Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil for the pasta. Carefully scoop out a cup of water and pour it into a smaller bowl over your cashews. Soak cashews for 15 minutes in water until soft.
3. Cook pasta for 7 minutes, until al dente. You don’t want your pasta to be fully cooked, as it will continue to cook when you bake it later on. Drain pasta and set aside.
4. In a small bowl stir together all the spices and salt.
5. Drain cashews and transfer to a blender or food processor. Add in the spices, nutritional yeast and 2 cups of the almond milk. Blend on high speed until creamy. Add in remaining cup of almond milk and blend again. Mixture will be thin, but this is correct!
6. Toss pasta with vegan cheese sauce, then pour mixture into a baking pan (we used an 8″x11″ oval baking pan). Set aside.
7. To make the breadcrumb topping, heat the vegan butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add in panko breadcrumbs and thyme and cook until fragrant and lightly golden. Sprinkle over macaroni.
8. Cook for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before devouring!!!!!!