We’ve reviewed a few of Amy’s vegan cheeze products, and we’ve sampled plenty of frozen mac & cheese dishes, but somehow we never got around to trying Amy’s Vegan Rice Mac & Cheeze. We sort of took it as a given that we’d reviewed it in the early days of the site, so we passed it by time and time again. However, we realized our error when Amy updated the product packaging. Once we spotted it — then realized we’d never reviewed it — we were determined to try it as soon as possible.
We chose to cook this in the microwave, and the process was every bit as easy as you might expect. If you’ve ever heated a frozen pasta dish in the microwave before, you should know the drill. Toss it in for a few minutes, give it a good stir, and then cook it a little bit longer. Let it sit and cool before you dig in. This smells amazing when it comes out of the microwave, so the “let it cool” part of the process might be a little bit tricky for anxious eaters.
Dairy-free cheese is hard to get right. Amy’s cheeze isn’t bad, but it’s definitely not a convincing substitute. It actually tastes a little like oatmeal, which is strange, but also kind of appealing. After combing through the ingredient list, we’re convinced that the oatmeal-like flavor comes from the tapioca starch.
While the oatmeal taste is a little odd, we’re on board with it. What makes this pasta harder to enjoy is the texture of the cheeze sauce. It’s extremely thick and slightly sticky in a way that real melted cheese isn’t. It almost has a gum-like consistency. That might come from the tapioca starch as well. Thankfully, there are no texture issues with the organic rice pasta. It’s a basic macaroni noodle that’s perfect for a dish like this.
Amy’s Vegan Rice Mac & Cheeze might sound like a disaster, but it’s actually pretty alright. We’re not sold on the texture of the faux cheese, but this is still a pretty decent pasta dish. Because it’s made with pea protein, it’s also pretty feeling. If you’re looking for a dairy-free alternative to mac & cheese, and you don’t need a perfect substitute, this is a frozen dish you’ll want to take a closer look at.
To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for this vegan mac and cheese, check out our package scan below.
From someone that is entirely dairy free – I LOVE this stuff.