Nachos, it's a recurring character in our never ending journey of making comfort food healthier. It's the kind of meal that never fails to hit the spot and requires about the same level of energy as what to pick to binge watch on Netflix. If you're big on bold, amazing flavour, then you'll be drawn to this plot twist. Thanks to our NEW Better Cheddar vegan cheese powder we've got a next level amazing, gooey Nacho Cheese Sauce recipe for you.

Nacho's just aren't the same naked, you need that cheese-sauce-come-knight-in-shining-armour to bring all the recipe elements together. Luckily you'll only need less than 10 ingredients for this seriously easy recipe and a blender handy. 

Most of ingredients are pantry staples so no fretting over the details! Aside from our Better Cheddar powder of course, because it's hard not to get a little fanatical about it. What helps turn the Better Cheddar sauce into a Mexican inspired cheese fiesta is the help of some classic Mexican spices: paprika, cumin, and turmeric. Pop those in a blender along with the wet ingredients and get ready to dress those nachos! 

We wanna see your nacho party! So if you make the recipe don't forget to tag us @knowrishwell #KnowrishWell so we don't get FOMO! xx Knowrish Well

NEXT LEVEL NACHO CHEESE SAUCE

VEGAN - GLUTEN FREE

MAKES: 2 serves

PREP + COOK TIME: 30 min

INGREDIENTS

½ cup cooked carrots chopped

3 tbsp Better Cheddar vegan cheese powder

1 ¼ tsp cumin powder

¾ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp himalayan salt (or to taste)

1 cup soaked cashew nuts

1 cup almond milk

2 tbsp olive oil

MAKE

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and process until smooth and combined. Immediately dress nachos with Nacho Cheese sauce. Enjoy!

Comfort food in a mouth-watering healthier bite size rendition. Get in the kitchen and impress your friends, fam, room mates and yourself. Your taste buds will be leaping for joy with these vegan and gluten free friendly Mac ‘n’ Cheese bites!

Now you’re asking yourself, how on earth are we going to get that ultra cheesy flavour of good old regular Mac ‘n’ Cheese? Our secret is Knowrish Well’s tantalising new Better Cheddar powder. Full of wholesome, plant based ingredients and spices to help mimic the taste of cheddar, this powder is a game changer. Thanks to the Lucuma, Turmeric, and Nutritional Yeast in the Better Cheddar powder, along with the Hulled Hemp Seeds in the gluten free crumb, you’ll be enjoying super foods in delicious disguise. 

These bites are super perfect on their own or you pair them with a dipping sauce (something pesto-y would work magic) or even have them with a light, simply leafy green salad. We’re not going to pretend this is the easiest recipe we’ve ever made but your prep work will be seriously rewarded when it comes time to eating these savoury, cheesy, comforting mouthfuls.

This recipe also features a little bit of spice thanks to the inclusion of chilli which helps to elevate the flavour. If you’re not so fond or a little sensitive to spice, then you can easily omit this when making the mix.

If you give this recipe a try, we wanna know! Don't forget to tag us #KnowrishWell in your Instagram post so we can see your, er, balls. Happy noshing KW fam!

VEGAN GLUTEN FREE MAC 'N' CHEESE BITES

VEGAN - GLUTEN FREE

MAKES: Approx 30 bites

PREP + COOK TIME: 45 min

INGREDIENTS

2.5 tbsp Knowrish Well Better Cheddar Powder
180 g small shaped Gluten Free Pasta (we used macaroni)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
¾ Cup Cashews, soaked in water for at least 1 hour then drained
2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
Lemon Juice, 1 good squeeze
Fresh Parsley: 1 tsp finely chopped parsley stalks, ¼ cup chopped parsley leaves (loosely packed)
½ fresh long red chilli (seeds included), finely diced
Pepper & Salt to taste
75 g (1/2 cup) Gluten Free Breadcrumbs
55 g (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) Hemp Seeds, hulled
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
¼ cup Almond Milk
0.5 L – 0.75 L Vegetable Oil for frying (you might need more depending on the size of the sauce pan)

MAKE

1. Cook the pasta al dente according to instructions on the packaging and add a vegetable stock cube in the cooking water. When cooked, drain the pasta but save the stock as we will use this for the next step. Once drained, rinse the pasta with cold water to prevent the pasta from over-cooking.
2. To prepare the cashew paste, add to a blender (or use stick blender) the drained cashews, ¾ cup pasta water and almond milk, and blend until very smooth paste/sauce forms.
3. In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic, parsley stalks and chilli on low heat in 2 tbsp of olive oil for about 5 minutes, ensuring the garlic does not brown.
4. Once fragrant, add 2 tbsp of gluten free flour, stirring continuously for about 3 minutes. Add the cashew mixture and 2.5 tbsp of Better Cheddar powder and stir until thick and combined. Lastly, add ¼ cup of parsley and lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste and stir to combine.
5. Add the pasta to the sauce and combine until all pasta is coated in the sauce. Refrigerate until mixture has cooled down.
6. Combine gluten free breadcrumbs, pepper & salt to taste (be generous with the salt!) on a deep plate.
7. Take the pasta mixture out of the fridge and use a tablespoon to scoop out the mixture bit by bit, then compress and roll the mixture between the palms of your hands to shape into balls. This will get messy! Then roll the balls through the crumb mixture and coat evenly. Place the balls on a piece of baking paper.
8. When you have no pasta mixture left, add vegetable oil to a frying pan, until it reaches about 2-3 cm high. Heat the oil on medium heat. First add one ball to the oil to test if it is hot enough; if it immediately starts sizzling then you know it’s hot enough! Gently add the pasta balls one by one into the oil to fry. Do this in batches as they need enough room to brown up evenly and to prevent the oil from cooling down too much. Fry for approximately 3-4 minutes, turning half-way, until golden brown all over. When they are done, place the Mac ‘n’ Cheese bites on a plate with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
9. Enjoy these bits by themselves or serve with your favourite dipping sauce (we suggest pesto)! These are absolutely irresistible!

Now this is what we call soul food - nourishing, plant based goodness that doesn't take four goes to nail. This Coconut Turmeric Vegan Curry is the kind of recipe that makes your stomach feel like its being given a warm hug and really, who doesn't love a cuddle? 

Curries, or rather people when thinking about making curries always seem to suffer the same symptom - a general anxiety/apprehension. Fears that the flavour will be too bland, the texture won't be the *goldilocks* consistency of not too runny, not too thick, or that it'll take painstaking hours to make it from pot to plate are just some of the common misconceptions this amazingly tasty dish gets wrongfully accused of. You only need to make this super tasty, nutritious and down right easy curry to know all your fears are for nothing! 

If you happen to be missing some of the spices then you can easily swap them out for a store-bought curry paste if you like. Just make sure to fry off the curry paste first for a minute to bring the flavours of the spices out before adding in the vegetables! Likewise, if you don't have all the vegetables you can always put in other vegetables to suit your fridge. Eggplants, red capsicums, cauliflower or broccoli are all beautiful in curries are can easily be added in! 

We couldn't resist serving up this recipe in our Knowrish Well Coconut Bowls because seriously what doesn't look even BETTER in a coconut bowl?! And not to be outdone, our Turmeric, Lime & Ginger Coconut Chips make a very loving appearance sprinkled on top. Not just a delicious snack, these bad boys make a crunchy, savoury topping that compliments the flavour of this curry so well. 

Curry is the kind of dish that you can make loads of and NOT get sick of your left overs so if your like us, make a big batch you can keep in the fridge for your lunches. We suggest storing for up to a week in the fridge. Time to get past your fears and get to making this delicious, heart warming curry instead!

COCONUT TURMERIC CURRY

GLUTEN FREE - VEGAN 

PREP & COOK TIME: 1 hr

SERVES: 2-3

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp coconut oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 cm ginger, grated
1 brown onion, sliced
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala curry powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 carrots, chopped
1 can chickpeas
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
1 can coconut milk
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup spinach, roughly torn
1 lime, quartered
handful fresh coriander
1/3 cup Knowrish Well Turmeric Lime & Ginger Coconut Chips
sprinkle of black sesame seeds (optional)

MAKE

1. Heat coconut oil in a large pot on medium heat, add garlic, ginger, brown onion, herbs & spices and simmer until onions have browned.
2. Add carrots, chickpeas, sweet potato, coconut milk and diced tomato and stir well. Cover and cook on medium heat for 30 mins.
3. Before serving, mix the spinach through. Dress each bowl with fresh coriander, fresh lime juice and Knowrish Well Turmeric Lime & Ginger Coconut Chips.

STEAAAKKKKKKKSSSSSSS! Gloriously good vegan 'steaks'!

Now to be fair, tofu is not something that people get heavily excited about because its perception is that it is bland. In fact, we don't half blame you if you think that. But we're firm believers of don't judge a book by its cover, or in this case, don't toss the ingredient before trying it in a kick-ass recipe. Tofu need not be bland when you pair it with some amazing ingredients and completely transform it. Here, we happily arrive at this: Spiced Coconut Crusted Tofu Steaks. Its a vegan incarnation of the old 'meat and veg' dinner that'll provide not only a couple serves of vegetables but a whole lot of protein, healthy fats and most importantly, FLAVOUR.

Just look at these golden crusted steaks! The key component to this masterpiece is the Turmeric, Lime & Ginger Coconut Chips. Not only do they provide MCT (medium chain triglycerides) healthy fats and texture but also some much needed flavour to counter the tofu. We simply grabbed a large handful of the chips and crushed them into smaller pieces with a pestle and mortar. If you don't have one of these handy though you can easily cover the coconut chips in a tray with some baking paper and bash them lightly with a rolling pin. Don't worry about getting the chips to too fine a consistency, you want the 'crumb' a little bit more course for the crunch factor!

To finish off our 'meat' and veg recipe, we served our tofu steaks with baby carrots and red capsicum roasted in extra virgin olive oil and salt. Coconut oil would also work well too though. This recipe is perfect to throw together last minute with minimal prep involved. All flavour, no fuss!

Coconut chip lovers, explore our other coconut chip recipes after you try this one!

SPICED COCONUT CRUSTED TOFU STEAKS

GLUTEN FREE - VEGAN

SERVES: 2-4

PREP & COOK TIME: 20 min

INGREDIENTS

1 red capsicum, sliced

handful Baby carrots

1 red onion, sliced

Fresh baby spinach leaves

Olive oil

1 cup Knowrish Well Turmeric, Lime & Ginger Coconut Chips

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp tamari sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp water

1 block extra firm tofu

2 tbsp coconut oil

MAKE

1. Place the sliced vegetables (apart from spinach leaves) on a lined baking tray, drizzle with oil and bake in the oven at 175°C for 15 minutes.
2. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the coconut chips until they resemble crumbs, then place in a bowl and aside.
3. Add sauce ingredients to a bowl and mix well to combine.
4. Slice the tofu into slices and dip each slice into the sauce mixture, then into the coconut crumb mixture, repeat this step with all the tofu slices.
5. Heat a large saucepan with coconut oil, place in the crumbed tofu and fry until both sides are golden and heated through, approx. 5 minutes on each side. Once they have cooked place them on a paper towel.
6. Remove the roasted veg from the oven and combine with baby spinach leaves, toss together and drizzle with olive oil and serve with crumbed tofu.

Converting meat dishes into vegan friendly versions can definitely be challenging, especially if mock meats just aren't your thing. Let's be honest, sometimes mock meat freaks us out (we still can't get our heads around mock fish!). Our advice: take some creative culinary licence and figure out a wholesome veggie version. 

These Oriental Cauliflower 'Wings' do exactly that: tender, tasty, and full of zingy flavour with the help of our Turmeric, Lime & Ginger Coconut Chips. They're not weirdly textured but still completely vegan and gluten free. 

To top it all off, an oriental inspired dipping sauce which is sweetened with some maple syrup to balance the flavours out. You could easily add some Sriracha too if you want a bit more heat with your wings for an even more authentic experience. 

ORIENTAL CAULIFLOWER 'WINGS'

GLUTEN FREE - VEGAN

SERVES: 3-4

PREP TIME: 30 min

BAKE TIME: 20 min

INGREDIENTS

1 Small Cauliflower

BATTER

½ cup All Purpose Gluten Free Flour, sifted

½ cup + 1 tbsp. Almond Milk

¼ tsp. Sea Salt

½ tsp. Ground Black Pepper

½ tsp. Garlic Powder

¼ tsp. Cayenne Powder

½ cup Knowrish Well Turmeric, Ginger & Lime Coconut Chips

½ cup Gluten Free Bread Crumbs

 SAUCE

3 tbsp. Maple Syrup

2 tbsp. Gluten Free Tamari Sauce

¼ tsp. Ginger Powder

¼ tsp. Ground Black Pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 190⁰C.
2. Cut cauliflower in medium rosettes and give them a rinse. Make sure you pad them dry, since the batter won’t stick to the cauliflower when wet.
3. Make batter by whisking together all batter ingredients, EXCEPT for coconut chips and bread crumbs.
4. Crush coconut chips in a bowl with a spoon, or with mortar and pestle until small and combine with bread crumbs.
5. Dip cauliflower in batter, then roll in coconut chip mixture and place on a lined baking tray.
6. Bake battered and crumbed rosettes for about 20 minutes or until golden and crispy.
7. In the meantime, make sauce by combining all ingredients thoroughly.
8. Serve cauliflower hot and with dipping sauce.