Comforting, creamy, Cajun mac n cheese, filled with spice, and all kinds of Cajun flavors.
This dish started out with me staring into my crisper drawer at a bag of okra that I’ve had sitting, neglected, in there for a little too long. I had never cooked it, myself; just enjoyed it in gumbos from Disneyland and Doomie’s. But, a couple of weeks ago I had seen Kristy from Keepin’ It Kind’s post on roasting okra; that way it doesn’t get super slimy. So, I looked around some more and found a lonesome red onion and some red bell peppers in desperate need of being roasted. I through them together on a baking sheet and while they were roasting, I contemplated what I would use them in.
Soup? Eh, I don’t know if I have everything for a good soup. I look in the pantry, OH! Fall-themed pasta noodles made from durum wheat! Well, this goes along with my month of grains theme for Vegan MoFo. Since I had some Daiya Cheddar shreds tucked away, I decided that it was time for some sort of macaroni and cheese hybrid mess. Now, we have Cajun Mac ‘n’ Cheese! Not bad for using a bunch of ingredients that I may have ended up throwing out otherwise. 😉
The rest of this Friday has been used up making a Shepherd’s Pie for the cookbook which is seriously so good- and changing out the bulbs in my headlights! Oddly enough one went out right after the other, and thank goodness for YouTube, I was able to find a video that helped me change them out myself. Especially since the owner’s manual doesn’t give any information. Hmmph. So, today has been victorious and I have too much food hanging out in my fridge. Who wants to come by and help me with some of it? 😀
One Year Ago: Raw Veggie Wrap with Lentil Zucchini Tortilla

Cajun Mac n Cheese
Comforting, creamy, Cajun mac 'n' cheese, filled with spice, and all kinds of Cajun flavors.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 C . Okra, Sliced into Coins
- 2 C . Red Bell Peppers, Chopped
- 1 C . Red Onion, Chopped
- 1 Small Jalapeño, Diced
- 1 tsp . Olive Oil
- 3 C . Dried Noodles, whichever shape you prefer
- Water
- 1/2 C . Cooked Chickpeas
- 1 1/2 C . Daiya Cheddar Shreds
- 1 C . Non-Dairy Milk
- 2 Tbsp . Vegan Margarine
- 2 Tbsp . Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tsp . Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp . Liquid Smoke
- 1/8 tsp . Cayenne Pepper
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375ºF, toss the okra, red bell pepper, red onion and jalapeño in together with the olive oil in a large bowl. Then spread them out into a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 mins. then mix the pieces around and bake for another 10-15 minutes. While the veggies are roasting, get a large pot ready with 1 1/2 Quarts of water (or more if necessary), lightly salt it and bring it to a boil.
- In a small pot, melt together the daiya shreds, non-dairy milk, margarine, nutritional yeast, paprika, liquid smoke and cayenne pepper over medium heat. It will be easier to coat your noodles if you mix the "cheese" sauce in a separate pot.
- When the water is boiling, pour the noodles in and cook for the recommended time (mine was 7-9 minutes), stirring occasionally so that they do not stick together.
- Set the cheese sauce pot to low-medium heat and continue to stir until it melds into one consistency. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water.
- Keep the heat at low-medium for the noodle pot, and add the roasted veggies and chickpeas to the noodles.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the top, and gently stir it into the noodles. Add more non-dairy milk if you would like a creamier texture, and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
Notes
Potassium: 356mg
Vitamin A: 36.7%
Vitamin C: 125.5%
Calcium: 10.9%
Iron: 13.3% All nutrition facts are approximate.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 400Unsaturated Fat: 0g
I also have another recipe for mac ‘n’ cheese with a twist, Mexican Mac and Cheese! Which is also very delicious. I’ll need to make another pumpkin mac and cheese recipe though, for the sake of my health. 😀
What are some of your favorite add-ins for mac and cheese? Also, do you have any experience with Okra?
What a creative twist on mac and cheese! I love adding veggies to my make and cheese and this recipe sounds great!
Me too! I’ve been adding tomatoes and more onions to my leftovers to change it up a little bit. Yum!
Oh boy. I don’t even really like pasta and I’ve seen so many mac and cheese recipes but this one really stands out. I feel like most dishes would benefit from a bit of spice 🙂
Agreed! And thank you for taking a liking to it! 🙂
I love that you added okra to it. Looks like my kind of mac and cheese.
I never use okra because it’s so hard to find over here. But I think I’ll start hunting for some because that mac and cheese looks so wonderful. I really love mac and cheese with vegetables.
Even if you can’t find okra, I would highly suggest that you try this out. Let me know how it goes if you do! 🙂
Yes! Roasted Okra! This sounds friggin awesome! Thank you for the link, too. 🙂
No problem!
I love this take on mac n’ cheese! The okra is a nice touch =)
I’m so intrigued with this mac and cheese – the combination of flavors and ingredients and the array of colors is amazing. I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution as always). Thanks for continuing to inspire me with your creations…
Pingback: Monday Things {11-19-2012} | Running the Windy City
Pingback: Cajun Mac 'n' Cheese - Trans-Planted
Pingback: 25 Finger-Licking Vegetarian Mac And Cheese Recipes