Baked macaro-no-cheese

Baked macaro-no cheese
  • Low phosphate
  • Low potassium
  • Low protein
  • Low salt
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • Main meal
  • 2 hours or less
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Using butternut squash for the creamy sauce, this delicious vegan dish is low salt, low potassium, low phosphate, and low protein, so it is suitable for everyone.

Chef

Chef Paul Ripley
Paul Ripley

Kidney Kitchen Chef

A twist on a classic, this vegan version of macaroni and cheese is a lovely comforting meal that can be frozen for batch cooking.

Ingredients

1 butternut squash (approx. 600g)

175ml full fat coconut milk

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 low salt vegetable stock cube

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

250g macaroni pasta

Black pepper

100g breadcrumbs

50g vegan grated cheese

30g flaked almonds

1 tablespoon fresh parsley (optional)

200g broccoli

Method

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 160Β°C/gas mark 5. Halve and deseed the butternut squash. Place flesh side down in a roasting tin and pour in 200ml water. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Allow the squash to cool slightly before scooping out the flesh with a spoon. Add to a blender with the coconut milk to make a smooth puree.

  3. Step 3

    Once pureed, heat gently in a saucepan. Add Dijon mustard, cider vinegar and crumble in stock cube. Season with pepper and add a little water to the sauce if needed. Simmer for 20 minutes until it thickens

  4. Step 4

    Bring a large pan of water to boil. Add the macaroni and cook for 7 minutes. It will continue to cook as it bakes. Drain the pasta and combine with the sauce, pouring them in to an oven proof dish.

  5. Step 5

    Combine the breadcrumbs, almonds, vegan cheese and parsley if using. Sprinkle over the pasta and bake in the oven for 10 minutes until golden brown.

  6. Step 6

    Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the broccoli. Cook until tender, drain and serve with the pasta.

Food facts

The pasta and breadcrumbs are the main source of carbohydrate in this dish and the value has been provided for those who have been trained in insulin adjustment.

In most vegan cheese-based dishes, nutritional yeast is added to provide the cheesy flavour, however nutritional yeast is high in potassium. In this dish, butternut squash is used instead, which adds a healthy twist and keeps the overall recipe low in potassium.

This dish is low in phosphate, although it does contain some phosphate, therefore, If you have been prescribed a phosphate binder, ensure you take them with this dish.

This dish is low in protein and suitable if you are following a low protein diet.

Use gluten-free pasta, breadcrumbs and stock.

To increase the fibre in this dish, try using a wholemeal pasta in place of the macaroni pasta.

This is a relatively inexpensive dish. However, you could try serving with broccoli if the purple sprouting broccoli is out of season or expensive. To save money you could make your own breadcrumbs.

Once cooled, store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge. Use within 3 days and reheat thoroughly before serving. If freezing, portion at the end of step 4 in an airtight container. Defrost thoroughly, then add the topping mix and continue to cook from step 5.

To make fresh breadcrumbs, tear the bread into pieces and drop it into a food processor fitted with a blade. Whiz the bread in bursts until you have breadcrumbs of the size you want.

For a shortcut, you could buy pre-packaged fresh chopped butternut squash or frozen squash and cook according to the packet instructions before continuing with step 2.