When I first embarked on Veganuary five years ago, I just assumed that my beloved cauliflower cheese and creamy pasta bakes would be totally off the menu. And it took me quite a while to realise that they definitely weren’t! It is really simple to make a creamy béchamel (basic white sauce) from dairy-free milk and margarine, and the ever-improving range of vegan cheeses in supermarkets these days means a cheesy sauce and crispy topping are easy to achieve too.
Here I’ve combined two of my favourite cheesy baked delights and combined them into one great big comfort food hug….. the Cauliflower Cheese Vegan Pasta Bake. Yum!
For the optimum cheesy flavour I used both vegan cheese and nutritional yeast flakes in this sauce, but if you don’t have nutritional yeast to hand just leave it out – your sauce will still taste great.
This is lovely served with a crisp green salad, or Tenderstem broccoli in the cold winter months.
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You might like to take a look at my Vegan 20 Minute Meals Index for lots more delicious and speedy vegan meals!
Do send me pictures of your very own cauliflower cheese vegan pasta bake on:
tagging me @thevegspace or using the hashtag #thevegspace to show me how you got on!
Cauliflower Cheese Vegan Pasta Bake: Equipment and Shopping List
You will need:
- 2 saucepans
- Colander or sieve
- Ovenproof dish
Shopping List:
- cauliflower
- cherry tomatoes
- dairy-free margarine
- dairy-free milk
- dairy-free cheese
- pasta
- plain flour
- breadcrumbs (or sliced bread to make your own)
- nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
This gooey, cheesey pasta bake is the ultimate vegan comfort food, with a crispy breadcrumb topping.
- 200 g pasta
- 1/2 cauliflower
- 2 tbsp dairy-free margarine
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 400 ml dairy-free milk
- 70 g dairy-free cheese
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs (or 1 slice bread, toasted and blitzed into crumbs)
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Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan) / 350ºF / Gas Mark 4.
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Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add the pasta and boil for 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, cut the cauliflower into small-ish florets, and add to the pasta pan for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
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Melt the margarine in a small saucepan over a gentle heat, add the flour and stir until a thick paste is formed. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring continuously until becomes a thick, bubbling sauce.
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Remove the sauce from the heat and grate in the cheese and add the nutritional yeast flakes (if using), stirring until the cheese is fully melted. Taste the sauce and add salt and black pepper as required.
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When the pasta and cauliflower are both al dente, drain and return them to their saucepan. Tip in the cheese sauce and stir until fully coated.
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Halve or quarter the cherry tomatoes and stir through the pasta, then tip everything into an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs then bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Serve immediately with a crisp green salad.
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I’m linking this vegan pasta bake recipe with some blogging challenges:
CookBlogShare hosted this week by Flipped Out Food- Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Searching for Spice
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This dish looks creamy and delicious. Pure comfort food for sure!
Oh, I’d like to try this pasta for dinner. This is 100% the perfect recipe for my family. So yummy! I need to try this! I’ve never had anything like this. Looks good!
This pasta bake looks and sounds so good! I never tried using cauliflower as cheese, but I’m definitely trying this! Pinned!
What a pretty cauliflower dish I love pasta casseroles like this and this is so comforting looks wonderful
What a delicious looking comfort food!
It sounds delicious and I love the cherry tomatoes in it to give it some colour as well. Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!
Wow, looking at this makes me feel all warm and cozy, so I can’t wait to eat it! Thanks for bringing your pasta bake to #CookBlogShare!
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food recently posted…Mastering Easy One-Pot Meal Recipes
This looks so rich and cheesy I’d never have guessed it was vegan. Such a tasty looking dish.
After going through your recipe, wondering why I’ve never thought of combining cheese cauliflower and pasta as hubby loves both. A wonderful recipe, that’s not difficult to make. Looks filling and delicious.
This looks so yummy!
It looks very yummy.
Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe with us.
Hi! Do you think I can freeze this?
Yes you certainly could – I think the cauliflower might well be a bit mushy once it has frozen and defrosted, but maybe if you under-cook it slightly that wouldn’t be a problem. Enjoy!