Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Recipe

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This butternut squash mac and cheese recipe strikes the right weeknight steadiness. It’s creamy, it’s tacky, it’s comforting and fully scrumptious. This mac and cheese is not so wealthy that you simply’ll get a stomach ache or go to sleep instantly after dinner.

This recipe is redeeming, too—it’s filled with luscious roasted butternut squash, which amps up the golden hue with out overwhelming the flavour. This mac and cheese is an actual crowd pleaser. Our toddler loves it and so will we.

The cooking methodology is a thrill. This pasta comes collectively in one pot. You don’t ever pressure the pasta. You don’t need to fuss with a béchamel sauce. You don’t need to get out the blender for the butternut.

In case you roast your squash prematurely, this recipe comes collectively in about half-hour. It is a unicorn of a pasta dish and I’m so excited to listen to the way it seems in your kitchen.

Butternut Mac and Cheese Components

You’ll discover the total recipe beneath. Right here’s what it’s best to find out about the important thing substances earlier than you head to the shop.

Butternut Squash

Roast your squash prematurely and this recipe comes collectively shortly. You’ll be able to roast it a day earlier than or earlier within the day—merely let it cool, then cowl and refrigerate it for later.

Roast a big squash, and also you’ll have twice as a lot squash as you want for this recipe. Freeze the opposite half for a future batch of mac and cheese! This recipe is versatile—use anyplace from one to 2 cups of mashed butternut squash per batch. (The recipe specifies two cups for max veggie energy, however you actually can use much less.)

We’ll merely reduce the squash in half and roast it till tender. Then peel off the pores and skin, mash up the squash that you simply want, and drop it into the boiling water. Any little lumps will work themselves out whereas the pasta cooks. It’s like magic.

In a rush? You should utilize one 15-ounce can of puréed butternut squash instead of the roasted squash. In case you have a leftover can of pumpkin purée (not pie filling), that may work, too.

Brief-Reduce Pasta

Once more, this recipe is versatile and I’ve used quite a lot of pasta noodle shapes with success. My favourite, which you’ll see within the photographs, is pipe rigate. Different choices embrace macaroni noodles, casarecce, cavatelli, fusilli, and the like. To make this recipe gluten free, we efficiently used Jovial model’s brown rice-based fusilli.

Tip: “Brief-cut” pasta refers to compact noodle shapes, versus lengthy strands like spaghetti.

Cream Cheese

No béchamel required for this mac and cheese. Cream cheese stirs proper into the pot and makes this pasta creamy, frivolously tangy, and opulent. You’ll use half of a regular block of cream cheese for this recipe, and I don’t find out about you, however I’m at all times glad to have some further cream cheese readily available for my toast.

Cheddar Cheese and Parmesan

Use a flavorful cheddar cheese for this mac and cheese. My favourite is Kerrygold, which annoyingly is available in a 7-ounce package deal reasonably than a fair 8-ounce, however 7 ounces will do!

Parmesan cheese additional amps up the flavour. Mud your particular person servings with a bit of extra Parmesan, for those who’d like.

Tip: Grate your individual cheese reasonably than shopping for pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in powder that may trigger the cheese to clump when it melts.

A Few Extra Fundamental Components

You’ll additionally want olive oil (for roasting the squash), butter, garlic and onion powder, water and salt. Straightforward sufficient.

The way to Safely Slice Your Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is giant and dense, so it may be troublesome to handle. Listed below are some recommendations on tips on how to put together it safely:

1. Begin with a pointy chef’s knife and a secure slicing board. You’ll be able to place a frivolously damp tea towel beneath your slicing board to maintain it from transferring round.
2. Use the knife to chop off the tip-top and really backside ends of the squash.
3. Stand the squash upright with the thickest flat aspect as the bottom.
4. Rigorously slice by the squash from prime to backside to divide it in half. Your fingers ought to by no means be within the blade’s manner.
5. Lastly, use a big spoon to scoop out the seeds and discard them (we gained’t want them for this recipe).

Serving Options

Serve inexperienced salad on the aspect—maybe my Tremendous Easy Arugula Salad, Favourite Inexperienced Salad with Apples, Cranberries and Pepitas, or any improvised salad with a easy French dressing.

This recipe yields numerous pasta (eight servings). It reheats effectively for packed lunches and leftover dinners. Whereas I haven’t tried,  I consider you can reduce the recipe in half and cook dinner it in a medium-sized pot.

Love this butternut mac and cheese?

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Please let me understand how your butternut mac and cheese seems within the feedback! That is the primary one-pot pasta dish of this nature on the weblog, and it actually gained’t be the final.

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