I love mac & cheese. But, I don’t eat it very often because of all the calories & saturated fats. But, this Butternut Squash “Mac” & Cheese is awesome! With all that butternut squash, you can cut back on the cheese without losing flavor or creaminess. All the pleasures of mac & cheese with no guilt!
I like the added texture of the whole wheat pasta to this dish. And, the husband approved, not only of the yummy dish, but the use of whole wheat pasta (he normally shys away from the whole wheat ones saying they are too dense & not tasty)! This could easily be made gluten-free as well by using gluten-free pasta.
The butternut squash has a lovely earthy flavor, and the green veggies help to round out the dish. I love it! Comfort food at its finest, healthy and yummy!
Butternut Squash “Mac” & Cheese Recipe
Butternut Squash “Mac” & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash
- olive oil
- 3 cups small to medium sized whole wheat pasta uncooked
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube optional
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ½ cup – 1 cup fresh broccoli florets
- 4 ounces cream cheese half a block
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Wash the outside of the butternut squash. With a sharp knife, carefully poke several holes all over the squash. Place squash on microwave safe place lined with paper towels, and microwave 5-8 minutes, until the squash is soft enough to easily cut through. This will depend on the size of your squash and the power of your microwave.
- Half and seed the butternut squash. Cut squash into wedges.
- Roast the wedges in a large cast iron skillet or baking dish that has been lightly oiled for 30-40 minutes or until squash is easily peeled and starting to brown. Remove squash from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions, adding the vegetable bouillon to the water if desired. In the last minute of pasta cooking, add the frozen peas to the pot. Reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid, drain and transfer pasta back to pot and set aside.
- While the pasta cooks, steam the broccoli in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Scoop the flesh of the squash into a food processor and add the cream cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, and ½ cup of reserved cooking liquid. Puree until everything is nice and uniform, adding additional reserved cooking liquid if necessary to get a thick creamy sauce.
- Pour sauce over the pasta and toss in the steamed broccoli. Enjoy!
Looks delish! I always put butternut squash in my mac and cheese, LOVE it!
This sounds delicious — definitely have to put this on the menu sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Really sour cream, and cream cheese? Love it, I don’t eat noodles, but I am thinking I can use some quinoa, thanks for the idea. Pinned to my everything yummy board, thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays.
Thank you for bringing your yummy mac and cheese to Family Fun Friday! Hope you come again this week! Blessings!
Debi, I’m featuring your dish on the Let’s Get Real Friday Party this week. Friday I start hosting the event with 3 other great bloggers and selected your Mac N Cheese.
I love when you lighten up a recipe, they always look so very good!!
I am so completely in love with this dish and I haven’t even tasted it yet! The addition of butternut squash is pure genius as it will elevate the creaminess without added calories. And I never thought about using sour cream and cream cheese in a “mac ;n cheese!” I think my family will really enjoy this dish and I hope to make it for them very soon!
Wow this looks fantastic and I love the idea of Butternut Squash being added to the mac and cheese! Great idea!!