Butternut Squash Mac And Cheese

If you’ve never added butternut squash to your mac and cheese before, you’re missing out. It adds a gorgeously sweet background flavour which balances out the cheese so beautifully. Once blended, it also helps create a thick and silky sauce. Sound good? Follow me…

Roasted Butternut Squash

Now, you could boil the squash, but I much prefer roasting it. It takes a little more time/effort, but it’s truly worth it.

Why roast the butternut squash?

Roasting the squash will also caramelize it, which adds heaps more flavour than simply boiling it. Plus, whilst it does take more time to cook, you don’t need to peel and dice the squash (which is never a fun process).

Roasted Garlic

Since we’re roasting the squash, it only makes sense to roast some garlic alongside, since they take the same time to roast. Plus, those dents in the squash are way too perfect not to place some garlic in. Roasting the garlic will sweeten up the flavour and take the harsh bite out of it. Plus it’ll completely soften, which makes it perfect to blend through this mac and cheese. Process shots: slice off stalk (photo 1), slice in half (photos 2&3), gut out seeds and coat in oil, salt and pepper (photo 4), add in garlic (photo 5), roast (photo 6).

Butternut Squash Sauce

Once the squash is super tender, it’s time to blend it up into a sauce. I use a food processor which has a blending option. You want something high-powered to really blitz the squash and turn it silky smooth. With the roasted squash and garlic, we’re going to create the base of the sauce using:

Milk – I recommend using whole milk (much creamier). The squash will already be naturally creamy once blended, but some milk certainly helps things along 😛 Chicken Stock – This thins out the squash to create the sauce. It also adds a baseline flavour too.

Process shots: scoop out squash and squeeze out garlic (photo 1), add to blender (photo 2), add stock and milk (photo 3), blitz until very smooth (photo 4).

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Once you’ve blended the sauce, it’s time to crack on with the mac and cheese.

The power of Bacon

I HIGHLY recommend adding bacon to this recipe. Not only does it add some crispy texture, but the saltiness also helps balance out the sweetness of the squash. I typically fry it then remove from the pan and add it in at the end; just to help it stay crisp. However you can just leave it in the pot if you’d prefer.

What Cheese should I use?

I use a base of Cheddar, alongside some Gouda too. Gruyere also works nicely as a secondary cheese.

Extra Seasoning

To give this mac and cheese a little extra ‘umph’ we’re going in with some dijon mustard, which helps enhance those yummy cheesy tones. I also love adding in some smoked paprika to highlight the light charring out the squash, alongside some cayenne pepper to balance everything out with a kick of spice.

Starchy Pasta Water

The sauce will be pretty thick once you melt the cheese through it. As such, you’ll want to stir in some of the leftover pasta water to thin it out. The starch will also help emulsify the fats and bind everything together to help create a smooth and creamy sauce. Process shots: add bacon to pot (photo 1), fry then remove (photo 2), pour in sauce (photo 3), stir in cheese (photo 4), stir in seasoning (photo 5), stir in pasta, bacon and pasta water (photo 6).

Serving Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

You’ll want to check for seasoning/spice and adjust before serving up. You can also continue stirring through the pasta water a splash at a time to thin it out if needed. Plate up right away, as the sauce thickens pretty quickly! For more delicious butternut squash pasta recipes check out my Brown Butter Butternut Squash Pasta, Roasted Garlic Pumpkin Alfredo and Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta! For more stovetop mac and cheese recipes check out my Creamy One Pot Mac and Cheese and French Onion Mac and Cheese! Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this butternut squash mac and cheese shall we?!