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Mac and Cheese with Hooray Bacon Crumble Topping

Mac and Cheese with Hooray Bacon Crumble Topping

Mac and Cheese with Hooray Bacon Crumble Topping

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Hooray Foods makes delicious plant-based meats that are designed to look, cook, and taste just like the real thing.  Plants that remind us of our favorite meats while being made of ingredients we can feel good about? Now that’s something to celebrate and say Hooray!

Ingredients

  • 5 pieces of Hooray Bacon, cooked to crispy
  • 8 oz macaroni, elbow, or penne pasta of your choosing, cooked to recommended specifications
Cheese Sauce Ingredients
  • 2 cups plain oat milk (or any other plain, non-dairy milk of your choosing)
  • ½ cup nutritional yeast flakes
  • 1 TBS Tapioca Starch
  • 1 TBS CornstarchJuice of
  • ½ Lemon1.5 tsp salt
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper, onion powder, ground nutmeg
  • Dash of soy sauce, or any other amino liquid of your choice

 

Directions

  1. Start by boiling your pasta, following recommended product instructions.
  2. Strain, and transfer back to the pot, and lightly dress with a neutral cooking oil to preventsticking while making the cheese sauce.Bacon Topping
  3. Preheat a large frying pan on medium/low heat. Do not add oil to the pan.
  4. Carefully arrange Hooray bacon strips side-by-side without touching.
  5. Sear for 90seconds before turning. Turn, and cook for 90 more seconds.
  6. Continue cooking bacon, turning every thirty seconds, 4-6 more times, until evenly brown and crispy.
  7. Transfer to a plate or tray lined with a paper towel to dry and continue crisping.
  8. Rough chop bacon into ½” pieces, and then lightly crumble with 1-2 more cuts, and set aside.Cheese Sauce
  9. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan at cold/room temperature. Do not mix dry powders into warm oat milk, as some elements may become lumpy and not mixed evenly.
  10. Slowly warm on medium heat, stirring occasionally as temperature rises, and sauce begins to thicken.
  11. Turn heat down to low as sauce approaches a boil.
  12. Stir constantly once sauce begins to boil, and turn heat off when boiling temperature is reached. Sauce should appear evenly mixed and thicker.
  13. Assembly and Baking
  14. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  15. Pour cheese sauce over cooked noodles and mix until coated.
  16. Transfer dressed noodles to a greased half casserole pan.
  17. Shake and spread to evenly fill the dish.
  18. Sprinkle and spread out bacon crumbles over the top of the macaroni. Press down lightly to set in place.
  19. Bake for 10-20 minutes to further thicken the sauce, and crisp and adhere the bacon. Mac and cheese can be served immediately from the oven.

*Leftovers should be reheated uncovered in an oven to re-crisp bacon topping, which will soften when refrigerated overnight.

Recipe Note

This dairy-free mac and cheese sauce uses the magic of starches to create an authentic and flavorful experience, without relying on soy or nuts. The sauce is gluten-free, so the recipe also lends itself well to using gluten-free noodles, if you like. The crispy bacon topping adds a welcome crunch, and a complementary hit of umami flavor.