Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

🧀 Why We Love This Recipe

• Dairy and gluten free (optional): Butternut squash provides a nice nuttiness that helps to mimic that cheesy flavor that vegan cheese often has a hard time replicating. It also adds an orange-yellow color to the sauce, meaning it's great for kids because it looks like the real thing! It's also easy to keep this vegan butternut squash mac and cheese 100% gluten free by using GF pasta, so it's perfect for families with various food restrictions.
• Texture: The sauce is silky smooth, and the crisped up cornflakes that are sprinkled on top add a nice crunch to keep every bite interesting.
• Great fall dinner: This is an awesome, creative dish to make once fall rolls around. It's such a cozy dinner and a great way to use up that butternut squash that's been sitting on your counter for the last week!

🥘 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this vegan butternut squash mac and cheese:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Butternut squash: It should be easy to find, but if your store is out of stock, feel free to replace it with any other winter squash, including acorn squash or sugar pumpkins (these are the smaller pumpkins you might see from time to time - they're about a third to half the size of a typical carving pumpkin). You could also sub with sweet potatoes or yams!
• Pasta: We used regular old elbow macaroni. In a pinch, penne or fusili would be good substitutes. And of course, feel free to use gluten free if needed!
• Nondairy milk: We prefer using full fat unflavored oat milk in this recipe. It has a neutral flavor and super creamy texture that makes for a silky smooth sauce! Cashew milk would also be a great choice. Just make sure that whichever variety you use doesn't contain any added flavors.
• Spices: to make this recipe more fall friendly, we add paprika, cinnamon, chili powder and nutmeg to the squash before roasting. It adds a great layer of flavor to the mac and cheese, but if you'd prefer to keep this super simple, you can just use salt instead.
• All purpose flour: feel free to use regular or gluten free in this recipe. Either way, it's the key to thickening up the cheese sauce.
• Vegan cheese: we use a mix of shredded vegan cheddar and mozzarella, but feel free to just use one or the other. A few of our favorite brands include VioLife, Field Roast & Miyoko's.
• Cornflakes: feel free to sub with breadcrumbs of choice for the topping. As long as they're crunchy, they're perfect on top of this vegan butternut squash mac and cheese!

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C and bring a pot of water to a boil (for the pasta). Dice onion and garlic. Cut squash into ½-1 inch cubes and add to a bowl with the diced onion and garlic.

(1) In a small bowl, stir together oil, paprika, cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Pour over squash and stir to coat.

(2) Roast squash on a parchment lined tray for about 25 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent the onion from burning. While the squash is cooking, cook pasta according to package directions. When the squash is done, remove it from the oven and set aside until you are ready to blend it into the sauce.

(3) Add butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the flour. Slowly whisk in the milk, letting it thicken between additions. Once all of the milk has been added in, whisk in the remaining salt, the chili powder, nutmeg, dijon, and the 2 cups of cheese. Continue stirring the sauce until the cheese is mostly melted.

(4) Add the cheese sauce and the roasted squash and onions to a heat safe blender. Blend for 30-40 seconds until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

(5) Pour cheese sauce over pasta, stir well to coat all of the macaroni, and pour into a 9”x13” baking dish. You can also use a large, greased skillet.

Mix together crushed cornflakes/breadcrumbs and melted butter with a pinch of salt until well coated.

Top the macaroni and cheese with the breadcrumbs and bake for about 20 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are lightly browned.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• The key to melting vegan cheese: vegan cheese shreds are much slower to melt and break down than regular cheese, but it is possible! The key is patience and lots of stirring. It typically takes about 5-8 minutes for the shreds to fully melt into a smooth sauce, but it also depends on the brand you're using.
• Don't want the crispy topping? Leave it out and serve this vegan butternut squash unbaked. It's equally delicious (and a bit quicker!).
• Be sure to stir the butternut squash and onions when they are roasting to prevent burning.
• Make sure to use a heat safe blender. Hot liquids release steam, so if your lid is absolutely airtight, the pressure build up can cause the top to pop off. You can also use an immersion blender if you find that easier.
• Not vegan? Feel free to sub the ingredients here with regular butter, cheese and milk.
• Extra fancy topping: fried sage! Heat 1-2 tablespoon oil in a small skillet and fry fresh sage for a few seconds on each side until crispy. It's delicious and a great way to use up extra herbs from your garden!
• Delicious holiday side dish! If you've been wanting to try something new for the holidays, this vegan butternut squash mac and cheese is a great addition to any holiday menu. It's also perfect for picky kids. (I love serving it with these maple mustard brussels sprouts!)
• Serve with: a protein of choice. We particularly love enjoying this with some homemade tofu nuggets!
• Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It's best reheated in the microwave in 30 second intervals – stir well between each interval.
• Freezer storage: Let the mac and cheese cool completely before storing in an airtight container for up to 3-6 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat in the microwave or oven.

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