Want to sneak some veggies into your kiddos mac and cheese? This vegan mac and cheese sauce is loaded with butternut squash, making it super nutritious and flavourful. The colour blends perfectly and they will NEVER guess there’s hidden veggies in this one!
Most kids love macaroni and cheese, so you shouldn’t have any trouble putting this dish on the table.
All you taste is the delicious “cheesy” goodness, in a rich, beautiful sauce that smothers your favourite noodles.
Butternut squash mac and cheese, for the win!
How to make butternut squash mac and cheese?
Start by peeling and chopping your butternut squash. Then place the squash chunks in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until a fork pieces through easily. This should take around 8-10 minutes. Drain the squash and place it in your blender with all the other sauce ingredients. Blend your sauce until smooth and creamy.
Meanwhile, get your pasta water boiling and cook your favourite noodles, according to the package directions. Drain and return to the pot, and then drown them in the delicious, rich, uhh-mazing sauce.
If your sauce cools down before your pasta is ready, you may run the blender a little longer to get it to heat up again. Alternatively, pour the sauce into the pot with the pasta and heat it over the stove top for a couple of minutes.
Serve with a sprinkle or two of smoked paprika, or some vegan parmesan cheese on top for some extra oomph of cheesiness.
Why butternut squash?
I like to use butternut squash, not only for the deliciousness and nutrients, but also the colour.
When serving mac and cheese to children, there’s something about the yellowy orange cheese sauce that makes their eyes light up.
The squash really adds a nice bright colour to the sauce to resemble store bought, boxed varieties, so this should be a nice and easy replacement.
For more ways to use squash, try my air fryer spaghetti squash, or my butternut squash soup.
More Vegan Mac & Cheese Dishes
If you tried this recipe, please let me know about it in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don’t forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.
Buon appetito,
Rosa
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small butternut squash peeled & chopped into 1 inch pieces (approx 1.5-2lb squash)
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup unsweetened cashew milk or milk of choice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- 1 lb elbow noodles or pasta of choice, gluten free if preferred
- smoked or sweet paprika optional garnish
Instructions
- Add the squash to a small sauce pot, cover with water and boil for 8 minutes, or until a fork pierces through easily. Drain and add to your blender, along with all remaining ingredients, except the pasta. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook your pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to the pot. Pour about two thirds of the sauce into the pasta and mix well to prevent sticking.
- Use the remaining sauce to garnish each plate, or dump all of it into the pot and mix. Serve garnished with a sprinkle of paprika if desired.
Meena
What can be used in place of cashews (allergy)?
Rosa
Hi Meena, you can use raw sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds instead. Enjoy. 🙂
Mary
Made this for my family of 4 and everyone went for seconds!!!!! So delicious, thank you!
Rosa
Fabulous! So glad everyone enjoyed, thanks for sharing Mary.
Mathilde
THIS IS INSAAANE it’s sooooo creamy omg
Rosa
Glad you enjoyed Mathilde! 🙂
Jenny
This meal was good.
It was our first time having vegan mac and cheese.
One of my teens loved it, the other not so much.
I think I will try to tweak it for a little more band next time.
It definitely covered my pasta craving and I got my veggies in, but it was a little bland for our taste.
Nikki
Made this today after seeing the recipe a bit ago. As a lactose intolerant being who loves cheese I’m always on the hunt for a swap that reminds me of the traditional dairy based dish which thats flavorful and filling and this is it!. I love it! I do wonder could you put this in the oven for a bit to make it like a baked mac and cheese or would you have to alter the sauce? Thanks!
Rosa
Thanks so much for the review Nikki. Thrilled you enjoyed. Yes you can bake the dish or broil for a few minutes to crisp up the top.
Nikki
Awesome thanks! Can’t wait to try!!
Vanessa
How many cups would you say of squash? I have diced butternut squash.
Thank you.
Rosa
Hi Vanessa, you’ll need 3.5-4 cups. Enjoy!
Cristi A
I’m looking to make this ahead of time and take to a potluck type dinner. Does it reheat well in the oven or does the sauce separate? What temp would you recommend?
Rosa
Hi Cristi, you can definitely make this ahead of time, but I’d under cook the pasta a couple minutes, and I’d also keep a cup or two of the sauce in a separate container since the pasta will continue absorbing the sauce as it sits. When ready to reheat, mix the extra sauce in. Hope you enjoy!
Saga
This was great! Swapped vinegar for the salt and added smoked paprika and spinach! Delicious 🙂
Rosa
So glad you enjoyed Saga. Thanks so much for the feedback. 🙂
Traunza
This was simple, quick and delicious! My 13 yr old niece said it was the best meal she’s had all week! Definitely a keeper.
Rosa
That’s wonderful to hear! Thanks very much for taking the time to leave a review.
Mary
I’m going to try this probably on Sunday, just a quick question. I do not have a high powered blender, thought I would do it in batches with my mini food processor, question is should I add the cashews to the cooking squash, to soften them? Do you think coconut milk (unsweetened, carton) would work?
Thanks
rosa
Hi Mary, yes I would add the cashews to the squash, this will definitely make them easier to break down in a food processor. Coconut milk should work well. Hope you enjoy!! 🙂