Creamy Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Creamy, healthy butternut squash mac and cheese is cozy, comforting and so much better than regular mac and cheese. You’ll need less than 30 minutes to make this healthy comfort fall favorite food! Kids will LOVE it!

For a meatless meal try this creamy corn pasta. For more mac and cheese version try buffalo chicken mac and cheese.

Jump to:

• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients
• How to make it
• Tips to make best mac and cheese
• Variations of butternut squash mac and cheese
• How to serve it
• Storage and reheating
• Common questions
• Related butternut squash recipes
• 📋Creamy Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Why this recipe works

1. Better than regular mac and cheese.
2. Much healthier than regular pasta, yet so delicious!
3. Requires minimal ingredients. Most of it is likely in your pantry already.
4. Need under 30 minutes to make this soul warming comfort dinner.
5. No compromise on taste whatsoever. It’s rich, creamy, comforting, and ultra delicious!
6. It’s like best of the two worlds, soup and pasta. This dish reminds me of thick butternut squash soup and cheesy pasta all together in one dish!
7. The rich and creamy sauce is achieved without any flour or cream in it. Now that’s a winner! (this recipe does not call for making roux. It’s all squash, milk and some cheese)
8. Best COMFORT food for busy people during blustery cold winter!
9. The flavors of this pasta are very subtle. Kid approved!
10. Best way to sneak in veggies into your kid’s diet! Your kids won’t even know there is squash in their pasta.
11. You have total control to make this healthiest best by using protein pasta (chickpea pasta) and reducing the cheese quantity in the recipe.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need –

• Butter
• Sage leaves
• Shallots
• Garlic
• Thyme
• Salt and ground pepper
• Butternut squash
• Shell pasta
• Vegetable stock
• Milk
• Sharp cheddar

All the ingredients’ exact measurements are mentioned in the recipe card below.

Pasta – I used shell pasta for the recipe. It’s best to use pasta shapes that will help it hold the magical cheesy sauce.  Shell pasta, macaroni(elbow pasta), orecchiette, cavatappi, rotini, farfalle, rigatoni or radiatore are best noodle to use for any mac and cheese recipe.

Butternut Squash – we have a helpful guide on how to peel and dice butternut squash. Check it out.

Cheese – Use good quality sharp cheddar. The flavors of sharp cheddar and butternut squash go perfectly together. I used a mix of 1 cup of cheddar cheese and ½ cup of mozzarella cheese. Stick to sharp cheddar if you don’t want to use a mix of 2 cheeses.

Milk – best use 2% or better 4% milk for extra richness and creaminess.

Vegetable stock – if not vegetarian, consider using chicken stock.

Butter – for healthier option substitute butter with olive oil.

Herbs – Fresh thyme and sage leaves. Optional but highly recommended. As flavors in this pasta are subtle, you want to enhance flavors with the help of herbs.

Season – always season! Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Onion – use yellow or white onion.

Garlic – garlic lover? Use more than mentioned in the recipe. You’ll love its flavors in the pasta.

How to make it

Before you jump into knowing how to make healthy mac and cheese recipe, here’s a useful guide on how to easily peel and dice butternut squash. Check it you.

You can dice raw butternut squash or slice squash into half and roast it in the oven, then scoop the flesh off and use it to make a puree. Canned butternut squash will work too.

Cook Butternut Squash –

• Bring a large pot of water to boil.
• Melt butter in a large pot. Add sage leaves and fry for a few seconds until it crisps up. Immediately remove crisped sage leaves from the butter and keep aside until used.
• Saute onions and minced garlic in butter until onions turn soft and garlic releases its fragrance. Do NOT brown onion or garlic. Cook until just translucent.
• Add thyme sprigs, salt, and fresh ground pepper to taste to the pot. Give it a mix.
• Roast diced butternut squash along with onion-garlic and seasoning for a few minutes. This will help the squash caramelize slightly by roasting in butter.
• Pour the vegetable stock and milk. Stir.
• Bring it to a boil.
• Reduce heat, cover, and cook until squash is tender. About 10 minutes.

Cook Pasta –

• While butternut squash is cooking in a large pot cook pasta in salted boiling water according to packet instructions until al-dente. Don’t overcook pasta.
• Time it accordingly. Add pasta to boiling water and just when butternut squash sauce is ready.
• NOTE – reserve 1 to 2 cups of pasta-cooked starchy water.

Blend it –

• Wait until squash is cooked fork tender.
• Remember to remove sage stems from the pot and blitz using an immersion blender until the squash turns smooth.

Stir it all together –

• Turn off heat, add in grated cheese.
• Stir until the cheese is melted.
• Add cooked pasta shells into the butternut squash sauce.
• Gently mix it until the pasta is coated in sauce.
• Serve immediately warm topped with crispy sage leaves, a sprinkle of ground pepper, and a little grated cheese.
• Note: as the pasta cools, the sauce will thicken. If you have to thin it down, add a little pasta water at a time until the sauce is at the right consistency. Compared to normal water, pasta water will keep the sauce thick and creamy without diluting it much and losing the flavors (exactly what will happen when normal water is used)

Tips to make best mac and cheese

1. Always cook pasta al-dente.
2. Shred cheese from the block instead of buying pre-shredded cheese from a bag. Pre-shredded cheese has fillers (non-caking agents) that will prevent the cheese from melting and cause the sauce to turn grainy.
3. Allow cheese to come to room temperature before starting the recipe to ensure the creamy consistency of the sauce.
4. Smoked paprika or red chili flakes adds a hint of kick to the dish that is great to balance creaminess and richness of the dish.
5. After adding pasta is the sauce is thick (note sauce will tend to thicken as it cools) adjust consistency of the sauce by adding pasta cooked water little at a time.

Variations of butternut squash mac and cheese

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese doesn’t need anything else. It’s perfect as it is. But you can customize the recipe according to your preference.

• Feel free to add proteins like cooked chicken, sausages, or crispy bacon.
• Vegetables like steamed broccoli, steamed cauliflower, peas, or mushrooms are great too.
• You can add more herbs as well. Sage, thyme, bay leaves.
• For a sharp flavor kick, add Dijon mustard.
• Add nuts or seeds like toasted pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans or pepitas on top.
• To add a kick to the pasta, add red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.

How to serve it

You can serve this mac and cheese as it is or pair it with a salad or bread.

Serve with salad like fresh chopped salad, roasted butternut squash salad or egg salad.

Bread like cheddar drop biscuits, garlic bread, buttermilk cornbread.

Roasted veggies like roasted broccoli, roasted leeks, savory sweet potatoes, roasted parsnips.

Storage and reheating

If you have leftovers store it in airtight containers in refrigerator for 2-3 days. When ready to serve, warm pasta on stove top, add a splash of milk while reheating if pasta sauce it thick.

Common questions