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Mexi Cheezy Mac — this is a delicious, vegan mac n’ cheez with a Mexican twist. Use gluten-free pasta, like me, or use whichever is your macaroni of choice, and try out this tasty, easy-to-make dish.

I’m excited about this new mac and cheez because it turned out sooo yum, and I love having easier options for when I don’t have all night to spend in the kitchen. My cheese sauce for this turned out absolutely delicious. I made it very similar to my Cashew Cheez Sauce, only omitting a couple of the ingredients and adding diced green chilies.

Along with the macaroni and my new cheez sauce, this dish has black beans, cilantro, corn, diced tomato, sweet bell pepper, onion, jalepeño, and diced green chilies. Very southwestern, as is a lot of food created here in Cali.

I said this was easy-to-make, and it is, but you do have to remember to soak the cashews ahead of time! Otherwise, they won’t blend well, so this is very important. Ideally, cashews should soak overnight. I hardly ever do this because my meals are often planned the morning before making them.

If you do not have a high-speed blender, overnight soaking is imperative. If you do have a high-speed blender, four hours will suffice, or I will often soak mine in boiling water to make this even quicker (one hour in pre-boiled water works).

After your cashews are soaked, you can make the sauce. To do this simply blend all the sauce ingredients until smooth. Blending may take several minutes and does require stopping a few times to scrape down the top and sides of the blender.

Once you’ve made the cheez sauce, you can boil water for your pasta. Depending on what macaroni you use, the boiling times will vary. I’ve always used Banza Elbows, but you may have your own favorite gluten-free pasta, and if gluten isn’t an issue I encourage you to use regular wheat macaroni.

With the cheez made and the noodles boiling, you will next need to sauté diced onions, the peppers, and some minced garlic. When the onions and peppers are soft, you add everything aside from the pasta and cilantro to your pot or skillet.

The ingredients will cook in the cheez sauce for a few minutes before you finally need to stir in the pasta and cilantro. And just like that, it’s ready to eat! If you like, it can also be topped with additional ingredients. I always add avocado slices to mine, and sometimes I will use hot sauce as well. Other suggested optional toppings are chopped green onions or more cilantro.

I love knowing when others make my recipes! If you make and enjoy this dish, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a pic and tag me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.