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Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

in Recipes

Oh my goodness. Let me tell you something, friends – last night, the boyfriend and I were thinking about what to make for dinner, and what we ended up creating is my new favorite food. Seriously. So. Good. I wanted pasta, he wanted butternut squash (shout-out to him for his fabulous idea.) So we compromised and put the two together, along with some cheesy goodness, some mushrooms, some peppers for spice, and some walnuts for crunch. And all of this added up the equal the BEST mac and cheese EVER.

This recipe actually sprang into being at the perfect time, because with the advent of fall, I’d been trying to think of some interesting ways to use butternut squash – the quintessential fall veggie. (You know, aside from pumpkin.) Turns out, it’s a killer mac and cheese ingredient. Who knew?

I can’t get enough. AND, even better – in addition to being just plain delicious (and the perfect fall comfort food), this is a pretty low-cost dish (we got all the ingredients for less than $10.) As if that weren’t enough, once the squash is cooked, it becomes soft enough that when it’s stirred into the pasta, it sort of dissolves and just looks like cheese. Great way to sneak some veggies to any finicky kiddos out there.

It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s oh so delicious. Get ready to discovery your new fall favorite:)

Side note: if you don’t have a lot of experience with butternut squash, check out this post on how to get one ready for cooking. They can be a bit of a pain to prepare, but doing it yourself saves on the grocery bill:)

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Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

Pasta and Veggies

  • 1 16 oz. box pasta
  • 2 boxes mushrooms (sliced)
  • 1 small to medium butternut squash
  • 4-6 green chilies
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Pepper (to taste)
  • Red pepper flakes (to taste)
  • Nutmeg (dash)
  • Turmeric (dash)

Cheese Sauce

  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 2 tbsp. flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1.5 cups cheese

Instructions

Prep

  1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Meanwhile, wash and slice the mushrooms (if they didn't come sliced.) Mince the chilies and the garlic and set aside. Peel and dice the butternut squash.

Cook the Veggies and the Pasta

  1. Heat about 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the butternut squash and sprinkle with salt, pepper, turmeric, and the nutmeg. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. (You'll want to keep an eye with the stirring, because the squash might start to stick to the bottom of the pan.) 

  2. Add the chilies and continue cooking, still stirring occasionally, for another 2-3 minutes.

  3. Add the mushrooms and the garlic; stir to combine. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper and any red pepper flakes you want to add.

  4. At this point, you'll want to dump the pasta into the water, which is hopefully boiling. (If it's not, wait until it is to add the pasta.) Cook according to box instructions.

  5. Meanwhile, the veggies should be cooking away. Once the liquid from the mushrooms is released and has largely evaporated, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is ready to be put together.

Make the Cheese Sauce

  1. As an aside, you can wait to start the cheese sauce until the pasta is done cooking, because it takes about two seconds to make. It's actually easier if you wait until you've drained the pasta (DON'T rinse it) and then make the cheese sauce right in the big pasta pot, so you can just mix everything together in there.

  2. Once you're ready to make the sauce, melt the butter over medium heat. Once it's melted, add the flour and whisk constantly for about a minute, until the two ingredients have combined and the flour has had a chance to cook a little bit.

  3. Slowly pour in the milk, still whisking constantly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes, until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.

  4. Remove from heat and add the cheese. Stir to combine. 

Put It All Together

  1. Add the pasta back to the cheese sauce. It's okay if there are a few remaining lumps in the cheese - the heat from the pasta will help dissolve them.

  2. Add in the veggie mixture and stir to combine everything. 

  3. Serve and enjoy!

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