Set your oven to 400 degrees.
Make the cashew cheese. Place all the cashew cheese ingredients into a high-speed blender. Blend on high until completely smooth. Set aside.
Fill a small saucepan about half full of water and place over high heat. Dice the tempeh into 1/4 inch cubes and carefully place in the water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the tempeh and set it aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 Tablespoon of salt to the boiling water, and cook 1 lb of pasta according to package directions. Strain, toss with 1 teaspoon of oil, and set aside.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a nonstick pan (I like to use my cast iron) and set over medium to medium-high heat. Add the steamed tempeh and cook, allowing each side of the tempeh to brown a bit before turning. Try to brown each side of the tempeh cubes. This should take about 10 minutes.
While the tempeh is cooking, mix the tempeh bacon ingredients together in a small bowl. Reduce the heat on the skillet to medium-low and add the tempeh bacon sauce. Allow to simmer and reduce until almost all the sauce is gone and the tempeh is well coated. About 5 minutes. Once all the components are complete, it's time to assemble. Add the cooked pasta and cashew cheese sauce to a heavy-bottomed pot (like a dutch oven). Mix together well. At this point, I like to throw in an easy veggie like frozen peas or small broccoli florets.
Arrange the tempeh bacon on top of the mac. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for 10 more minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
