I have been dying to add butternut squash into my Mac ‘n Cheeze recipe ever since I featured Lou’s Macaroni Un-Cheese recipe in my Recipe Link Love last week. Butternut squash pureed into macaroni and cheese just sounds like a match made in heaven, doesn’t it? It is also a fun way to sneak in another veggie.
I also happen to love Butternut Squash, but I always forget to buy it at the grocery store, so this was a great reminder to buy one.
I ended up playing around with my original cheese sauce recipe and I made two versions, the second one I will be sharing with you today.
The first thing you do is peel and chop half of a Butternut Squash. Place it into a bowl and add a teaspoon of olive oil and some salt ‘n pepa!
Roast in the oven for 40 minutes at 425F, flipping once half way through baking. You can do this ahead of time if preferred.
Buttery squashy deliciousness!
While the squash is roasting, make your ‘cheeze sauce’ in the food processor. I adapted my original recipe quite a bit and I was really happy with the result. This cheeze sauce is also easier to make than the other version which is always nice.
Now, add the roasted squash into the cheeze sauce and process until smooth. It makes about 3.5 cups of sauce.
Cook your desired pasta. I used a full bag (~450 grams or 4.5 cups dry pasta) of Brown Rice Penne for the casserole option.
Drain the pasta and add in the cheese sauce. Depending on how much sauce you want, you might not use it all. I also added some peas and you can get creative with any kinds of mix-ins you want. Broccoli is also fantastic. You can also add a bit of non-dairy milk if the sauce thickens up too much.
At this point you can enjoy your pasta a couple ways:
1) Heat the mixture in the pot and serve immediately.
2) Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, top with breadcrumbs, and bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.
For my first trial, I baked it in the oven and for the second trial I enjoyed it heated up straight from the pot without baking. I think I like it straight from the pot because it isn’t as thick and heavy as the casserole.
If baking in the oven, add on your breadcrumbs.
After, 20-25 minutes you have a fun B’nut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze that will serve 3-4 people for a main course.
If you serve it straight from the pot, the great thing is that you can make only as much as you want. If you only want 1 serving of pasta, you can add as much sauce as you need and then store the rest in the fridge. I’m not sure how long the sauce keeps in the fridge (3-4 days would be my guess), but I’m sure the sauce recipe can also be halved too!
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Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze: Two Ways
Butternut Squash idea from Lou. Cheese sauce adapted from my Mac ‘n Cheeze II.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped (yields: 3.5 cups raw)
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened + unflavoured soy milk), or more to thin out
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
- 6-7 tbsp Nutritional yeast (provides the cheesy consistency)
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp or a bit more of dried Italian seasoning
- 1/4-1/2 tsp Tumeric powder, optional (gives the orangey colour)
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4-1/2 tsp Paprika + more to season
- Your pasta of choice (I used ~450 grams/4.5 cups dry penne for the casserole) + mix-ins
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet. In a bowl, season chopped squash with some oil (~1 tsp) and kosher salt (couple pinches) and stir. Add to baking sheet and roast in oven for 40 minutes, flipping once half way through baking.
2. If making the baked casserole: Process 1 slice of bread + 1 tbsp Earth balance until crumbs form in a food processor. Set aside. If you plan on enjoying it straight from the pot you can skip this step.
3. Assemble your cheeze sauce ingredients (cashews, non-dairy milk, garlic, lemon, salt, nutritional yeast, pepper, mustard, seasonings) and add just the cashews to food processor. Process until a fine crumb forms similar to corn meal. Now add in the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients and process until smooth. Leave the sauce in the processor as you will be adding the squash.
4. Cook your pasta according to package directions. When squash is finished roasting, add it to the food processor and blend it with the cheese sauce until smooth. Adjust to taste. The sauce will thicken up with time. If at any point the sauce becomes too thick, you can add a bit of milk to thin it out.
5. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water. Now add the pasta back into the same pot and add your desired amount of cheeze sauce on top. Stir well. Add in any desired mix-ins like peas or broccoli. You can either heat this up in the pot, or pour it into a casserole dish (I used a 4 cup dish), sprinkle on breadcrumbs + paprika, and bake it at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. The casserole will serve about 4 people if you use 450 grams dry macaroni or penne. Store any leftover sauce in the fridge and use within a few days.
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The first trial I made came out just OK (I think I used too much lemon juice and cashews), but Eric and I both enjoyed the second trial! You can’t really detect the butternut squash, but it does provide a nice flavour overall and I love getting in another vegetable. For the second trial, I reduced the lemon, cut the cashews in half, and adjusted the rest of my cheeze sauce ingredients.
I encourage you to adjust the sauce to your own taste buds because I find that vegan cheeze sauces are such a ‘personal preference’ kinda thing!
The casserole is fun, but I think for simplicity sake, I prefer heating it up in a pot and enjoying it immediately. I’m an instant gratification kinda gal when it comes to pasta.
Reno Talk
Thank you for your nice comments and suggestions on my home reno before and after post. :) A couple readers suggested that the living room would look great with Navy paint and I think that is a lovely idea! Navy and orange go together really nicely. I talked to Eric about it and he loved the idea too. I think we might use Navy walls with white trim for the living room. I have a feeling it might be tough to pick a shade of navy though. If anyone out there has a shade of navy paint they enjoy, I would love your suggestions!
Here are a few pictures I found for inspiration:
We are also considering leaving the crown molding intact and painting over it + shaving the popcorn. We’ll have to see how it goes!
Oh, and I fell in love this this colour for our bathroom…it is called Lavender Lace by Para Paint.
I love girly looking bathrooms. I haven’t mentioned this paint idea to Eric yet…It might have to be one of those ‘Surprise! Look what I did while you were at work today!’ kinda jobs. ;)
PS- I am going through cupcake withdrawal today.
I saw this recipe featured on fitsugar yesterday and HAD to run home and try it. This was my first attempt at homemade “cheese” sauce and I was absolutely thrilled by the results. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, your creativity in the kitchen is truly motivational!
I made this last night and it was awesome!! I actually think I preferred the leftovers today. I made it with whole wheat elbows and omited the salt and added 1 tsp of white miso instead. I also added a bunch of chopped steamed broccoli. I made the casserole option…pure comfort food, yum. Thanks for another great recipe!!
I think I may have already asked this, but I’m just curious why you “close” comments on past recipes? I always like to comment if I make something but can’t if I make an older recipe. If I have a question about a recipe that I can’t comment on should I comment about it on the current blog post? ~Leslie
This is my first time EVER commenting on a food blog (recently started a food blog just for fun..very much of a newbie/amateur). BUT, I made with Tri-colored Quinoa Pasta and mixed in Broccoli and Cauliflower and topped with Cayenne Pepper (I love spice!) and baked as a casserole. Paired with Lemon Mushroom Kale with Sweet Bits. DELICIOUS! Thanks so much for the inspiration. I’m trying to do all Gluten Free and Dairy Free recipes due to recent food allergies and you have a great selection!
http://thefoodplacebo.blogspot.com/2011/03/broccoli-butternut-mac-n-cheese-and.html
yay! That is awesome!
I made this tonight. Yum! Thank you for the recipe :)
That’s a really creative idea for a mac n cheese macaroni! Loved it! I added broccoli too! I will be making it soon again :P
I made this for dinner tonight and it was AMAZING! Thank you so much for the recipe!
– Lindsey
Hi Angela, I read your blog all the time but have never commented but there’s a first time for everything! I saw this recipe and just knew I would love the flavours but I just wanted a side nit a main dish. You have to try the amazing-ness that is this recipe as “cheesy mash” ie the lemon, garlic, nooch, mustard, salt, pepper, herbs and butternut mashed all yummy and comfortingly together! Mmmmmm
Thank you on behalf of my tastebuds x
Do you ever roast your squash seeds? I LOVE roasted squash seeds. I actually prefer them instead of the squash, ha ha.
I made this last night. Sooo delish! I had to eat it for breakfast this morning :)
nice!!
I LOVE this recipe so much! Do you think I could use canned butternut squash puree to make it now (since butternut squash aren’t in season anymore, it’s kind of hard to find them).
Thank you, thank you, thank you! We just started our vegan journey and we have milk, soy AND gluten allergies. This was THE most delicious ” cheese” I have ever tried. My little ones devoured it, NO CLUE it wasn’t the “real” stuff. Oh! And the bread crumbs ( gluten free of course) were so perfect on top. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!!
So glad to hear that Courtney!
thank you so much for this recipe! i’ve been dairy-free for over a year now, but cheese replacement recipes always sort of scared me. however, now thanks to you, i am a changed woman. even my dairy-loving family members were flipping over this dish. i’m definitely adding this to my regular repertoire. :)
oh, i stirred in some halved cherry tomatoes before baking, and it was delicious!
I love the idea of cherry tomatoes…I’ll have to try that. So glad you all enjoyed it!
Hey Angela, I know that this post is over a year old but I’m a new vegan, and I’m also attempting to get into shape with very hard workouts, and as such I’m really struggling to get my protein. Do you think I could add some silken tofu into the cheeze mixture for added protein or do you think that it will overwhelm the flavors too much? Some input would be greatly appreciated!
Hey Jill, I can’t see why not! I would start with a small amount and taste as you go. Let me know how it turns out!
Wow! So I just finished eating it, and it was great. I added about 1/4lb of tofu into the sauce, and I even threw in some pre-cooked left over quinoa, which was never to be seen or tasted again. Thank you so much!
Ps. When I cut open the squash, the seeds had sprouted inside of it. How interesting!
oooh…. love the idea of the tofu and quinoa. My husband is diabetic, so this will make it a better family dish for us!
I tried this exact recipe the other night for my husband and I and it was very yummy! It did seem to be lacking that little zingy pop though…it needed something to make it a little more flavorful. I added more salt and that helped a lot. Any suggestions on what to add to help? The nutritional yeast is a great addition, btw. I used it for the first time in this recipe and LOVED it! I’m a huge fan now. :) Thanks for the recipes and keep blogging away!
Hey Kristen, Great suggestion – what about adding a touch of tahini or white miso? I’ve seen both used in vegan mac n cheeze recipes before, but I havent tried it yet myself. Let me know if you try it out!
Just made this and I’m pretty sure my picky 2 year old is gonna gobble it up!! Do you think I could mix the sauce in with the noodles and then freeze some of it afterwards?
Just made this for dinner tonight. It’s delicious. It was my first time using nutritional yeast. I am a new fan for sure. Thanks for posting :)
Didn’t realize there were two butternut squash macaroni and cheese recipe on the site, this one has cashews (I didn’t read the other post carefully, I see you linked to this one there.)
Will be trying this cheeze sauce soon too and comparing the two as I just bought another butternut squash again :-)
What brand/where did you get those blue serving dishes in the picture with the mac n cheese? They’re so cute!
Hey Lori! Im sorry I dont remember where they are from! My guess would be pier 1 or crate and barrel. :)
Made this tonight. It was great! Going vegan has been made so much easier by your blog. Thank you!
Hi,
I tried this recipe tonight, unfortunately it wasn’t a big hit!
I pretty much liked it but my family found it a bit sweet, maybe my butternut squash was overly sweet..
Im sorry to hear that Delphine! I think a few others have mentioned it’s a bit sweet so I will have to revisit the recipe sometime. I’m glad you enjoyed it though.