Tasty Tuesday: Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese
If you’re like me, then you have at least 992 delicious-looking recipes pinned over on Pinterest and you rarely make any of them. Well, mark this butternut squash macaroni and cheese as tried and approved—something definitely worth pinning.
I snagged the recipe from this blog and simplified it just a bit by removing the caramelized onions, bacon and apple (not that it didn’t sound delicious, I just didn’t have the time). Oh, and I upped the cheese factor a fair amount from what the original recipe suggested. More cheese and no bacon balances out, right?
So, here is how simple it was to throw together this recipe. First, I cooked some macaroni per the instructions on the box and boiled and pureed some butternut squash. Then I added in most of the other ingredients, including chicken broth, milk, cream cheese, butter, salt and pepper.
The recipe calls for evaporated milk, which I didn’t have, so I just substituted some of Ike’s whole milk mixed with a little bit of cream that I had on hand. You can Google all kinds of substitutions for evaporated milk if you don’t have any.
It’s kind of funny that when everything is mixed together it looks like I used orange Velveeta cheese. It’s really squash, people, I swear!
Now, as if that didn’t already look appetizing, throw in some cheese. I like a lot of cheese.
And voila. Macaroni and cheese with a full serving of vegetables to boot. How often does that happen?
What do you think. Is this something you might add to your fall cooking repertoire? Oh, and I’m curious how you all deal with butternut squash. I like buying a whole squash for peeling and cutting, even though it is a little cumbersome. (I’ve actually got it down to a science so that it isn’t so hard to cut and peel.) Do you buy it pre-peeled and cut? Or do you battle it out with the squash?
Thi sounds super yummy. I really live Velveeta Mac and cheese, though. So I feel like this is a healthy alternative.
This sounds delicious! I will have to try it. I always buy (or grow) squash and peel and cut it up myself.
Ok, you must share your secret for dealing with a whole squash. It’s a nightmare for me. I recently roasted some, and despite microwaving it first for about 2min, I nearly broke my knife AND cut off my hand trying to slice through the darn thing. I’m about to just wave a white flag and spend the extra $ to get it pre-peeled and chopped.
I may have to give this a try, although butternut squash is a pain in the you-know-what. I recently discovered so…..last week for my dad’s birthday dinner, I made an appetizer (harvest pizza from Jessica’s How Sweet Eats blog) that called for butternut squash, and it was so time-consuming to peel and chop. But it was totally worth it: the pizza was delicious!
yes! please share your technique for the squash!!
Maybe I’ll do a little “how-to” segment on butternut squashes! I think the key is a really sharp knife…
The easiest way I have found to deal with a squash it to cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast it face down on a baking sheet. Once it is soft, it is a snap to peel. Roasting also gives it much more flavor. I love butternut squash mac and cheese, though I usually melt the cheese into a white sauce before pouring over the macaroni. Did it work well to just stir it in?
Hi Rhey,
Yes, it worked perfectly just to mix it in; it melted right away!