Creamy Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

This One Pot Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese is wealthy, additional creamy, and loaded with a lot unimaginable taste! Simply made in simply half-hour for a comfy weeknight dinner the entire household will love!

It does not get significantly better than wealthy and creamy macaroni and cheese on a comfy fall day, however do you know this dish is loaded with an entire pound of butternut squash?! Not solely does butternut squash add such a scrumptious taste to this mac and cheese, however it offers this dish such a lovely golden colour and makes the sauce additional silky clean and creamy! Healthful consolation meals at its best. Be at liberty to make use of gluten-free pasta to maintain this dish GF-friendly or dairy-free cheese to make this vegan.

Why You may Love this Recipe

• Healthful dish simply made in simply half-hour!
• The butternuts squash provides a lovely golden colour to his mac and cheese and makes the sauce additional creamy!
• You solely want to make use of one pot which makes cleansing up a breeze.
• Child-friendly! Choosy little eaters won’t ever know there are hidden veggies.

Substances You may Want

• Butternut squash – the true star of this dish and you will want 1 lb of cubed butternut squash. You may use pumpkin and even acorn squash as nicely
• Onion – this provides a lot taste and you should use a white or yellow onion
• Garlic – you should use contemporary chopped garlic or minced garlic from the jar
• Vegetable broth – I used a low sodium vegetable broth, however you could possibly additionally use rooster broth or any shares you’ve in your pantry. Water would work as nicely, however you’ll lose a few of the taste
• Milk – I used almond milk, however any sort of milk will work on this recipe
• Greek yogurt – provides a lift of protein and a few additional creaminess (if you haven’t any readily available you’ll be able to go away this out)
• Cheese – I used freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese, however gruyere, gouda and Monterey jack cheeses make nice choices as nicely. You simply desire a good melty cheese and be at liberty to make use of a mixture of cheeses on this if you would like. I extremely suggest getting a block of excellent high quality cheese and grating it your self versus buying a bag of pre-shredded cheese as contemporary grated cheese melts higher and it’ll forestall clumping
• Pasta – you should use any sort of tubular pasta or shells on this mac and cheese as they’re excellent for holding onto that tacky sauce. I additionally love utilizing chickpea pasta too!
• Contemporary thyme – that is non-obligatory, however provides some earthiness and taste. Contemporary chopped sage or rosemary would style nice too!
• Salt + pepper

Tips on how to Minimize Butternut Squash

To make issues simpler when getting ready this recipe, you should purchase pre-chopped butternut squash proper from the shop. Nevertheless, not all shops carry pre-chopped squash so this is my easy methodology for peeling and slicing your personal butternut squash.

1. Begin by slicing off the underside portion of the squash. This helps stabilize the squash so you can begin peeling it. Be certain to have a superb vegetable peeler and work your approach down from the stem. Butternut squash pores and skin is skinny and clean so that is very easy to do!
2. Subsequent minimize off the stem and slice your squash in half longways utilizing a pointy chef’s knife. In case your squash is absolutely thick and exhausting to chop, you’ll be able to simply pop it within the microwave or oven to heat it up for a couple of minutes to make it simpler to slice via. Then simply scoop out all of the seeds and stringy elements utilizing a spoon.
3. Lay your halves minimize facet down on a slicing board and slices the squash into 1-inch cubes. You may need them to be as shut in measurement as doable in order that the squash cooks evenly. And that is it!

Tips on how to Make Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

1. Prepare dinner butternut squash. In a big pot or dutch oven, warmth oil (or butter) over medium-high warmth and sauté the onion till aromatic and translucent, about 2 to three minutes. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds then combine within the butternut squash, tossing with the onions and garlic. Pour within the vegetable broth and milk and let the whole lot come to a boil. Scale back warmth, cowl and let the butternut squash simmer for about 20 minutes, till squash is fork tender.
2. Boil noodles. Whereas the squash is simmering, carry a big pot of salted water to a boil. As soon as boiling, add pasta and prepare dinner in line with the package deal directions till al dente. Whereas your noodles are boiling and squash is simmering that is additionally a good time to shred your cheese.
3. Puree Butternut Squash. Add within the Greek yogurt, nutmeg, salt and pepper, then utilizing a hand immersion blender (10/10 suggest getting this useful little system!) or you could possibly switch the squash combination to an everyday blender or meals processor, mix till the combination is clean and creamy.
4. Combine collectively and serve! Drain the noodles and add them to the pot with the puréed butternut squash together with the shredded cheese. Combine nicely till the cheese is melted and the pasta is totally coated. Be at liberty so as to add just a little additional milk or vegetable broth to regulate the consistency and season with extra salt and pepper, as wanted. Sprinkle with contemporary thyme or different herbs, serve and luxuriate in!

Prepping and Storage

To Retailer: This butternut squash mac and cheese will final in your fridge in a sealed, hermetic container for 4 to five days. You possibly can simply reheat it within the microwave or stovetop for a fast, scrumptious meal.

To Freeze: If planning to freeze this mac and cheese, I like to recommend transferring to a casserole dish and letting it cool fully. Cowl tightly with foil and retailer within the freezer for as much as 3 months. When able to get pleasure from, let the mac and cheese thaw fully within the fridge. You possibly can both pop it within the oven till heated via or re-heat particular person servings within the microwave. You too can combine in a tablespoon or 2 of water so as to add some moisture again into the sauce, if wanted.

Extra Butternut Squash Recipes You may Love

Hope you all get pleasure from this Creamy Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese and for those who love this recipe as a lot as we do, please go away me a five-star score under and do not forget to tag me on Instagram utilizing the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny! I like seeing all of your scrumptious recreations!