Vegan Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

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Macaroni pasta gets covered in a silky smooth, creamy and delicious sauce. This vegan butternut squash mac and cheese is wholesome and flavourful and the colour is so perfect, your picky eaters won’t guess the difference!

Mac and cheese in blue bowl with handles.

This recipe was originally published in September 2019. It has been updated for content and photos.

When you have picky eaters to feed, mac and cheese is a sure winner! But this version is one that adults can feel fantastic about too!

With butternut squash as the star, you can feel great about sneaking in nutrients to this kid-friendly dish.

Butternut squash is such a versatile vegetable that you can serve on its own, as a soup, and now as a sauce!

Serve it up with some broccoli or green beans on the side.

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Reader Feedback
Why you’ll love it
Ingredients + Substitutions
Instructions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Expert Tips
More delicious vegan kid-friendly food
📖 Recipe
FAQ

Reader Feedback

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 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. – Traunza

Why you’ll love it

Wholesome! This dish is unlike most mac and cheese recipes. Instead, it features nutrient-dense butternut squash as the star. Plus, there’s no vegan butter or oil, making it a heart healthy choice.
Kid-friendly and picky eater approved! There’s something about the yellow/orange colour of this butternut squash mac and cheese sauce that makes children’s eyes light up. Perhaps because it resembles store-bought, boxed varieties. This one is a winner for my boys in our healthy kitchen.
Delicious! Wholesome food doesn’t have to be boring. This dish is so satisfying, it’s great for adults too!
Simple to whip up. Okay, it’s not as quick as boxed mac and cheese, of course. But it only requires 9 ingredients (mostly from the pantry) and is ready in just 30 minutes.

Two bowls of mac and cheese with butternut squash beside them.

Ingredients + Substitutions

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this delicious vegan butternut squash mac and cheese.

Ingredients needed to make butternut squash mac and cheese on kitchen countertop. — See recipe card for quantities.

Butternut squash: It wouldn’t be butternut squash mac and cheese without the butternut squash. Choose one that feels heavy for its size, has a hard skin, and is free from bruises. For this recipe, I use a 2-pound squash, or approx. 5 cups cubed.
Pasta: Macaroni or elbow shape is classic, but if you can get your hands on cavatappi (pictured above) they are quite fun! Any variety will work perfectly fine here, even gluten-free pasta, if needed.
Nutritional yeast: Adds delicious cheesy and umami flavour to the sauce.
Cashews: Enhances the creamy and rich texture of the sauce. If you cannot have cashews, blanched almonds are a great alternative. If you need it nut-free, you may use raw sunflower seeds or pepitas.
Cashew milk: Any non-dairy milk will work fine here, as long as it’s unsweetened. Use whatever plant-based milk you have on hand.
Spices: Onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and salt enhance the delicious flavour of our cheese sauce.

Instructions

(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)

Start by peeling and chopping your butternut squash into cubes. Then bring to a boil in a small pot until a fork tender. At the same time, bring a large pot of water to boil to cook your pasta.

Blender with squash, cashews, and spices inside.

Add the cooked and drained squash with all remaining sauce ingredients to your blender. (photo 1)

Blender with creamy orange sauce inside.

Blend until completely smooth, adding a bit more plant milk if needed for consistency. (photo 2)

Macaroni pasta with orange sauce on top.

Cook the pasta to ‘al dente’. Then drain it, return to the pot and add the sauce. (photo 3)

Vegan mac and cheese in large sauce pot.

Stir until the pasta is evenly coated with the butternut squash mixture. (photo 4)

Then serve with a sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese or some extra salt and pepper if you’d like.

Blue bowl with handles filled with macaroni and orange sauce.

Variations

Here are some fun ways to change up the recipe:

Make it spicy: If you’re not serving picky eaters or young children, add one tablespoon of sriracha to the sauce before blending to kick it up a notch.
Use sweet potato instead of butternut squash, as we’ve done here.
Make it a baked version. Once mixed with the sauce, transfer to an oven safe dish and sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs. Then bake at 400°F/204°C for 5-10 to brown the top. (Or use the broil setting for 1-2 mins, but watch carefully to prevent burning.)
For low fat, omit the cashews and replace them with half a cup of white cannellini beans.
Make it a low calorie version and use spaghetti squash instead of wheat pasta.
For an Instant Pot version, try our pantry-friendly IP vegan mac and cheese.
Boost the protein with ground soy curls as we’ve done with our vegan hamburger helper.

Or, check out our avocado mac and cheese!

Equipment

To make this butternut squash sauce smooth and creamy, you’ll need a strong blender, such as a Vitamix.

If you don’t have a strong blender, add the cashews to the boiling water with your squash chunks. This will soften your cashews and help them blend more smoothly.

Storage

As the pasta sits with the sauce, it will continue to absorb it. So, if you plan to have leftovers, reserve a cup of the sauce in a separate container before mixing the rest into your pasta.

To reheat, add the pasta and the reserved sauce to a pan to return it to a creamy state.

If you forget to reserve some sauce, you may add a little plant milk or water to the pan when reheating.

You may freeze the mac and cheese sauce airtight in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. I don’t recommend freezing pasta as it alters the texture and tastes best freshly made.

Expert Tips

Salt your pasta water. Make sure to add enough salt to your pot of water for the best texture and flavour. Here’s a handy guide to help you salt your water perfectly each time.
If you do not have a powerful blender, add the cashews to the same pot with the squash and cook together. This will soften the cashews and help them blend more smoothly.

More delicious vegan kid-friendly food

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

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FAQ

What does butternut squash mac and cheese taste like?

It has a slightly sweet flavour that is similar to pumpkin with a hint of nutty flavour. The nutritional yeast adds a cheesy element.

Does butternut squash taste like cheese?

The flavour of butternut squash does not taste like cheese. It’s naturally sweet and slightly nutty, similar to sweet potato. However, it does a fantastic job of creating the base of this cheese sauce for it’s colour, moisture, and creamy texture.

Can you use butternut squash instead of spaghetti?

The butternut squash is strictly used for the sauce in this dish. Spaghetti squash has a stringy texture that butternut does not, so you cannot use it in place of spaghetti. That said, if you want a lighter version of this dish, you may use spaghetti squash to replace the wheat pasta.

Can you eat the skin of butternut squash?

Technically, the skin is edible and there is no danger in consuming it. However, texturally speaking, I prefer to peel the squash, resulting in a creamier mac and cheese sauce. Also, the skin CAN be a little bitter, depending on how soon the squash was harvested.

Vegan Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese [Oil Free]