Are you looking for a delightful recipe to incorporate more vegetables into your mac and cheese? Look no further than this article, your ultimate guide to creating an irresistibly creamy and cheesy dish with a secret ingredient: pureed squash! With our carefully curated collection of recipes, you'll find the perfect combination of flavors and textures to satisfy your cravings for comfort food. Whether you prefer a classic baked mac and cheese with a golden-brown crust or a stovetop version for a quick and easy meal, we've got you covered. So, let's embark on a culinary adventure as we explore the art of creating the ultimate sneaky squash mac and cheese that will tantalize your taste buds and keep your loved ones coming back for more.
Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!
BUTTERNUT SQUASH MAC & CHEESE
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9" x 11" glass baking dish with oil and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add squash and boil until tender, 5-6 minutes.
- When fork tender, transfer squash with a slotted spoon to a blender.
- Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions. When cooked, drain and put back into the pot.
- Meanwhile, add ½ cup vegetable broth, onion powder, garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper to the blender with the squash. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the shallots and cook another minute.
- Add the remaining 1 cup broth and milk and whisk to combine. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook 5 minutes, whisking frequently.
- Remove pot from heat and whisk in cheese, pureed squash, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.
- Add sauce to noodles, gently mix to combine, then transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture and bake 25 minutes. Switch oven to high broil and broil for 2-3 minutes, or until crumbs are starting to brown.
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 1 cup, Calories 275 kcal, Protein 13 g, Carbohydrate 43 g, Fiber 4.5 g, Fat 7 g, Sugar 5 g, Cholesterol 21 mg, SaturatedFat 4 g, Sodium 462 mg
SQUASH MAC AND CHEESE
This mighty mac and cheese might look like all other mac and cheeses, but it has a surprising and delicious ingredient.
Provided by Betty Crocker Kitchens
Categories Entree
Time 20m
Yield 3
Number Of Ingredients 3
Steps:
- Make macaroni and cheese dinner as directed on box--except stir in squash purée with the milk.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 160, Carbohydrate 20 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Fat 1, Fiber 1 g, Protein 4 g, SaturatedFat 1 1/2 g, ServingSize 1 Serving, Sodium 220 mg, Sugar 4 g, TransFat 1 g
SNEAKY SQUASH MAC AND CHEESE
This is a delicious mac and cheese recipe that everyone will love (even the pickiest of eaters, because they all live at my house!) This has butternut squash and no cheese! The result is a melt-in-your-mouth, slightly sweet, good-for-you, kid-pleasing mac and cheese!
Provided by Jennifer Wechs Fedder
Categories Main Dish Recipes Pasta Macaroni and Cheese Recipes Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese Recipes
Time 20m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.
- While the macaroni is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk together, making a roux; cook for 1 minute. Add milk, 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly until incorporated. Cook and whisk until sauce is thick and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add squash and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
- Drain pasta and add to sauce. Serve hot.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 280.7 calories, Carbohydrate 46.5 g, Cholesterol 15.1 mg, Fat 6.1 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 9.2 g, SaturatedFat 3.5 g, Sodium 53 mg, Sugar 3.7 g
BUTTERNUT SQUASH MAC AND CHEESE
I know it sounds odd, but my girl LOVED butternut squash! This dog might even go for it before a steak, especially if there were also pasta and cheese involved in the deal!
Provided by Rachael Ray : Food Network
Categories side-dish
Time 20m
Yield 5 servings (Boo counted for 2)
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Heat a pot of water to boil for the pasta. Salt the water then add the pasta and cook to al dente or, with a bite to it.
- While pasta cooks, heat a medium heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the extra-virgin olive oil and butter. When the butter melts into the oil, add the thyme and grate the onion directly into the pot with a hand held grater or Microplane. Cook the grated onion in butter and oil 1 to 2 minutes, then add flour and cook together 1 to 2 more minutes. Whisk in stock, then combine with butternut squash until warmed through and smooth. Stir in cream or half-and-half and bring sauce to a bubble. Stir in cheeses in a figure 8 motion and season the completed sauce with salt, nutmeg and pepper. Taste to adjust seasonings.
- Drain cooked pasta well and combine with sauce. Serve alongside chicken sammies and top with thyme leaves picked from remaining sprigs (Boo would also have a little extra sprinkle of that cheese, please!)
BUTTERNUT SQUASH MAC AND CHEESE
I received this recipe from a dear friend. This is a quick, great way to incorporate a fall vegetable into a comfort-food favorite. Sweet, creamy, and delicious.
Provided by bwayfreak3
Categories Main Dish Recipes Pasta Macaroni and Cheese Recipes Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipes
Time 1h20m
Yield 10
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Place butternut squash, cut-side down, on a baking sheet.
- Roast squash in the preheated oven until soft, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove squash flesh from skin and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk flour and mustard into melted butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk milk into flour mixture until the mixture has the texture of heavy cream, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Stir butternut squash, white Cheddar cheese, and Cheddar cheese into milk mixture until cheese is melted. Stir rotini into cheese mixture. Pour cheese mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Top with bread crumbs.
- Bake in the preheated oven until bread crumbs are golden, about 10 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 414.3 calories, Carbohydrate 51.9 g, Cholesterol 45.7 mg, Fat 15.6 g, Fiber 3.7 g, Protein 17.7 g, SaturatedFat 9.4 g, Sodium 307.2 mg, Sugar 6 g
SNEAKY MAC 'N CHEESE
No one will guess there's a boost of extra nutrition from butternut squash and nonfat dry milk in this super-creamy crowd-pleaser. I found this recipe in Woman's World magazine. I have not tried this recipe, but I'm posting it for safe keeping.
Provided by internetnut
Categories Cheese
Time 34m
Yield 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350. Coat shallow 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well; reserve.
- Meanwhile, whisk dry milk powder into low-fat milk until smooth. In large pot, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour; cook, whisking constantly, until starting to brown, 2 minutes. Whisk in milk mixture until blended; cook, stirring, until thickened, 2 minutes. Stir in squash until smooth and blended. Stir in cheese, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
- Stir pasta into cheese sauce; transfer to baking dish. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter; stir in crackers and dried thyme. Sprinkle over pasta mixture. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 15 minutes. If desired, garnish with thyme sprigs.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 567.5, Fat 20.6, SaturatedFat 12.6, Cholesterol 63.1, Sodium 801.8, Carbohydrate 67.8, Fiber 2.4, Sugar 13.3, Protein 26.7
SNEAKY (HEALTHY) MAC AND CHEESE
Picky eaters can be really tough to convince to eat veggies and other healthy foods. Perfect for those picky eaters; it has veggies masquerading as a cheese sauce! Just don't tell them, we'll keep it our little secret!! Cheaters Alley: If you can't find butternut squash frozen or just want to shave a few minutes off prep time, you can use canned pumpkin instead. It would be about 1 cup of pumpkin or squash, and you can skip the boiling with the milk and water. Adapted from www.girlmakesfood.com
Provided by Nicoleg
Categories Macaroni And Cheese
Time 1h
Yield 1 9x13 pan, 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- •Put cauliflower florets in microwave safe dish and cook covered for 10 minutes, or until tender.
- •In a large pot, bring pasta water to a boil.
- •Add pasta, and cook until al dente, I recommend 2 minutes less than the package says.
- •Drain and add back to the pot, off the heat.
- •In another, small pot, boil milk and pasta water (scoop it out of the boiling pasta pot) with the butternut squash.
- •Add the butternut squash and milk mix into a blender with the cheeses.
- •Add the cauliflower.
- •Blend until smooth.
- •Taste, you will probably need to add a decent amount of salt.
- •Add the sauce to the pasta and place in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.
- •Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed (yes again - this is your last chance to get it perfect!).
- Melt butter and mix with bread crumbs.
- Sprinkle bread crumbs over mac n cheese.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are golden.
- Can be made ahead and refridgerated. Just cook 30 minutes.
- •Eat up! (And don't tell!).
Nutrition Facts : Calories 150.4, Fat 8, SaturatedFat 4.8, Cholesterol 23.9, Sodium 213.4, Carbohydrate 13.2, Fiber 1.7, Sugar 2.6, Protein 8
Tips:
- Choose the right squash: For a creamy and flavorful mac and cheese, use a sweet and flavorful squash like butternut squash or kabocha squash.
- Roast the squash: Roasting the squash brings out its natural sweetness and caramelizes it slightly. This adds a depth of flavor to the mac and cheese.
- Use a variety of cheeses: A combination of cheeses will give the mac and cheese a complex and rich flavor. Try using a combination of cheddar, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses.
- Don't overcook the pasta: Cook the pasta al dente, which means it should be tender but still have a slight bite to it. Overcooked pasta will become mushy and ruin the texture of the mac and cheese.
- Add some spice: If you like a little bit of heat, add some cayenne pepper or chili powder to the mac and cheese. This will give it a nice kick and make it even more flavorful.
Conclusion:
Sneaky squash mac and cheese is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that is perfect for a weeknight meal or a party. It is a great way to get your kids to eat their vegetables, and it is also a healthier alternative to traditional mac and cheese. With its creamy texture, flavorful cheese, and hidden vegetables, this dish is sure to be a hit with everyone who tries it.
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