Step 1

Preheat oven and prep – If planning on baking it with the breadcrumb topping, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish.

Step 2

Soak the cashews - Heat up about 3 cups of water in a tea kettle or small pot. Pour the boiling hot water over the cashews and let them soak for 5 minutes.

Step 3

Blend cheese sauce – Drain the soaked cashews and discard the soaking water. Add the cashews, fresh water, buffalo sauce, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt to a high powered blender and blend until very smooth. Keep sauce in the blender and set aside.

Step 4

Cook pasta – Cook the pasta according to package instructions, but do not overcook. Drain and set aside.

Step 5

Prepare soy curls - In a large bowl, add the dehydrated soy curls, then cover with warm vegetable broth. Let them rehydrate for about 10 minutes until they have grown in size and softened. Drain in a colander and squeeze any excess water from the pieces. Add the soy curls to the blender with the cheese sauce and pulse a few times to break them down into smaller pieces. Do not blend them in though! You can also leave them larger, if desired, but I prefer to break them down a bit.

Step 6

Mix pasta and cheese sauce for stovetop version - Add the drained pasta back to the pot it cooked in, along with the cheese sauce/soy curls. Mix well over low heat until warm and the sauce thickens a little bit. Stir in the vegan ranch, if using.

Step 7

For the baked version - Mix the breadcrumbs and melted vegan butter in a small bowl. Add the drained pasta to the casserole dish, along with the buffalo cheese sauce, shredded cheese and optional ranch. Stir well in the dish, then sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until bubbly and hot but not too thick and dry.

Step 8

Serve immediately and enjoy!