Serves 4
Total time: 30 minutes || Active time: 30 minutes
I don’t know how this happened, but I guess I’m a tomato farmer. Tomatoes are all I’ve thought about all summer. If I’m traveling, I don’t wonder about my boyfriend and cats, I wonder about my tomatoes. Are they getting enough nutrients? Are they getting the right amount of water? Do they need trimming? Are there any pests pestering them? And, most importantly, do they miss me like I miss them?
After a few snafus this past Spring (who expects snow in May?!) my babies finally got going. And even now in mid-September, most of my plants are still producing juicy orbs of ridiculous deliciousness. So of course I’ve been using them in everything. And, well, one thing led to another and I guess I don’t have to tell you, that this is how BLT Mac & Cheeze was born.
Being late summer, I really wanted this mac to be gardeny. If you have a garden, or a CSA, or just want to use some in-season produce from the grocery, maybe you’ll appreciate that. So I made the “B” out of eggplant (remember: vegans will make bacon out of anything.) For the “L”, arugula is always prolific in the garden, plus I love its muskiness, which goes perfectly with the bright and smoky flavors of the other ingredients.
The “cheeze” sauce is just something I threw together, very similar to the Chipotle Mac, but without the pepperiness and perhaps a little more noochy than usual. It’s just a nice creamy backdrop to the more assertive flavors its tossed with.
And there you have it: BLT Mac & Cheeze. I hope your summer has been as fruitful as mine (literally and figuratively) and I can’t wait to share some fall recipes with you soon!
Notes
~I used gluten-free noodles here, and actually, I usually do with Mac-N-Cheeze. I just prefer them. They stand up beautifully to the sauce, and tend not to get mushy as leftovers. But you obvs can use whichever noodles you love! I recommend Tinkyada brand. (I used shells, but they have a macaroni, too.)
~If you forgot to soak the cashews, have no fear. You can boil them for the same creamy effect, and still have this on the table in 30 minutes. Just submerge in boiling water for 15 minutes, drain, and proceed.
~Oh and hey, if you’re doing the oil-free thing, you’ll be happy to note that this recipe is completely oil free if you leave the cooking spray off of the eggplant bacon recipe.
Ingredients
4 cups baby arugula
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (or chopped regular tomatoes)
1 recipe Eggplant BaconFor the sauce:
1 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours (see note above)
1 cup vegetable broth
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Now toss in the arugula, tomatoes and eggplant bacon, leaving a little extra aside to garnish if you like. Serve!
So “gardeny”! Looks delicous. I’ve been meaning to try eggplant bacon forever too.
I’m exactly the same when I’m away, worrying about my veggies and, even when I think the courgettes are done for the summer, more pop up!
I’ve pretty much started making whatever you post for dinner. Tonight this shall be MINE!!!
This looks so delicious! Making it for lunch tomorrow! I am pretty much addicted to eggplant bacon anyway – new use for it!
Congratulations on a great tomato crop! That mac looks fabulous.
This. Looks. Amazing.
Thank you Isa for making vegan cooking so awesome!!
Thanks 🙂
Dumb question I am sure, but cashews make me sick, what would be the most cashew-like creamy alternative nut to use and would you suggest doing anything differently when substituting it? This looks so yummy, thanks for posting it!!
I’d use slivered almonds. Soak longer and blend longer, unless you have a high speed blender, like a vitamix.
BLT Mac and Cheeze? Oh my, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. I too have an abundance of tomatoes in my garden. Plus 2 gallons of frozen Roma tomatoes in the freezer just waiting to be made into sauce. This looks incredible Isa!
SO EXCITING!
Perfect summer garden on the cusp of fall dish! Not only will vegans make bacon out of anything, vegans will make mac and cheese with everything 🙂
Haha, that’s true, too!
I haven’t attempted vegan mac and cheese yet, but I think I’m going to try this one first!
so appreciate the NO OIL thing….keep those recipes coming!
ps. Never can get your pins to work on safari with Mac..no pic uploads
Well, this sounds totally amazing!
Dinner tonight!
Your tomato babies are gorgeous (lovely photo). Your ‘parenting’ skills are evident.
PS: Nice recipe; thanks!
Since finding this blog, I have been a daily stalker. Its Sunday afternoon in the Highlands of Guatemala (I say this because I have little access to many of the vegan specialty foods) and I just enjoyed this dish, okay more than enjoyed it. I had to make a few substitutions, but believe it or not, I did have liquid smoke, nutritional yeast and arugula. No cashews – so I used soaked almonds without the skins, no onion pwder – so a fresh hunk was added and I just took a fresh batch of sundried tomatoes off my roof. I am so inspired, I am so in love….thank you
oh this is awesome times a million
Ohhh Isa, you’ve outdone yourself. This is totally happening this week.
I made this tonight for myself, my partner, and vegetarian oldest step-daughter.
Big hit! Got lots compliments from everyone and lots of questions about why the eggplant tasted like bacon and how the sauce was so creamy, yet vegan. Great dinner! Thank you so much!
Those are the questions we want 🙂
That’s what I’m taking about! YUMMMMY!
This is a classic Isa dish that makes great use of ingredients you likely already have. The eggplant bacon is so good, I ended up eating half of it before the pasta was finished cooking. Thanks so much for helping me put a dent in my tomatoe, eggplant and greens stash!
I made this last night – very tasty! I loved how the cashews made such a creamy sauce. I don’t have liquid smoke so use smokey chipotle Tabasco and that works well. Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch.
I made this yesterday. I will definately make this again, it appears very easy to customize. I have to admit though, the prominent flavors were the cheese sauce and the tomatoes. I will have to work on the “eggplant bacon” part, as the flavor was lost when mixed in the Mac. We used a box of gf rice spirals (my first experience with gf pasta) and it was delicious. Very saucy/creamy.
I have freshly made Isa’s famous eggplant bacon this morning, and I am a surprise tomato farmer too. This is dinner tonight! Thank you!
I made this last night, and I’m about to eat the rest of it for lunch. It is awesome!
I followed the recipe exactly, and I am in love!!! It all came together so perfectly! My mom came over for lunch and made me take a picture of it (which isn’t like her at all). She loved it too and took all of the extra eggplant bacon home with her as per usual.
I just tried your other mac and cheese with sour kraut and I really can’t believe how amazing it was. Very excited to have a go at this one. Love your creativity!
This was yummy, very rich. Large portions. Thank you for introducing eggplant bacon to my life!
I ran across this yesterday just after making my menu and shopping list for the week. So, I changed it up a bit so I could make this last night! I was a little skeptical, since I usually don’t like eggplant, but it didn’t taste like eggplant at all. I couldn’t get it crispy after dipping it in the soy mixture though. Have to work on that. And, a note for anyone who doesn’t like arugula (like me), mustard greens were fabulous in this! I thought another strongly flavored green would be good, and it was amazing! I’ll have to thrown in a clove or two of garlic next time, per your note.
Isa, some vegan Hare Krishna Devotees I know cook all sorts of amazing food without garlic or onions (for religious purposes). Noting your mention of not wanting to use garlic this time, you might like to know that they use Aesofoetida (also known as Hing) instead. You can get it in pretty much any Indian shop (many health food stores, too). My friend recommends liberal use- like a teaspoon per onion you are substituting for, and three tines that for a clove of garlic. It’s meant to aid digestion, as well- and won’t leave a person, erm, windy, as onions and garlic do to many. The first few times you smell it, it smells RANK!! But you suddenly start LOVING the smell of it after a few uses (strange, I know). It even works well in things like salad dressings. Anyway- thought you might enjoy giving it a go. Keep on cookin’, girl!! You are a food GENIUS!!
Is there an alternative for nutritional yeast flakes?
Everybody, do yourselves a favour and make/eat this immediately!
so amazing!!! My wife and I really enjoyed it. Your web site has inspired several meals already-thank you
Back when I ate cheese, my husband was grossed out by Mac and Cheese. He would never even try it. Now that we don’t eat Cheese, he happily tired this. Honestly everything you make it fab. We think we might have your sister tastebuds here in Wisconsin.
Your tomatoes look like my tomatoes!
So, so incredibly yummy! You’ve outdone yourself again, Isa! I had this for supper tonight, and I discovered that my eggplant had deflated from advanced age. So I used zucchini and it worked great. Now I want to make bacon out of everything. Everything!
I wonder if I subliminally saw this recipe before now because I’ve been hooked on making my own version of eggplant bacon the last few weeks. I’ve been adding it to pretty much anything. Next stop will definitely have to be mac n cheese (which I conveniently made twice today for myself and different friends/clients).
This was divine! I’m hoping I can heat up the leftover eggplant in the oven tomorrow, as made too much to eat same day. Hubs must have said three times how good this was, and even reminded me to post this review so you knew:) Thanks for sharing with us!
This was so good. I only made 1/2 the eggplant bacon (the size in Appetite for Reduction) since it doesn’t keep. I may make mare bacon to serve with leftovers. The lemony cashew pasta suave us great.
This sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try it.
This turned out great! Had it for dinner tonight. Followed the recipe exactly and ate perfection!
I made the eggplant bacon first and was very skeptical. I had a few pieces with sliced tomato & it tasted too Liquid Smokey. But I put all these elements together tonight & I have to say it was quite fabulous. My garden arugula was a little mature so I sauteed to take away some of the sharpness. Another dish that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Whole family loved & fought over the leftovers for lunch. SO good!
This is the first of your recipes that I’ve made, and now I can’t decide which of your cookbooks I need more. I used spicy brown instead of dijon mustard, since it was all I had. Still delicious! Tip: don’t let the sauce get too hot. I made the sauce before the bacon was done, and let it sit in the pot on low. The extra heat seems to bring out the vinegar in the mustard much more than when the sauce is fresh. Chilling it overnight brought the flavors back in line though.
I made this for dinner tonight and was really wondering how it all fits together. Delicious is all I can say!!! I was really nervous how my family would like it. They loved it. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Delicious!!!
In safari on Mac, there is no pictures when I press pin it in any of your posts.Is it somethng on your end as I have no trouble with other blogs..
I made this tonight and it was so yummy! Perfect comfort food now that it’s chilly out.
I made this tonight and it is delish! There’s so much, though- have you tried freezing leftovers?