Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese

Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese

I came up with this really yummy butternut squash macaroni and cheese recipe last week. I really wanted some macaroni and cheese, but I wanted to throw in some squash so that it was healthier, and I had quite a bit of basil that I had picked, and wanted to use rather than dehydrate, so I came up with this recipe. It was SO good. I was originally going to make it into a lasagna, but I started running low on time, so I decided to change it into macaroni and cheese. I hope that you enjoy it as much as my family did! If you want a more traditional macaroni and cheese, just leave out the basil, and substitute the cheese that you enjoy for the mozzerella.

This is not your everyday macaroni in cheese, it really tastes more like a vegetarian lasagna without the tomato sauce. OK, it is funny as I am trying to describe this! It was originally going to be a butternut squash lasagna with a basil cheese sauce. So, my layers would have included the basil cheese and butternut squash, but instead I mixed them together. (-:

Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese (with basil) Recipe

1 package of noodles (I used Wacky Mac noodles that I had gotten for free.)
3.5 cups of milk
3/4 stick of butter
3/4 cup of flour (I am actually out of flour, so I just ground up my wheat berries and used whole wheat flour, but it did affect the texture a little.)
2.5 cups of mozzerella
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I never have fresh parmesan cheese on hand, but I had been to Trader Joe’s, and I couldn’t wait for an excuse to use it. And, I was going for Italian lasagna at first, so it made sense.)
4 butternut squash from my garden. (These were small, so if you are buying the larger ones from the store, you probably only need 2.)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the butternut squash until it is soft. I have baked butternut squash as well as sauteed it and then added water and allowed it to simmer until soft. Drain the butternut squash and allow it to cool. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the flour and stir. Allow the flour to cook for about a minute. Then, add the milk. Allow the sauce to begin to thicken. The sauce will thicken from the squash and cheese, so it does not have to thicken very much. Once it has started to thicken. Puree the squash, and add salt and pepper to taste. I use my food processor so that the heat can escape.  Add the squash to the milk mixture. Then add the cheeses and basil. Stir until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over cooked noodles. Enjoy!

This meal cost me about $4.50 to make, since I had to buy the milk, butter and cheese.

I was actually surprised that the sauce was as white as it was. Next time, I am going to double the amount of butternut squash that I put into the recipe.

We are getting so much squash right now, I am adding it to everything. I just love it. What are some unique ways that you like to prepare squash?

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