I am so excited to be sharing this recipe! I made something similar a few years ago for a potluck, but I was itching for a revamp. Let’s be clear, this is not going to taste exactly like mac and cheese. It looks a bit like mac and cheese, it’s just as comforting and hearty, but the flavor profile is quite different. The sauce is made out of roasted butternut squash, sweet onions and roasted garlic. I I added a bit of nutritional yeast, paprika and chipotle seasoning and blended this up into a creamy sauce. I also added a can of canellini beans for extra protein. I had friends over to try this and it was a huge hit! Everyone went back for seconds…and thirds! It was also pretty easy to make!
To Prepare:
- On a baking sheet, toss cubed butternut squash and roughly chopped sweet onion with olive oil, himalayan sea salt, chipotle seasoning and paprika
- On the same baking sheet, wrap 2 heads of garlic in foil. I cut off the tops to expose some of the flesh.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, until fork tender and caramelized. The garlic may need to stay in the oven for 10 additional minutes.
- Let this cool, and add the butternut squash, garlic and onion to a food processor. Add 1 cup of non-dairy milk, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, and puree, adding water or milk as necessary to get a smooth consistency. At this point, I taste the mixture to see if it needs more chipotle seasoning for spice or salt.
- In a pot, boil 1 package of pasta until al-dente. Reserve some of the cooking liquid to loosen the sauce later.
- Mix the sauce with the pasta and place in a baking dish. The pasta should be slightly runny, but be able to hold shape enough. Add pasta water or milk if the sauce is too thick. Add 1 can of canellini beans, rinsed.
- Cover with a layer of breadcrumbs and some pepitas, and return to the oven.
- Set the oven to the broil setting and broil the pasta until the top browns slightly. Remove, garnish with parsley and serve!
Roasted Butternut Squash Vegan Mac and Cheese
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1 butternut squash, or about 20 oz packet of butternut squash cubed
- 1 large sweet Onion cubed
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 box pasta of choice I used rigatoni
- Unsweetened non-dairy milk of choice
- 1 16 oz can cannellini beans
- 1 tsp chipotle seasoning
- 1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1-2 tsp himalayan pink salt regular sea salt works fine too!
Optional Toppings
- breadcrumbs
- pepitas
- parsley
Instructions
- Step 1: Roast the Veggies
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- On a baking sheet, toss the cubed butternut squash and roughly chopped sweet onion with olive oil, himalayan sea salt, chipotle seasoning and paprika
- On the same baking sheet, wrap 2 heads of garlic in foil. I cut off the tops to expose some of the flesh.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, until fork tender and caramelized. The garlic may need to stay in the oven for 10 additional minutes.
- Let this cool.
Step 2: Prepare the Sauce
- Add the butternut squash, garlic and onion to a food processor. Add 1 cup of non-dairy milk, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, and puree, adding water or milk as necessary to get a smooth consistency. At this point, I taste the mixture to see if it needs more chipotle seasoning for spice or salt.
- Step 3: Prepare the Baked Dish
- In a pot, boil 1 package of pasta until al-dente. Reserve some of the cooking liquid to loosen the sauce later.
- Mix the sauce with the pasta and place in a baking dish and 1 can of canellini beans, rinsed. The pasta should be slightly runny, but be able to hold shape enough. Add pasta water or milk if the sauce is too thick.
- Cover with a layer of breadcrumbs and some pepitas, and return to the oven.
- Set the oven to the broil setting and broil the pasta until the top browns slightly (1-3 minutes).
- Remove, garnish with parsley and serve!
