stir in about 3/4 EACH of the cheeses into the sauce until smooth. **note, daiya cheese will take a little longer to melt. 2-5 minutes. Remove from heat. If adding meat, cook separately.... then add at this point to the sauce. Stir in the pasta and the sour cream.
  • 5
    Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with crushed crackers and the remaining cheese. Cover & bake until bubbly, 25 -30 minutes, uncover & bake additional 10 minutes. Remove From oven & allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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