Vegan & Gluten-Free Beefy Broccoli Macaroni Cups

The best thing in the world is macaroni and cheese … hands down. Cheese and noodles? Creamy, dreamy sauce? Nothing better to savor. The best part of making macaroni and cheese is being able to remake it into different types of the old classic. I have remade it with eggplant macaroni, pumpkin macaroni, and with fake tuna macaroni (so good!). This time I outdid myself – I baked the macaroni in muffin tins! Yes this vegan and gluten-free Beefy Broccoli Macaroni Cups are way too cute for words and baked in normal and mini-muffin tins!

Who in the world doesn’t love macaroni and cheese? This girl loves any noodle covered in cheezy sauce. This time I decided to make it with beefy crumbles and broccoli – you know a little bit healthy with the noodles and cheese. And the even better part? I baked it in muffin tins! Normal-size tins and the minis! OMG! If you need an appetizer recipe, this is the one because they turned out so cute – and actually held together! I had seen a recipe for noodle cups on some random website and decided I needed to give it a shot. But whenever I try new and cute recipes they don’t turn out right – well, normally those are baking recipes. Give me a cute savory recipe? I can rock those, if I do say so myself. And these were so easy, since I used a special ingredient to make the sauce – yogurt! I didn’t want to make a normal flour/butter/oil rouxish cream sauce and I had a container of unsweetened vanilla coconut yogurt in my fridge so I decided to see if that would work. And it did! I know it sounds really weird, but the vanilla didn’t come through at all. The fact that it is unsweetened yogurt meant no sweetness or extra flavor came out. It was the perfect way to add creaminess and make it healthy! No flour, butter, or oil in this recipe at all!

Start by getting your noodles working. Cook noodles until just after al dente – they will not continue to get soft when baking, so they need to be done. Once the water for the noodles is going, get out a large saute pan and dump in the yogurt, spices, and milk. Turn to medium heat and whisk as it starts to boil then turn heat to low and let cook about five minutes to bring spices to life. While yogurt mix is working dump broccoli into a microwave safe container and microwave three minutes then dump on cutting board and roughly chop with a knife. The broccoli doesn’t have to be uniform or small bits, just not big chunks. In a small container pour cold water and cornstarch and whisk then add to yogurt mix and whisk in. Add in cheese and whisk until it’s melted then add in broccoli and beefy crumbles and mix with a large spatula or spoon. Add in noodles and mix until completely combined. Spray the muffin tins with non-stick spray then spoon in mixture to the top of each tin. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Take out of oven and let cool about 20 minutes then use a butter knife to loosen around each macaroni cup. Use a small fork to gently take out. Enjoy!

Beefy Broccoli Macaroni Cups,

1 Cntr So Delicious Dairy Free Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Yogurt
1 C So Delicious Dairy Free Unsweetened Protein Plus Almond Milk
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
2 Tsp Mustard Powder
1 Tsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/2 C Cold Water
1 Pkg Daiya Cheddar Cheese Shreds
1 Pkg Beyond Meat Beefy Crumbles
3 C Frozen Broccoli Cuts, defrosted and chopped
1 Pkg Ancient Harvest Shells

1. Set oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin tins with non-stick spray.
2. Set water to boil for noodles. Cook until done – just past al dente, then drain and set aside.
3. Dump yogurt, spices, and milk into a large saute pan and bring to a low boil and whisk. Let cook about 5 minutes.
4. Dump broccoli in a microwave safe container and microwave 3 minutes. Dump on a cutting board and roughly chop.
5. In a small container whisk together cold water and cornstarch then whisk into yogurt mixture. It will thicken immediately.
6. Dump in cheese and whisk until melted.
7. Dump in broccoli and beefy crumbles and mix using a spoon or spatula.
8. Add in noodles and mix.
9. Spoon mixture into the muffin tins – to the top of each tin.
10. Pop in oven for 20 minutes.
11. Let cool about 20-25 minutes then use a butter knife to circle around the sides of the macaroni, then use a small fork to gently take out.
12. Enjoy!