Vegan Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Step 1

Start by making sure you have soaked cashews for your vegan mac and cheese sauce! I recommend soaking cashews in water overnight to soften OR boil cashews with water for around 15-20 minutes.

Step 2

Next, soak your dehydrated soy curls in boiled/hot water for 5-10 minutes to become re-hydrated. This will make them expand and will become your vegan chicken. After soaking, drain out the water from the soy curls, and squeeze excess water from them.

Step 3

In the meantime, make your batter. In a shallow bowl, place 1 cup of flour and pour in 1.5-2 cups of water (you can also use vegan milk if desired), and whisk together until a smooth and thin batter is formed. The batter should be thicker than simply liquid, but thick enough to coat the soy curls.

Step 4

On a separate plate, add breadcrumbs.

Step 5

After your soy curls have been drained and squeezed, place your soy curls into the wet batter with one hand and then into the breadcrumbs. Coat with your other hand. You can also squeeze with your fingers for the breadcrumbs to stick to the soy curls if you are having trouble with your breadcrumbs.

Step 6

If desired, lightly coat or spray the battered soy curls with oil. To air-fry your vegan chicken (fastest method), place them on a greased air-fryer tray and air fry at 370 degrees F for 13-15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Alternatively, bake in the oven (on a lined baking tray) at 400 degrees F for 20-30 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until cooked through. You can also pan-fry your vegan chicken in oil.

Step 7

While your vegan chicken is cooking, boil your macaroni (or other pasta) in a pot according to instructions and then prepare the Mac & Cheese Sauce with your soaked cashews.

Step 8

Drain your cashews and then add the following ingredients into a blender: cashews, 1/4 cup buffalo sauce, unsweetened vegan milk, nutritional yeast, mustard, lemon juice, paprika, turmeric, garlic powder, salt and/or fresh garlic. Blend on high until creamy and smooth. This will be your creamy vegan buffalo cheese sauce for your mac and cheese!

Step 9

Drain your pasta and in a large casserole dish, add your pasta and the buffalo cheese sauce. Mix until well combined.

Step 10

Once your soy curls are done, you can use a large pan and melt vegan butter with 3/4 cup buffalo sauce (ex. Frank’s Hot Sauce). Toss your breaded soy curls into the sauce to create the best vegan buffalo chicken.

Step 11

Place the vegan buffalo chicken on top of the mac and cheese or mix it in. Optionally, you can mix together vegan mayo with water in a bowl to thin out your vegan mayo and drizzle on top and add fresh parsley! And voila! a delicious vegan buffalo chicken mac and cheese!