I’m not one to try to hide healthy foods in unhealthy dishes.
My normal philosophy is just to make healthy food that tastes good and unhealthy food that tastes good and know the difference.
But occasionally there are ways to healthify an unhealthy dish without sacrificing much.
Turns out that making mac and cheese with TOFU is one of those ways. Tofu Mac and Cheese tastes almost identical to the real version and is actually much easier to make.
I did this Tofu Mac and Cheese recipe just as a personal experiment, but it turned out so perfect that I just had to post on it.
Tofu Mac and Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb. macaroni
- 1 lb. tofu, silken is best
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
- ⅔-1 cup milk
- 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- Salt and pepper
Toasted Bread Crumbs:
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 teas red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Add tofu to a food processor and pulse until it’s in a grainy texture.
- Pour in yogurt, milk, and cheddar cheese and process until it’s smooth. If it looks a little grainy it’s okay, but if it’s very grainy than add in a bit more milk.
- Cook macaroni according to package. Drain.
- Add butter to pot along with macaroni and stir over low heat until butter is melted.
- Stir in all the cheese sauce and stir until heated and melted, about 5 minutes.
- In a large skillet add butter over medium heat with the bread crumbs and red pepper flakes. Cook until crumbs are lightly browned.
- Season macaroni with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately topped with seasoned bread crumbs!
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Tofu Mac and Cheese
Making the Sauce
I’ve made a fair number of mac and cheese dishes over the years.
Normally, I make a rich bechamel sauce with butter, flour, and milk and then whisk in a metric ton of cheese. This works and is very delicious but you can get shockingly close to it with these basic ingredients.
Ideally, you would use silken tofu for this so it’s easier to blend. I couldn’t find any on this day so I actually use FIRM tofu which still worked.
The only deal-breaker for this sauce is that you definitely need a food processor or blender for it. There’s no other way to get the ingredients to the right consistency for the sauce.
If you’re using a food processor, add the tofu block and pulse it until it’s really crumbled.
If you’re using a blender you’ll probably have to add all the liquid ingredients right away to get it to mix which is fine.
Next add in your yogurt, milk, and grated cheese. Normally, for my mac and cheese recipes I’ll use at least a pound of cheese. For this version though, I got away with just eight ounces. Because you are using less, be sure to use a really flavorful cheese.
I went with an extra sharp cheddar cheese that worked wonderfully.
Process or blend this mixture until it’s very smooth. Depending on the kind of tofu you use, you might need a little more or less milk so just add it in small batches.
I was a bit worried when I looked at my finished sauce because it looked like it had little grainy bits in it. I thought that was the tofu, but it was actually the cheese. Once the sauce got hot, they melted out completely.
The Mac
You can use a lot of different macaroni for this dish. I went with kind of a fancy elbow macaroni called cavatappi.
Just cook your pasta according to the package and then drain it and add in a knob of butter. The butter just helps the sauce smooth out a bit.
Then just scoop all your cheese sauce right into your pot!
I was a bit worried at this point, but there was no going back now.
Add the pot back over the heat on medium-low heat and stir stir stir while the sauce heats.
Almost magically, the sauce will completely smooth out and you’ll end up with a big pot of really creamy mac and cheese.
If you cook your sauce too long, it might start to clump up a bit. If that happens, just add in a bit more milk and stir it vigorously.
The Topping
I like my mac and cheese to have some texture and I didn’t want to bake this because I wasn’t sure how it would hold up in the oven so I just toasted some bread crumbs with a bit of butter and red pepper flakes in a large skillet.
Toast them for a few minutes until they start to brown slightly and you’ll be all set.
Then just sprinkle some of the topping on each serving of the mac and cheese and you’ll be in heaven!
When Betsy tried this for the first time she said, “It tastes exactly the same. No difference at all.”
I noticed a very slight taste difference but it wasn’t bad at all, just different. In fact, I would venture that most people probably couldn’t identify the secret ingredient.
The One Downside
I did notice one downside to this Tofu Mac and Cheese recipe: It doesn’t have a great shelf life. On day two the sauce was really grainy and I wasn’t really able to reheat it correctly to get it silky smooth again.
That said, it still tasted okay, just not quite as good as normal mac and cheese on day two.
I was really blown away by how great this turned out. I’m not saying that it’s a healthy dish (it’s still mac and cheese), but it’s at least healthier and more filling than the normal version. Plus it’s easy to make if you’re not a fan of making bechemel sauce.
Give this Tofu Mac and Cheese recipe a shot if you’re looking for a twist on mac and cheese!
Mia J
Hmmmm… I am intrigued. I’ve never made “from scratch” mac n cheese, but I might have to try this! My usual standby is Annie’s, and I eat a lot of it, especially when it comes on sale, as a college student pressed for time and money. But I love experimenting with healthified or even vegan cuisine (which i cook a lot of, even though I’m not even vegetarian). I think I’ll try this next weekend! Thanks for the recipe! :)
Dan
Whoa! crazy. It looks so creamy.
Jessica
Mmmm…this sounds a lot better than the cleanse sandwich from yesterday. I’m going to make this mac & cheese and not tell the hubs that there’s tofu in it – see if he can tell.
Jenna
Another way to “healthify” your mac & cheese is to use steamed cauliflower in place of half of the noodles. I like to get a cool, funnel-shaped pasta called “torchio” (seen here, towards the bottom: http://www.foodsubs.com/PastaShapes.html…I also like the one they call “gigli”), because I can cut my cauliflower florets so that they’re almost exactly the same size and shape. I always bake my mac & cheese, so I only lightly steam the cauliflower before I mix it in with everything else, and once it’s baked, it blends in seamlessly with the pasta and cheese. Also, since I’m vegan, I make cashew cheese to use in place of bechemel, but that’s a whole other ballgame. ;)
rita in mi
Very intrigued, looking forward to giving this a try myself.
vanillasugarblog
really now?
i’m sold and will try that.
definitely all over those crispy toppings
September
This is pinned and I’m definitely trying this soon! I have some tofu in the fridge I need to use up…though I have to warn you that my kids are tough critics when it comes to the classics; I’ll have to let you know if it passes by discriminating 6 and 8 yr old palates!
Jamie
Yay! I can’t wait to try this. I think I already have everything it takes to make it actually. Although I have to say, I do miss Denver Tofu…..Yum!
Crystal @ A Lovin’ Forkful
This is son intriguing. There are so may recipes out there for “healthified” mac and cheese, I thought I’d seen them all. This looks great! Thanks!
Judy
I have to say, this looks absolutely delicious, and I will add it to my “recipe queue”. But I have to take you to task about the “healthier” part. It looks like you’ve simply subbed a whole pound of pureed tofu for a couple of tablespoons of flour used in a bechamel and a little milk. There’s still a half pound of cheese in it, plus all the calories in a pound of tofu. Adding tofu doesn’t automatically make something healthier. Easier, yes, healthier, probably not, lol. Still love the blog, Nick, and this is pinned.
Nick
Yea… you might be right. When I make my bechemel for mac and cheese it usually have around 3 cups of milk and a pound of cheese so I definitely cut back on those.
Also, I don’t feel so bad about tofu because it has a ton of protein in it and is more filling so I ate less of it actually.
Good point though… I didn’t do the math. It probably isn’t THAT much healthier.
linnea
Great recipe! I do a vegan mac n’ chz (for when my lactose/vegan friends come over) with coconut milk as the base and a lot of nutritional yeast that’s really yummy. It’s like yours in that it’s not really “healthy” but the lactards can handle it!
5280sam
This is really good. I used 1/2 C soy milk instead of 2% and skipped the yoghurt because I’m lactose intolerant. cheese usually doesn’t bother me, so left that in. I LOVE Mac n cheese, and I think thus is just as good as the real thing. Plus its super easy to make. :) thanks
Viva Laningham
Macarons in Japan are a popular confection known as “makaron”.There is also a version of the same name which substitutes peanut flour for almond and is flavored in wagashi style, widely available in Japan.;^.`
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Ricarda Woodley
Macaroni is a variety of dry pasta made with durum wheat. Elbow macaroni noodles normally do not contain eggs, (although they may be an optional ingredient) and are normally cut in short, hollow shapes; however, the term refers not to the shape of the pasta, but to the kind of dough from which the noodle is made. Although home machines exist that can make macaroni shapes, macaroni is usually made commercially by large-scale extrusion…,,:
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Jarrod
This recipe is phenomenal! The cheese sauce tastes delicious and the mac is creamy, and nutritious. I put in some garlic and sriracha for extra flavor. I have made this five times now
And I like it more than a traditional mac. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
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Carol
Anxious to try it. Would love to make this in the one pound as shown in recipe. But I would have to freeze it, which is fine, I would love to have all those servings in the freezer. Has freezing been tried by anyone?
Nick
Hey Carol, to be honest, I’m not sure how well it would freeze. I think it would probably get really grainy and lose it’s texture. I would maybe just half the recipe if you think you can’t get through a whole batch. Good luck!
Gwenn
I made this today, we’re getting a lot of beautiful snow and I needed a snugly dish to use up the rest of a container of tofu. I tweaked it a bit (ok a lot) by adding dried mustard, cayenne pepper, Gruyere and sharp cheddar cheeses, diced left over ham, sauteed onions and garlic. I also used veggie elbow noodles and topped it with bread crumbs with some fresh parsley and pepper mixed in. It is AMAZING!! Better than any traditional mac and cheese that I’ve made from scratch in the past. I put everything together in a 9×13 baking dish and baked at 350 until bubbly. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks so much for sharing it, it’s so yummy!!.
Jake
Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
ash
thanks for sharing us!