Spicy, creamy, and with a noodle-free twist! This Sriracha Cauliflower Mac n Cheeze by Randy Clemens is comforting, delicious, and totally plant-based.
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Some of you may be familiar with Randy Clemens as the author of The Sriracha Cookbook as well as the even better Veggie-Lover’s Sriracha Cookbook
I’ve also mentioned Randy a couple of times on the blog before, like when he had his book release party at Golden Road Brewing in July of 2013 and we got to hang out and take goofy pictures, plus sample some dishes from the Veggie-Lover’s Sriracha Cookbook. Almost a year later, he participated in Authors Worth Celebrating at Mohawk Bend where we got to have a 4-course meal made up of even more dishes from his book.
Needless to say, I’ve had my fair share of his dishes and they are damn good. That being said, I just had to get him involved with #ReturnoftheMacMoFo, because I have been eyeing his recipe for Sriracha Cauliflower Mac n Cheeze for over a year now. Randy has been so awesome as to not only let me share this delicious recipe, but to also give THREE SIGNED COPIES of his Veggie-Lover’s cookbook away! YAY!
Go ahead, check out the yumminess that this spicy, noodle-free, Mac!
Sriracha Cauliflower Mac n Cheese
"Y’know, I was going to write this recipe using pasta, but then I got to thinkin’ about how I made this book for people who love veggies. So I swapped cauliflower for the pasta, and it turned out great! For those who simply want pasta and will kill anyone who gets in their way, feel free to use 8 ounces of elbow macaroni, cooked until al dente, in place of the cauliflower. "-Randy Clemens
Ingredients
Topping
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
Cheeze Sauce
- 3/4 cup raw whole cashews, soaked in water for 2 hours
- 1/4 cup raw sunflower seed kernels
- 3/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 small sweet onion, diced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups unsweetened nondairy milk
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup Sriracha
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
- Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- To make the topping, melt the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Gently stir in the panko, then turn off the heat and let the bread crumbs absorb the oil.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly spritz a 2-quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- To make the sauce, drain the cashews and pulse them in a food processor with the sunflower seeds until finely ground. Add the nutritional yeast, salt, mustard, pepper, and nutmeg and pulse until well combined. Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
- In a small cup or bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the nondairy milk and the cornstarch. Add to the pan, stirring constantly. Cook, still stirring constantly, until the mixture has thickened, then whisk in the remaining 1-1/2 cups nondairy milk.
- Stir in the cashew mixture and Sriracha. Bring to a simmer, then immediately lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and creamy, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
- To assemble the dish, put 1/2 inch of water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the cauliflower and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain well, then pat dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower and top with the panko.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes so the molten cheeze lava can cool just a touch. Portion, plate, and serve garnished with parsley.
Notes
To make gluten-free For the topping, substitute 2 cups of rice squares cereal (such as Rice Chex) for the panko. Put the cereal in a large ziplock bag and gently roll over it with a rolling pin until the cereal is coarsely crushed into bits, resembling panko in texture. For the cheese sauce, simply substitute gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Enjoy this Sriracha Cauliflower Mac n Cheeze, and find even more mac recipes here: MACARONI MOFO!
I love putting tons of Sriracha on Grilled Cheese…its my favorite condiment ever!
Ahhh, I love Randy! He’s the bestest!
Right?! I’m so glad that he was up for participating. 😀
Sriratcha + vegan quiche = <3
In pretty much any kind of soup!
Vegan Richa has an awesome recipe for mango-sriracha cauliflower wings!
I will be making this mac and cheese! Just give me a week while my hubby goes on a pasta detox (he asked for pasta, and I might of gone overboard)
I love to add it in chili.
I actually don’t know what to put sriracha on….that’s why I need this cookbook! HA!
I like it in my hummus!
Oh, looks great! My favorite way to use sriracha is on stir-fried rice noodles.
I love using sriracha to make buffalo sauce, which works on pretty much everything. I also recently glazed pecans with sriracha and a few other things, and they are to die for.
I’ve been wanting to try sriracha. This recipe sounds like the best place to start. Does anyone know if there is a low sodium sriracha as I noticed on the nutrition info it has quite a bit.
I love sriracha on my tofu.
Hot damn, I need that cookbook!
The sauce looks so creamy in this dish. I like that there is sunflower seeds too, I always have them in my pantry but never know what to do with them. Looks like I’m gonna start putting them in my cheeze sauces!
What kind of non-dairy milk did you use? I have used soy milk in the past and find that, even when I buy unsweetened, it still tastes really sweet. Do you think hemp milk would work? Almond?
Sriracha is mandatory when I make noodles with peanut sauce.
I love Siracha on pizza! particularly ones I’ve used olive oil for the base sauce instead of marinara.
I actually can’t eat siracha because it is waaaay to hot for me, but my boy friend loves it, and it would be great to win this cookbook to cook for him! His favorite way is in a peanut sauce put on anything…
I love sriracha in a Sate Peanut Sauce.
I love sriracha on avocado toast!
I think I have died!
I was going to ask for this book for Christmas but to heck with that–I’m ordering it now!
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Yum! And pinned! Thanks for sharing!