

If you decide you would like your dish to be a little spicier after tasting it, you can add the skin and seeds back in as desired. This recipe calls for only one jalapeno pepper with most of the skin removed, as well as the seeds. Compared to some other chili peppers, they are relatively mild, making them a good choice for people who want a pepper that is not too hot but not too tame. Jalapenos have a reputation for heat that is not entirely earned. Therefore, you may want to choose a spiral-shaped pasta that can hold more of the chunks, such as cavatappi or rotini. In addition to the jalapeno pepper, this recipe also contains baked kale, hemp hearts, and puree of butternut squash. However, because the sauce is rich and creamy, you may want to choose a pasta that has a greater capacity for holding it, such as the shell-shaped variety.

You can choose traditional elbow macaroni for this recipe if you wish. Turmeric may also have anti-inflammatory properties and offer other health benefits. Known as the main ingredient in curry, turmeric is also frequently used to color products such as butter or mustard.

This recipe calls for half a teaspoon of turmeric, not so much as a spice but as a coloring agent to give your sauce the distinctive yellow color of cheddar. Similar to brewer’s yeast, nutritional yeast is available in bulk food sections of groceries and health food stores and has a naturally occurring cheesy flavor. In lieu of regular cheese, this recipe calls for nutritional yeast. In addition to jalapeno pepper, the dish is seasoned with other spices that you probably already have in your kitchen, including paprika and chili flakes, as well as onion powder and garlic powder. For those who want a vegan mac and cheese that has a little spicy kick but is not overwhelming, this is a good recipe to try.
