I love to eat mac and cheese. However, since I’m celiac (meaning gluten-free for life) and dairy-free (hopefully not for life – one day I hope to eat dairy-full pizza again, if my intestines ever things I deserve it). But for right now, it’s vegan cheese for me. But, if you’ve ever had dairy-free cheese, you know, it’s hard to beat the original. I’ve been searching for the best gluten-free cheese products for years now. And sometimes, it’s a success. And sometimes it’s not.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that you can put a plate of Daiya Mac & Cheese next to full on cheese pasta and say that it tastes the same – or better. Vegan cheese, especially Alfredo, is just different. I can’t eat cream or parmesan cheese – and if you’re reading this you probably can’t either.I tell folks that have to go dairy-free that you just have to get used to vegan cheese. It’s a completely different taste and mouth-feel to dairy-based cheese. While some nut and non-nut vegan cheeses come close – it’s just not the same.

Now that I’ve bummed you out, I do want to share a dish that I love that makes me feel like I’m not missing out quite as much. And better yet – it’s easy. Why? Because it all comes from a package – even the broccoli!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 box of Daiya Deluxe Alfredo Style Cheezy Mac (you can buy it on Amazon – affiliate link)
• 1 container Follow Your Heart Parmesan Style Shredded Cheese Alternatives
• 1 bag of riced broccoli (I find mine at Sprouts)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil or avocado oil (I use Chosen Foods – affiliate link)
• salt and pepper to taste

Here are the simple instructions.

• Prepare the rice pasta in the Cheezy Mac until done. Strain and drain.
• In a saute pan, add olive oil and cook frozen riced broccoli until done. I used about half a bag, but it’s up to you and how much broccoli you’re into! Lazy? Use the same pan you used to cook the pasta in. No judgement.
• On low-medium heat, add in the Alfredo sauce packet. I only add about half, because if you add the full sauce packet, I think it’s too much Alfredo sauce (plus, I like adding more cheese on top).
• Stir until well mixed.
• Add in the pasta to the broccoli and Alfredo mix. Stir until well mixed.
• Serve and top with Follow Your Heart shredded parmesan cheese

Is it the sexiest meal ever? No. I mean, I guess it depends how sexy you think vegan Alfredo sauce is and what you’re into (no judgement here…). I really enjoy this because Alfredo is a vegan cheese style that’s really unique. Plus, these are things that are kept in the pantry and freezer and easy to make in a few minutes. That’s a heck of a lot easier for me than doing all of this from scratch – with or without dairy!

Tagged: Daiya, Easy, Follow Your Heart, gluten free, vegan