VEGAN Corny Veggie Mac 'n Cheese Cups with Crispy Savory Streusel
VEGAN Corny Veggie Mac 'n Cheese Cups with Crispy Savory Streusel
It’s time for a good ol’ fashioned childhood classic, don’t you think? Mac ‘n Cheese is bonafide comfort food, and the roots of this humble dish go way back to President Thomas Jefferson’s era in the early 1800s. On his travels to Europe, he apparently encountered a dish with pasta and cheese and brought the recipe back to the States. Jefferson’s slaves cooked the dish for many of his stately dinners, which likely explains why mac ‘n cheese became such a prominent part of Southern Soul Food cuisine. (Read more below for a brief history!) These Mac ‘n Cheese cups are loaded with veggies and melted cheddar and cook up in a muffin pan with a crispy golden-brown crust on the bottom and a savory veggie Streusel on top. They’re kid friendly and adult approved, and we hope you and your kids have a ton of fun chopping, mincing, mixing, brining, and baking!
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- blend :
to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.
- brine :
to soak in salted water.
- grate :
to reduce food, like a carrot, to very small shreds or pieces of the same size by rubbing it on a tool with an outside surface that has holes with cutting edges (a grater).
- knife skills :
Bear Claw (growl), Pinch, Plank, and Bridge (look out for trolls).
- mince :
to chop into teeny tiny pieces.
- mix :
to thoroughly combine two or more ingredients until uniform in texture.
- scoop :
to pick up an amount of food with a utensil to move it to a dish, pan, or container; utensils that can be used to scoop are spoons, dishers (small scoops used for cookie dough or melon balls), ice cream scoops, or large transfer scoops for bulk foods.
- sprinkle :
to scatter small drops or particles of an ingredient evenly or randomly over food.
Equipment Checklist
- Oven
- Muffin pan
- Paper cupcake liners
- Medium pot or large mixing bowl
- Dry measuring cups
- Liquid measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Cutting board
- Kid-safe knife
- Grater
- Blender (or large bowl + immersion blender)
- Colander
- Ice cream scoop or spoon
Ingredients
VEGAN Corny Veggie Mac 'n Cheese Cups with Crispy Savory Streusel
- 1 C uncooked macaroni or other small, shaped noodles **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub gluten-free/nut-free noodles)**
- 3 C warm water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 C mixed raw veggies (choose 2 or 3: broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, sweet potato, parsnip)
- 1/2 lb silken tofu **(for SOY ALLERGY sub 1/2 can white beans, if no legume allergy)**
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp garlic or onion powder (or 1 fresh garlic clove, minced)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/2 C nutritional yeast
- 3/4 C frozen corn
- Veggie streusel crust:
- 1/2 C reserved minced veggies (from veggies for Mac 'n Cheese Cups)
- 1/4 C Italian or panko breadcrumbs **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub gluten-free breadcrumbs)**
- 1/4 C all-purpose flour **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub gluten-free flour)**
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
Food Allergen Substitutions
VEGAN Corny Veggie Mac 'n Cheese Cups with Crispy Savory Streusel
- Gluten/Wheat: Substitute gluten-free/nut-free noodles. Substitute gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour. Substitute gluten-free/nut-free bread crumbs.
- Soy: For 1/2 lb silken tofu, sub 1/2 can white beans (if no legume allergy).
Instructions
VEGAN Corny Veggie Mac 'n Cheese Cups with Crispy Savory Streusel
preheat + brine + mince
Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a medium-sized pot or large mixing bowl, soak 1 cup uncooked macaroni in 3 cups warm water with 2 teaspoons salt for 10 to 20 minutes. Chop your choice of veggies to total about 1 1/4 cups (reserve 1/2 cup for the Crispy Savory Streusel.) Chop the veggies into tiny pieces! If using carrot, sweet potato, or parsnip, you can grate them.
measure + blend
In a blender (or large bowl for use with an immersion blender), measure and add 1/2 pound silken tofu, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon garlic or onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1/2 cup nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth and pour into a large bowl.
drain + mix + line + scoop
Drain the soaked noodles in a colander, then add and mix them into the blended sauce. Mix in 3/4 cup frozen corn and 3/4 cup chopped veggies. Line the wells of a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. Then, scoop the Vegan Mac 'n Cheese mixture into each well of the pan.
mix + sprinkle
Next, we'll make the veggie streusel! In a mixing bowl, measure and add 1/2 cup reserved minced veggies, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 1 pinch of salt. Mix the ingredients with clean hands until a crumbly texture forms. Sprinkle evenly over the Mac 'n Cheese Cups just before baking for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Enjoy!
Hi! We're Vegetables!
"We're as varied as the humans, animals, and plants on our planet! We come in many different colors, sizes, shapes, and flavors, and we're also eaten in a variety of ways, alone or with other foods and either raw or cooked. Not only do we taste good, we're good for you! If you try a veggie you don't particularly like, there may be several others, or other ways of eating it, that you will like!"
- Vegetables are edible plants or components of a plant that often accompany meat or fish in a main meal. The parts that can be eaten are flowers, fruits, leaves, roots, seeds, or stems.
- Organic vegetables are certified to have not been grown in chemically-treated soil.
- Vegetables are an essential part of the diet of any child and adult. Most vitamins and nutrients are contained within the vegetable's skin and the layer directly underneath it.
- Vegetables are generally very low in fat and calories and excellent for healthy diets.
- Frozen vegetables are just as beneficial to our health as fresh vegetables.
- Various ways of cooking vegetables include roasting, baking, boiling, steaming, blanching, deep frying, stir-frying, sweating, grilling, and marinating.
- Vegetables that are great when tossed with olive oil and roasted are carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, potatoes, and squash.
- Green leafy vegetables, like collard and mustard greens, kale, spinach, and swiss chard, are very versatile for cooking. Cooking methods include baking, blanching, boiling, steaming, and stir-frying. They are also great in soups; kale and spinach are often eaten raw in salads.
- The nutritional value of most vegetables decreases during the cooking process.
- Vegetables come in all different sizes, shapes, and colors, such as green, purple, red, and yellow. The more colorful, the better they are for you!
- Vegetables are one of the richest sources of essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients for our health. Eating our veggies can help to improve our immune systems and allow our bodies to fight against illness and disease, including cancer and heart disease.
- Many vegetables provide a great source of vitamins A, C, and B. Doctors, scientists, and leading health experts recommend that kids eat multiple servings of vegetables and fruit daily.
- Vegetables can give children more energy and the ability to concentrate and focus more clearly and for longer periods.
- Vegetables can benefit our skin, teeth, nails, and hair and keep us looking and feeling young.
- A balanced diet with lots of vegetables can help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight and live a longer and healthier life.
History of Mac 'n Cheese!
- Pasta and cheese recipes were first in 14th century Italian and medieval English cookbooks. A more modern recipe was found in a 1769 English housekeeping book. So how did macaroni and cheese become such a popular American dish? The prevailing story involves Thomas Jefferson, the third US president. Is it way too gouda to be true?!
- The story says that Jefferson encountered macaroni and cheese when he traveled to Paris and northern Italy in the 1700s. He sketched the pasta and took detailed notes on how to make it. Then, in 1793, he sent an American ambassador all the way to Paris just to purchase a pasta machine so he could make his own macaroni. After a year of waiting, the device was finally brought back to Jefferson, and guess what? It didn't work!
- But Jefferson did not give up. He started importing dried macaroni pasta and Parmesan cheese from Italy to serve at his dinner parties at his home in Virginia. In 1802, Jefferson served the very first macaroni and cheese dish at a state dinner, which he named "a pie called macaroni." It was considered an exotic and fancy meal. As far as we know, this was the first time anyone in North America ate mac 'n cheese.
- At that time, mac 'n cheese was considered a cuisine of the upper-class. However, Thomas Jefferson had slaves who cooked for him and his family. These slaves made this "fancy" dish their own, and mac 'n cheese became and remains a staple southern "soul food" dish.
- About two decades (20 years) after Jefferson served the first cheese pasta dish at his dinner party, a recipe called "macaroni and cheese" was published in the 1824 cookbook called The Virginia Housewife. A distant cousin of Jefferson's, Mary Randolph, wrote it.
- During the Great Depression in the USA in the 1930s, Kraft Foods created a boxed version: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. As a result, mac' n cheese became affordable and accessible to all Americans, and it has been one of America's most popular comfort foods ever since.
- July 14 is "National Mac and Cheese Day!"
Let's Learn About Soul Food!
- Soul food is a cuisine developed by people from Africa who had been forcibly brought to the Southern United States to work as slaves for wealthy plantation owners. These enslaved people took some of the foods and recipes they cooked for their masters, like macaroni and cheese, and made them their own. They also took the provisions they were provided for their own meals, such as cornmeal, turnip, beet, and dandelion greens, and unwanted, leftover cuts of meat, and elevated them with seasoning and cooking methods learned in Africa.
- Soul food has African, European, and Native American influences.
- Some of the other staple soul foods are black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, fried catfish, and in Southern Louisiana, red beans and rice.
- The expression "soul food" originated in the 1960s when the word "soul" was also used to describe African American music and culture.
THYME for a Laugh
What is the most mythical vegetable?
The uni-CORN.
The Yolk's On You
How did the gardener mend his trousers?
With a vegetable patch!
THYME for a Laugh
What do you call a pasta that is sick?
Mac and Sneeze.
THYME for a Laugh
Customer: "Excuse me, waiter, is there Mac 'n Cheese on the menu?"
Waiter: "No, madam, I wiped it off."
That's Berry Funny
Why didn't anyone laugh at the gardener's jokes?
Because they were too corny!
