Baked Mac n’ Cheese with Soy Milk, Almond Milk and Cow’s Milk

Baked Mac n’ Cheese with Soy Milk, Almond Milk and Cow’s Milk – recipe at end of post

A couple posts ago I reviewed soy milk and almond milk.  As I was photographing the three milks, I wondered how they would do in my favorite Baked Mac n’ Cheese recipe.  I thought I’d used just soy milk before, but I think I must’ve used soy to make up for not having enough cow’s milk because the soy is distinct.

I took my regular recipe and divided all the ingredients into three different saucepans.  I used a very scientific method to record the different pans, pots and plates the milks traveled on:

While I was cooking the white sauce, the almond and soy milk mixtures gave off a significant vanilla odor, so much so that I went to the fridge to make sure I had unflavored of both.  The almond milk mixture took alot longer to thicken whereas the milk and soy

l to r: soy, almond, cow’s milk cheese sauce mixtures

milk mixture thickened immediately; in fact, I almost had papier mache material with the milk because I turned my back for a moment.  Once the cheese went in it, you could still smell the odor of vanilla in the almond milk mixture and the soy mixture had a distinct odor that was so distinct I can’t describe it (ha).

Coming out of the oven the almond version smelled a little vanilla-ish still.  The soy and milk smelled like cheese.  The texture of all three was the same with the almond being just a little bit looser.

clockwise from bottom: soy, milk, almond

after baking; clockwise from bottom: almond, soy, milk

I tasted the cheese sauce before I mixed in the penne but all three tasted mostly the same.  After baking the three each had distinctive flavors.  The almond tasted salty; did I get too much salt in the first saucepan or does the almond milk bake up salty?  The almond version was also very muted, despite the saltiness, and the cheese almost seemed muted. There was an aftertaste, not unpleasant but not what you get with cow’s milk.

The soy milk version tasted strongly of soy milk. This is not hugely pleasant although if you don’t mind the taste of soy milk you probably won’t care.  I don’t drink soy milk on its own and on the rare occasion I eat cereal, I use as little soy milk as possible.  There was no aftertaste though like the almond milk left.

The cow’s milk version was my favorite.  The flavor of the cheese came through and the milk added a richness the almond and soy milks lacked.  I’m a little sad because I was hoping the soy or the almond would give milk a run for it’s money, but no luck.

So the final call comes down to your preference.  Maybe you don’t mind the distinct milk alternative flavors and if so, go forth and conquer with a cow’s milk alternative.

Kelli’s Baked Mac n’ Cheese

1/2 box cooked penne

3 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

1/4 white pepper (you can use black if you don’t have white)

1 cup milk

grated cheese  – okay here goes 1) I primarily use Kraft Extra Sharp Cheddar and hand grate  2) sometimes I do half Extra Sharp and another cheddar; tonight I used a Kerrygold Cheddar I got at Whole Paycheck  3) the recipe calls for 1/2 lb but I grate whatever I’m hungry for, usually between 1-2 cups of cheese —this is all my personal preference so you should feel free to alter as you see fit

bread crumbs to go on top (Kelli’s Breadcrumbs)

paprika (optional)

parmigiano-regianno – freshly grated (optional)

Turn oven to 350 degrees.

While penne is cooking, melt butter in saucepan.  Whisk flour and seasonings into melted flour.  Add milk and whisk to keep smooth.  Keep stirring until mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese until smooth.  Pour drained penne into cheese mixture and stir to combine.  Pour penne and cheese into oven-safe dish and cover top with breadcrumbs, paprika (optional) and parmegiano (optional).  Lightly, and carefully, spray top with cooking spray to enable browning.

Bake until browned on top, about 20 min.

You can substitute cheeses like gruyere or add in a salty meat like bacon or dried, spicy salami.  With a side salad, this is a meal in itself.

K

Nutritional info courtesy of My Fitness Pal; using soy milk the per serving count is 257, using almond milk the count is 254.