Daiya Foods offers a variety of dairy-free, plant-based products, including vegan cheese sticks, cheesy mac-and-vegan-cheese and more. Your taste buds won’t know the difference. Daiya’s stuff is deliciously cheesy and free from gluten, soy, eggs, fish and shellfish.
“I realized very early the power of food to evoke memory, to bring people together, to transport you to other places, and I wanted to be a part of that” said chef Jose Andres Puerta. This quote made me think of a popular comfort food, mac and cheese. Comfort foods are nostalgic, conjuring images of Sunday family dinners or keeping warm on a wintry night. It’s not surprising that mac and cheese always ranks in the top ten comfort foods people love. For people with allergies who miss this popular comfort food, four brands offer gluten and dairy free mac and cheese- Daiya, Annie’s, Pamela’s and Amy’s Kitchen.
- Cook gluten free macaroni until tender, about 15 minutes. In a medium saucepan melt the buttery spread, then stir in the gluten free flour and the spices. Slowly add in the dairy free milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils; reduce heat to a simmer, but keep stirring constantly.
- Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Grab a 9×13 baking dish, and lightly greased with vegan butter. (Do this only if you plan on baking your mac and cheese and not serving it as a stove top dish). In the same pot used to boil your pasta, melt vegan butter completely and then add in chickpea flour.
Between my dog and myself, we have a host of dietary hurdles to overcome. He can’t digest protein or citrus; I can’t have gluten or dairy. We’re a hot mess, he and I, yet we make it work. I diligently make him banana and potato biscuits every week, and for myself, I indulge in the most verboten dish of all for the lactose and gluten-averse: mac ‘n cheese.
Dairy Free Mac And Cheese Daiya Soup
I like this recipe for a lot of reasons. It’s super easy, fast, cheap, and allows for endless customization. But best of all, it reminds me of the blue-box version my mom used to make when I was young. We all know this box. Delicious when you’re age 8, but tastes more like chalky nostalgia in your 20s.
Dairy Free Mac And Cheese Daiya Salad
Mac And Cheese Recipes
The process is exactly the same for this recipe, only I’ve substituted high quality, diet-friendly ingredients for stuff in the box. The starchy pasta water helps everything bind together without the need for milk. I can usually tolerate a small amount of butter without my body staging a coup d’etat, but if your dietary sensitivities are more severe, a substitute like Earth Balance works fine. I like using Daiya vegan cheese and use a combination of 60:40 cheddar to mozzarella to add a clingy thickness to the sauce, plus gluten-free noodles, but the recipe is essentially a template. Modify however you see fit — regular pasta, different varieties of vegan cheese, add blanched peas or sautéed kale…the world is yours.