I posted the pic, as seen here, on Instagram, and one friend asked me for the recipe, and another friend had it at my house and was surprised that there was no dairy cheese involved, so here’s my approximation. I’ve become that person that makes cashew cheez by “feel” instead of by recipe, and I think it tastes best when you do it to your own specifications.

Set oven to 350°F and gather your tools and ingredients.

Tools recommended: immersion blender, plastic cup for blending cheez with the immersion blender, ceramic/glass serving/baking dish.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb elbow noodles Sauce
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  
•  1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp Miyoko Cultured Butter (vegan)
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Quick soak the cashews. Bring about 2 cups of water to a boil, and simmer the cashews for 30 minutes, drain the water and set aside.
   
2. Make the pasta according to recipe, making sure it’s al dente. Drain the water and put in a baking dish.
3. Put the cashews in a immersion blender-friendly cup that holds around 2 cups, or put cashews in a blender. Add enough vegetable stock to just cover the cashews and keep handy in case you need to add more. Add the nutritional yeast, and start blending. Watching how the consistency changes while blending, add just enough vegetable stock for it to be a good cheese sauce consistency. Blend until smooth.
4. Taste the mixture and add salt, pepper, and/or nutritional yeast to bump up the flavor. For a spicy kick, consider adding a tablespoon of smashed chilis in adobo.
5. In a little dish melt the vegan butter and add the panko, salt and pepper to taste, stir together until well incorporated and set aside.
6. Gently fold the cheez mixture in with the cooked pasta, then sprinkle evenly with the panko mix.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the topping has a nice toasted brown look.
   

I hope you enjoy this recipe! This is an approximation of what I make, so let me know if you make it, how it turns out!