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Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese in white skillet.
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5 from 1 review

Creamy 3-cheese mac with a creamy butternut squash sauce tossed with cavatappi noodles.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 large butternut squash, about 3 pounds*
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1-pound cavatappi or other tubular pasta
  • 3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • 1 ¼ cups unsalted vegetable or chicken stock
  • 2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup shredded Gruyere cheese
  • ½ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
  • ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut butternut squash in half, lengthwise, and scoop out seeds.  Place in baking dish, flesh side down, and pour water in the baking dish.  Roast in oven for 35-40 minutes, until soft.  Scoop out cooked flesh and discard skin.  Set squash flesh aside. Alternatively, steam a 10-12 ounce bag of frozen butternut squash cubes.
  2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt.  Drain and set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, place butternut squash, Greek yogurt, milk, chicken broth, salt, black pepper, nutmeg and cayenne in a blender and puree until smooth. (If the squash is still hot, remove the plastic cap from blender lid and place a kitchen towel over it so steam can escape and the hot contents don’t explode.)
  4. Heat butter in a saucepan and add the squash puree.  Add the cheddar, Gruyere and half of the Parmesan cheese and cook on medium-low, stirring, until cheese is melted. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
  5. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Add cooked pasta to the baking dish and pour in the squash/cheese sauce.  Stir until combined.  Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  6. Remove the baking dish from the oven and set the oven on a low broil.  Top pasta with remaining Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.  Spray top with cooking spray.  Place the baking dish back in the oven and broil for 4-5 minutes, until top is browned, rotating the dish if necessary.
  7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley (if using).

Notes

Cooking Tip: You can cook the squash up to 3 days in advance. You can also use 2 10 ounce bags of frozen cubed squash; thaw and place into the blender and puree with the other sauce ingredients.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://thehealthyepicurean.com/butternut-squash-mac-cheese/