Vegan Thai Curry Mac and Cheese

Once upon a time, long before Flaxseeds & Fairytales was born, I had a food blog called A Bite of Inspiration.  Although F&F is my perfect fairytale blog, I still sometimes miss my very first blog.  This delicious and easy recipe for Vegan Thai Curry Mac and Cheese was a reader favorite from A Bite of Inspiration.  It was even featured in The Huffington Post Taste!  Come take a walk down memory lane with me and experience the inspiration that happens when you bring two unexpected flavors together into one perfectly creamy, flavorful dish!

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Fun Fact: Flaxseeds & Fairytales is NOT the first blog I’ve ever owned.  It’s actually the second.  If you’ve read my About Me page, then you know that I used to have a food blog called A Bite of Inspiration.  The concept behind the blog was recipes inspired by different aspects of our lives, such as travel, movies, and holidays.  The blog had everything from a Spaghetti with Meat Sauce recipe inspired by my trip to Rome to Naturally Pink Protein Snacks inspired by “Legally Blonde” to a mouthwatering Black Forest Waffle Cake inspired by “Kids Baking Championship” (that last one is definitely NOT gluten-free, but oh so delicious—if you want the recipe you can contact me and I’ll send it to you!)

I loved my first blog and had an awesome time inspiring my readers through food, but after my experience with chronic pain and illness I shifted my focus toward health and wellness.  F&F is my perfect fairytale blog, but I still miss my first one sometimes.  Sharing my favorite recipes from A Bite of Inspiration is the perfect way to keep that deliciousness alive!

This recipe for Vegan Thai Curry Mac and Cheese was by far my most popular recipe on A Bite of Inspiration with thousands of shares on Pinterest and tons of awesome reader feedback.  It was even featured in The Huffington Post Taste!  I’m super proud of this recipe and couldn’t resist sharing it here with all of you.  It’s just too good to go to waste!

You’re probably wondering at this point what the inspiration behind this recipe was.  You’ll never guess it in a million years—it was the Pixar movie Ratatouille.  Yup, really.  I’m not kidding you.  This recipe was inspired by a movie about a rat named Remy who dreams of becoming a chef in Paris.

So now you’re probably wondering why.  I’m glad you asked!  You know that scene toward the beginning of the movie where Remy takes a bite of cheese followed by a bite of strawberry?  “Each flavor was totally unique,” he remarks.  Then, he decides to eat the strawberry and the cheese TOGETHER.  Boom, fireworks!  “Combine one flavor with another and something new was created,” he says.  This scene was the inspiration for my creamy, flavorful Vegan Thai Curry Mac and Cheese.  (You can watch the clip from the movie right here.)

I wanted to create a recipe based on Remy’s concept of combining two unexpected flavors to make something new and exciting.  Yup—I was super creative back in the A Bite of Inspiration days.  I thought, I love Thai curry and I love mac and cheese, so why not take a page out of Remy’s book and see what they taste like together?

I got lucky, you guys.  The result was fireworks.  Turns out, Thai Curry and cheese go perfectly together!  Who would have thought?  The saltiness and tanginess of the cheese complements the spices of the red curry perfectly.  I used vegan mozzarella and pepper jack cheeses in this recipe.  The mozzarella provides a nice, neutral canvas for the flavors of the curry, while the pepper jack adds a bit more heat.  I used Daiya cheese, but feel free to use any vegan cheese product you like best (or even real cheese if you prefer a non-vegan version).  I used canned Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk in place of regular milk since coconut milk is the base of most Thai curries.

And the best part?  This recipe is so easy to make!  It takes less than 30 minutes and is the perfect way to get creative with your weeknight dinner without any extra work!  Good-bye bland boxed mac and cheese… Hello, exotic Thai curry!

One important note: if you want to make sure the dish is completely vegan and gluten-free, be careful in choosing your red curry paste.  Some red curry pastes contain shrimp paste and other fillers and flavorings.  If you want to be safe, I recommend this one here.  It’s delicious and completely vegan and gluten-free.

Sometimes, even when we’ve moved on to bigger and better things, we still miss our first true love.  Turns out, two other unexpected things that combine well together, besides Thai curry and mac and cheese, are inspiration and fairytales (see what I did there?)  This is my Flaxseeds & Fairytales tribute to A Bite of Inspiration—keeping the inspiration alive, one recipe at a time!  Enjoy! 🙂

Did you try this recipe?  How did you like it?  Would you like to see other A Bite of Inspiration recipes on F&F in the future?  Comment below and let me know!

5 from 1 vote

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Vegan Thai Curry Mac and Cheese

This creamy Thai Curry Mac and Cheese is a flavor bomb!  This unique dish is filled with the delicious flavors of red curry paste, onion, and gooey, creamy vegan cheese.  Best of all, it's ready in just 25 minutes!  Spice up your weeknight dinner with this easy dish!  

Course Dinner

Cuisine Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 739 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb gluten-free elbow macaroni
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups vegan mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup vegan pepper jack cheese
• 1/2 cup canned, unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 2 teaspoons cooking oil
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Chopped fresh chives, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook macaroni in boiling, salted water for 3-5 minutes (or according to package directions) until just al dente. Drain thoroughly and return to pot. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a small skillet on medium high heat. Add onions and cook for 5-7 minutes until onions are soft and beginning to brown.
   
3. Add curry paste to the onions and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
   
4. Put macaroni pot on the stove and turn the heat to low. Add coconut milk, pepper jack cheese, and mozzarella cheese to the pot with the macaroni. Stir well until the cheese is thoroughly melted. Remove from heat.
   

5. Add curry paste and onion mixture into the mac and cheese.  Add salt and black pepper to taste. Stir well. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Coconut milk naturally hardens and separates in the can. Make sure you shake the can and stir well before using.

If you don’t have any dietary restrictions, feel free to use the non-vegan versions of these cheeses to make this dish.

If you want to make sure the dish is completely vegan and gluten-free, be careful in choosing your red curry paste. I like this one here.

This dish is nut-free as long as you're careful in choosing your vegan cheese. Some vegan cheeses are made with cashews or almonds, so please read the packaging carefully if you're allergic to nuts.

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Thai Curry Mac and Cheese

Amount Per Serving

Calories 739 Calories from Fat 270

% Daily Value*

Fat 30g46%

Saturated Fat 18g113%

Cholesterol 60mg20%

Sodium 565mg25%

Potassium 168mg5%

Carbohydrates 87g29%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 31g62%

Vitamin A 1670IU33%

Vitamin C 2.5mg3%

Calcium 667mg67%

Iron 2.4mg13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.