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Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese is a richly flavorful, extra creamy mac and cheese recipe filled with warm and cozy flavors and, of course, plenty of cheese! You will race for a second bowl of this squash mac and cheese recipe, and it’s ready in under 50 minutes!
Jump to:
- Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
- Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Ingredients
- How to Make Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
- Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Recipe Tips
- Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
- Gluten-Free Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
- Squash Mac and Cheese FAQs
- Macaroni and Cheese Recipes
- Easy Pasta Recipes
- 📋 Recipe
- 💬 Reviews
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
One of my family’s favorite frozen meals is Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, but if you know me, you know I like to avoid preparing frozen meals as much as possible. If it can be made from scratch, I want to make it from scratch!
That’s where this recipe for Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese comes in. It’s rich and creamy, and oh, wow, it is so flavorful! Complete with three types of cheese, a cozy blend of seasonings, and roasted butternut squash, it has everything you could possibly want in a creamy mac and cheese recipe.
After making it for the first time, I knew my family wouldn’t be buying the boxed version anymore. It’s homemade butternut squash macaroni and cheese from now on!
And if you want to make it vegan or gluten-free, that’s easy. I’ll show you how you can make this amazing mac and cheese any way you like!
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Ingredients
- Butternut squash
- Rigatoni pasta
- Olive oil
- Flaky salt
- Milk
- Dried thyme
- Garlic powder
- Cayenne powder
- Nutmeg
- Paprika
- Dried rosemary
- Additional salt to taste
- Pepper
- Butter
- Bay leaf
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Grated Parmesan cheese
It might seem like a lot of ingredients at a glance, but the ingredients for making homemade butternut squash mac and cheese are actually really simple: you just need squash, pasta, seasonings, cheese, milk, olive oil, breadcrumbs, and butter.
The star ingredient here is (of course!) the roasted butternut squash. You will not believe the nutty, warm flavor squash adds to mac and cheese that is so pleasing with a savory blend of cheese and seasonings.
How to Make Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Roasting Butternut Squash
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. While it’s preheating, cut butternut squash in half. Place halved squash on a baking sheet and lightly drizzle oil over the top with a few pinches of flaky salt.
- Then, place the baking sheet in the oven. Roast until soft, about 25 minutes. After removing it from the oven, let it cool slightly.
TIP: If you’re not sure if it’s ready, pierce the center of the squash with a fork. If it goes through easily and the squash is soft, it’s done. If not, leave it in for a bit longer.
Making Mac and Cheese
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil while your squash cools. You’ll want to reserve some of that pasta water, so keep that in mind before draining later!
- Scrape out squash with a spoon.
- Add the squash to a blender with milk, thyme, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne powder, nutmeg, dried rosemary, salt, and pepper.
- Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add pasta to the boiling water. Let it cook until al dente (just slightly underdone), then drain and reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt butter.
- Add a bay leaf to the skillet and saute for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Remove the bay leaf.
- Carefully add squash puree to the skillet to begin cooking it down.
- Top with shredded cheddar and mozzarella and mix well until fully incorporated.
- Simmer over low heat for 5-6 minutes. Add reserved pasta water if needed to thin it out.
- While simmering, in a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Add cooked noodles to the squash sauce and gently mix to combine.
- Spoon squash mac and cheese into bowls for serving and evenly top with the breadcrumb mixture. Serve, and enjoy!
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Recipe Tips
- Flaky sea salt is the absolute best salt to use for roasting vegetables. I highly recommend using a flaky salt like Maldon sea salt flakes to season the squash rather than regular table salt.
- You can use your favorite type of pasta, but rigatoni is a great choice for coating with the mac and cheese sauce. It holds up very well to this dish.
- Cheddar and mozzarella make a perfect cheese blend for this dish, but you can also use other cheeses like gruyere or even gouda, if you like.
Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
If you want to make your butternut squash mac and cheese vegan, all you have to do is swap (or leave out) a few ingredients in this recipe. Here are some ways to alter the recipe to be vegan:
- Swap out the cheese for vegan shredded cheese if you like, or leave it out entirely. Instead of cheese, you can use 3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast, which will give it a cheesy flavor while keeping it vegan.
- Swap out the butter for vegan butter.
- Swap out the milk for vegan milk (any kind you like best).
Gluten-Free Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Making butternut squash mac and cheese gluten-free is a matter of replacing the pasta with your favorite gluten-free pasta, and the breadcrumbs with gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Squash Mac and Cheese FAQs
Butternut squash macaroni and cheese has a slightly nutty, autumnal flavor from the squash, while adding additional creaminess that complements the rich, cheesy sauce.
Butternut squash mac and cheese is easy to freeze. Let it cool, then add it to tightly-wrapped freezer-safe containers and store for up to 3 months. Don’t forget to label with the date! When you’re ready to enjoy it again, add it to the oven at baking temperature for about 30-35 minutes until heated through.
Macaroni and Cheese Recipes
Easy Pasta Recipes
- Pink Pasta Sauce
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Did you try this recipe? Leave a comment and a rating below to let us know what you think! We love to hear from you!
📋 Recipe
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 Blender
- 1 Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb. butternut squash
- 16 oz. rigatoni pasta
- drizzle of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon flaky salt
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut squash in half and place on a baking sheet. Lightly drizzle olive oil over your squash and a few pinches of flaky salt.
- Roast squash in the oven until soft, about 25 minutes. Once the squash is soft remove it and let cool slightly.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for pasta. In the meantime, scrape out squash with a spoon.
- Add squash to a blender with milk, thyme, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne powder, nutmeg, dried rosemary, salt, and pepper.
- Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add pasta to boiling water and cook until Al dente. Drain and reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt butter. Toss a bay leaf in the skillet and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Remove the bay leaf.
- Carefully add in the squash purée and begin to cook down.
- Top with shredded cheese and mix well.
- Simmer on low heat for about 5-6 minutes. Add in reserved pasta water if needed.
- In a small bowl combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Add cooked noodles into the squash sauce and gently mix to combine.
- Spoon squash mac and cheese into bowls for serving and top with breadcrumb mixture. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Flaky sea salt is the absolute best salt to use for roasting vegetables. I highly recommend using a flaky salt like Maldon sea salt flakes to season the squash rather than regular table salt.
- You can use your favorite type of pasta, but rigatoni is a great choice for coating with the mac and cheese sauce. It holds up very well to this dish.
- Cheddar and mozzarella make a perfect cheese blend for this dish, but you can also use other cheeses like gruyere or even gouda, if you like.
Let us know what you think or ask a question about the recipe!