Taking Comfort Food to a Whole New Level

I promise, you won't be able to eat just one serving!!!

I’m pretty sure you can all bow down to me as the goddess of ooey, gooey goodness now!! I am pretty certain that I have mastered the art of comfort food by combining two of my favorite non-vegan dishes and veganising it for the most delicious treat you can give yourself! Seriously, to me, there is nothing in this world that is yummier than a super thick and creamy macaroni and cheese or a savory green bean casserole. Well, I wanted both of them the other night (go figure), so I took one of my favorite sauce recipes and made some little tweaks here and there, and came up with a dish that my omni loverboy couldn’t even get enough of! If you’re not so much a fan of the green beans, you can also do this dish as an incredible macaroni and cheese, which honestly, I like this recipe more than any REAL mac and cheese I’ve ever had! All you have to do is use elbow macaroni, remove the green beans, and that’s it! Easy as that!

Southern Comfort Cheesy Green Bean Casserole•3 1/2 cups whole grain penne pasta, cooked and drained
•1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread
•1/2 cup flour
•3 1/2 cups boiling water
•2 tsp. salt
•2 Tbsp. Braggs Liquid Aminos or Shoyu
•2 tsp. garlic powder
•Tumeric to taste
•1/4 cup oil of your choosing (for this, I just use regular Canola Oil)
•1 cup nutritional yeast
•2 cups frozen green beans, thawed
•Fried onion straws (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a saucepan, melt Earth Balance over low heat. Mix in the flour. Stir continuously over medium heat until smooth and bubbly. Stir in the boiling water, salt, liquid aminos, garlic powder, and turmeric. Continue whisking until dissolved. Once the sauce thickens and is bubbling, stir in the oil and the nutritional yeast flakes. Mix about 3/4 of the sauce with the noodles and place in a casserole dish. On top of the noodle and sauce mixture, layer the green beans. Cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with a layer of fried onions, a la green bean casserole. Bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through.


Now honestly, if this recipe doesn’t take care of your comfort food cravings 100%, then feel free to completely rip me and this blog a new one...but seriously, give this recipe a try. Do it.