Spicy Jalepeno Mac

Creamy, spicy sauce. Juicy, roasted tomatoes. This spicy mac is JUST as amazing as it sounds. The second recipe in my cashew-based vegan MAC series!  Have you tried the roasted garlic pesto mac yet? Get on it and make a plant-based mac n cheeze part of your weekly routine!

This recipe was inspired by an insane amount of jalepenos in my garden. I've been giving them away for weeks and I'm also freezing some diced jalepeno for fall and winter CHILI recipes to come! I've used the remaining to play with this mexican-inspired mac! 

This recipe has the perfect blend of flavors and spice from roasted jalepenos and garlic. If you haven't figured it out yet, I have a love affair with garlic.

Read about some of the MANY health benefits here, here, and here. In grad school, I wrote an entire research paper on garlic and I'll be dedicating a blog post to my smelly favorite soon too! 

Give this recipe a try and let me know how you like it! 

---

Spicy Jalepeno Mac 

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes 

Total Time: 40 minutes 

Ingredients

3-5 jalepeno peppers, depending on your tolerance for heat

4 garlic cloves, not peeled

1 cup cashews, soaked in water for 2 hours or overnight, rinsed and drained

2-3 TBSP cilantro, roughly chopped

1/2 lime, juiced

3-4 TBSP nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground chipotle (optional)

1/2 tsp celtic sea salt

1/4 - 1/2 cup filtered water*

12 oz pasta of choice, I use GF Fusilli

1 pint cherry tomatoes, whole**

Method

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Leave garlic cloves unpeeled, but cut the top 1/2 in. off each clove to prevent oven-garlic explosion from pressure build up! Rub cloves with a small amount of olive or avocado oil.

Place whole cherry tomatoes in a medium bowl with 1 tsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Place whole jalepenos and garlic cloves on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Add tomatoes to a separate sheet (with a lip to contain juices). Bake all for 20-25 minutes, checking and rotating at the halfway point.

Meanwhile, prepare remaining sauce ingredients by placing in a high speed blender or food processor. Prepare pasta per package instructions.

Remove the jalepeno and garlic from the oven, allow the garlic to cool but wrap the jalepenos in foil to allow them to steam for about 5 more minutes.

When cool to the touch, squeeze garlic out of the peel and directly into the blender. Carefully remove jalepenos from foil and place on cutting board to remove stems, seeds, and ribs. Add to the blender. {WASH your hands with soap and water before moving on.}

Blend sauce until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Mix sauce in with prepared pasta and top with roasted tomatoes!

Notes: 

*Start by adding 1/4 cup water; add remaining water as needed until desired texture is reached. 

**You can definitely play around with other veggies to top. I found the tomatoes balanced out the spicy flavor very nicely! I highly recommend :) 

Nutrition:

Serving Size: 1/4 recipe  Total Calories: 557  Total Fat: 18 g   Saturated Fat: 3 g  Sodium: 270 mg  Carbohydrates: 84 g  Dietary Fiber:  7 g  Sugar: 5 g  Protein: 16 g