Vegan Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

I am having such a hard time writing this blog post because I'm actually eating this right now as I type and I don't want to stop taking bites but I also need to remember the amount of the ingredients I used before they disappear from my brain so here we goooo!

The pasta is gone so now I can actually think. A few notes:

• If you're not vegan and you want to use real cheese, I would recommend melting in half a cup of cheddar once the sauce hits the stove. Have more oat milk creamer ready though in case you need to balance out the thickness.
• If you can't find the Nut Pods Oat Milk Creamer at the store - same. I wonder if the almond milk creamer would work too?? If you try please let me know! Anyways, I order the oat milk creamer online, it's on my Amazon Affiliate Page. It's the best vegan "cream" alternative I've found that does not contain nuts so for me it's worth it to order on Amazon.
• Serving size is for two and it takes about as long as it takes for the pasta to boil so around 10-12 minutes.

 What you need:

• 2 cups penne pasta (I used Jovial Foods Brown Rice Pasta)
• 3 tbsp pumkin puree
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast aka "nooch"
• 1 tbsp vegan butter (room temp or melted)
• 1/2 cup Nut Pods Oat Milk Creamer
• 1 pinch celtic sea salt
• Optional for extra cheesiness: 1/2 cup Voilife Foods Vegan Cheddar Cheese

What to do:

1. ​Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the penne pasta.
2. In a small food processor, combine the pumpkin, nooch, vegan butter, oat milk creamer and sea salt. Blend until smooth.
3. Transfer to a small sauce pot and let simmer for a minute or two while the pasta finished up cooking. (I feel like the heat helps it thicken a tiny bit.) If you're doing the extra cheesy option - melt in that half cup of vegan cheddar here. If you prefer a thinner cheese sauce have more oat milk creamer handy to balance it out.
4. Pour the sauce over the pasta and serve!