Macaroni and Cheese never tasted as well as it does in this delicious recipe! Maybe a slight exaggeration, but not much. 
I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese. I used a piccolini pasta (mini penne), butternut squash and a very lightly seasoned cream sauce and a couple of kinds of cheese. Then there’s a very light coating of Panko bread crumbs on top to increase flavor and texture. Wow. I ended up eating this for leftovers for lunch a couple of days after I made this and relished every bite!
Every now and then I discover a real find on Pinterest. I saw this great recipe about a month ago and tucked it away. Then it dawned on me later that I had everything on hand to make this recipe so I wanted to give it a go. To say I’m glad I did is a great understatement! I seriously drooled over every bite of this Mac and Cheese!
I haven’t eaten Mac and Cheese much over the past 5 1/2 years–ever since I dropped 50 pounds. I really try to stay away from excessively fattening stuff, or I try to only eat a bite or two to taste something. Otherwise, once I start it’s really hard to stop. I’m not on any special diet, but I do try to eat clean whenever possible and stay away from gluten as well, not because I’m allergic to it (because I’m not), but because flour seems to spike my blood sugar (unless I eat a lot of protein with it).
Every now and then I break down and splurge on foods like Mac and Cheese or Pizza – some of my favorites. I just try not to make a habit of it because it is harder and harder to take it off once it’s packed on! But I took a chance on this delightful recipe and I loved the sweetness from the butternut squash, the creamy sauce (I used heavy whipping cream) and all that cheese. I probably could have eaten almost the whole batch in one sitting, if I’d let myself go. It was that good.
If you’re looking for a different yet delicious way to make Mac and Cheese for your family, then I highly recommend Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese. It is amazing. You and your kids are sure to love it!
Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese is amazing.
You will eat this casserole down to the last drop!
Every bite of Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese is so mouthwatering. You will just keep wanting more!
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients.
Melt butter. I had some green onions in my refrigerator that were already sliced so I decided to use them instead of a regular onion.
Add flour and whisk to combine. Allow to cook a minute or so. Add heavy whipping cream about one-eighth to one-fourth of a cup at a time. Whisk to incorporate before adding more cream. Continue adding cream until all of it is incorporated into the sauce and no lumps remain.
Add salt, white pepper and nutmeg. (You can use black pepper if you desire). Continue heating over low heat until mixture thickens.
Add Monterey Jack cheese.
Cook pasta until al dente. Drain. Add to sauce ingredients and stir to combine.
Roast butternut squash. (Don’t over-roast the squash so it’s mushy). Remove peel and seeds and cut squash into cubes. Add to macaroni sauce mixture. Stir very gently to combine so the squash does not tear or get mushy.
Spray an 8×12″ baking dish with cooking spray. Pour macaroni mixture into prepared pan.
Sprinkle with 6-cheese Italian blend: Mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, Fontina and Provolone, (or use parmesan cheese).
Mix Panko bread crumbs with remaining butter. Sprinkle over top of casserole.
Bake casserole about 30 minutes at 375 or until bubbly.
Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese became a favorite with me after the first bite!
Here’s the recipe.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH MACARONI AND CHEESE
(Recipe adapted from Call Me PMc)
- 2 ½ cups butternut squash, roasted or boiled, then diced in small pieces
- 8-oz. Barilla pasta (I used piccolini – miniature penne), cooked al dente, and drained
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided use
- 2 tbsp. Gold Medal self-rising flour
- 2 tbsp. diced green onions
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. white or black pepper (I used white pepper)
- pinch of nutmeg
- ¼ cup Kikkoman panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup shredded 6-cheese Italian cheese blend (Parmesan, Fontina, Asiago, Mozzarella, Provolone, Romano)
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- fresh parsley for garnish, if desired.
- Roast butternut squash.
- Remove peel and seeds and cut down in small dice—about ⅓” cubes.
- If boiling, peel butternut squash.
- Cut in large 2-3” chunks and bring to a boil with water.
- Boil until done—about 15-20 minutes.
- Drain.
- Dice in ⅓” cubes like above.
- Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in large stock pot.
- Add pasta and cook until al dente.
- Drain and set aside.
- In a saucepan on top of the stove over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp. of the butter.
- Add onions and sauté a few minutes.
- Whisk in flour and continue whisking and sautéing about 2 more minutes.
- Add cream slowly—about ⅛ to ¼ cup at a time and continue whisking until all the cream is added and no lumps remain.
- Reduce heat to low and add salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Allow mixture to thicken before removing from heat.
- Add Monterey Jack cheese and stir to combine.
- Add drained pasta and stir to combine.
- Add cubed butternut squash and stir very gently to combine so butternut squash maintains its shape.
- Spray an 8x12” glass baking dish with cooking spray.
- Pour macaroni mixture into casserole dish.
- Melt remaining 1 tbsp. butter.
- Stir in panko bread crumbs.
- Sprinkle bread crumbs over top of casserole.
- Bake at 375° about 30 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned on top.
Cooking time includes time to boil pasta, make sauce AND bake casserole dish.
Preparation time does NOT include time required to roast or boil butternut squash
You might think that butternut squash does not go with Mac and Cheese. It really does and works so well in this recipe.
I hope you give Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese a try. You won’t be disappointed.
You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!
Southern-Style Macaroni and Cheese
Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta
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