This is a sponsored post. But all opinions are my own.
Attention bunnies, Annie's Homegrown has gone vegan! Well, sort've.
Vegan Mac & Cheese. I was so excited when I heard that one of my favorite brands, Annie's, was coming out with a boxed vegan Mac & Cheese product. The two new products are Organic Vegan Shells & Creamy Sauce and Organic Gluten Free Vegan Elbows & Creamy Sauce.
Learn more about these yummy products and get my two meal-approved recipe ideas to make your vegan Mac a& Cheese night extra special. And extra delicious. Plus enter a giveaway to WIN Mac & Cheese!..
New vegan product. Kid-approved. Adult-approved. Everyone-approved.
Fluffy pasta is the first step..
Then that creamy vegan sauce..
Shells..
Or gluten-free elbows..
Add some oomph to your pasta to make it a meal!..
THIS vegan meal was amazing!.
When you add one cup of edamame soy beans, you add 17g plant-based protein to this bowl. I love the colors, cheesy orange with pops of green.
Go-To Dinner. My husband and I have always kept a few boxes of vegan Mac and Cheese in our pantry for go-to meals and comfort food sides in a flash. But in the past, there have been very few options for vegan Mac and Cheese. Until now.
It is such an exciting time to be vegan, and products like this are one of the reasons why.
One of my favorite brands is Annie's. I adore their vegan BBQ sauce, vegan salad dressings (my faves are Goddess, Woodstock and Lemon Chive). And their yummy Chocolate Chip Bunny Grahams are vegan too! But I always wished they had a vegan version of their famous boxed pastas.
Well Annie's loves to listen to their customers, so in response to all the many requests for a vegan Mac and Cheese, Annie's delivered!
Thank you Annie's for listening to your vegan customers!!! That is the best.
About the Product.
* Organic
* Two pastas: one version with gluten-free rice elbow pasta and one version with wheat shell pasta
* No artificial flavors, synthetic colors or preservatives.
* Annie's works with trusted suppliers to source only non-GMO ingredients.
* The sauce contains organic pumpkin and sweet potato!
When I heard that the recipe contained pumpkin and sweet potato, I got excited because those are ingredients I love to put in my vegan version Mac and Cheese recipes. My favorite recipe is one using a sweet potato based cheese sauce, so this was exciting.
Note About the Product. This is actually the second batch of Annie's Vegan Mac & Cheese. So just in case you tried this product when it first hit shelves, you definitely want to give it another shot!
In other words, Annie’s first batch of Vegan Mac & Cheese didn’t taste as originally planned by their product innovation team, so they’ve made adjustments and think fans will love the latest box that's starting to hop onto store shelves now.
Get Creative. The best part about boxed Mac and Cheese is that you can use it as the base for your meal by adding tons of veggies, legumes and more to make it a meal. Today I share two recipes where I made my cheesy Mac into a meal...
Flavor Profile. To me, the product has a lovely creamy texture with a bit of sweetness from that pumpkin and sweet potato. So for my add-ins, I like to choose savory items that compliment it. I also like to add in spicy accents like cayenne or red pepper flakes or spicy chipotle vegan sausages by Field Roast. I also like to add in a few pinches of nutritional yeast to enhance the savory and cheezy flavor and add nutrients. So these recipes are winners!..
Recipe One: Spicy Vegan Bacon Mac and Cheese with avocado
1. Make Annie's Vegan Shells & Creamy Sauce according to box directions. Set aside.
2. In a skillet, prepare vegan bacon. I used Benevolent Bacon by Sweet Earth Foods. You can also use homemade tempeh bacon. Chop vegan bacon into bits.
3. Fold the vegan bacon into the pasta. Optional: Fold in a sprinkle of nutritional yeast. Pour pasta into serving bowls.
4. Top with diced avocado and optional chopped cilantro or parsley.
Recipe Two: Edamame + Vegan Elbows & Creamy Sauce
1. Make Annie's Vegan Shells & Creamy Sauce according to box directions. Set aside.
2. Steam a frozen packet of shelled edamame soy beans, until tender -- you can do this on your stovetop or in the microwave.
3. Fold the edamame into the pasta. Optional: Fold in a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
4. Pour into serving dishes and top with chopped parsley.
Where Can I Find These Products? I have seen both versions in a few Whole Foods stores. You can also use Annie's store locator.
Learn more about Annies Products on their awesome website. You can even browse Annie's products by #vegan status! Organic Gluten Free Vegan Elbows and Creamy Sauce. Organic Vegan Shells and Creamy Sauce.
Follow Annie's online:
Twitter
Facebook
Follow the hashtag #AnniesGoesVegan for all the vegan Mac & Cheese chatter.
This was SO GOOD, I will absolutely be making it again.
So creamy..
