Butternut squash mac & cheese. I’ve been wanting to make a butternut squash vegan cheese sauce for quite some time so when we grew our own butter squash I knew it was the perfect time to try.
This sauce is so creamy and so perfect for a big bowl of noodles. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good mac & cheese but it’s always nice to have a plant-based, non-dairy alternative. We love this version and so does the baby which is a total win for us! I give him dairy from time to time but I really love having a version of this total comfort food that is chock-full of veggies and a bit healthier. But still almost just as easy.
For this recipe, I used fresh butternut squash. It’s just peeled, seeds removed, and cut into cubes. But most stores sell cubed and packaged butternut squash now so that takes out a little bit of the work. And making this easier is nice, especially when cooking.
I tested this recipe in two different ways. The first was simply steaming the butternut squash and blending it with everything else in the Vita-Mix. The second way was to first roast the butternut squash and then blend it. While I did like the roasting it gives the sauce an almost sweeter more caramelized flavor. Which makes sense because roasting vegetables usually brings out the sugars and helps caramelize them. Some people might prefer this flavor. I like both ways but I think simply steaming is my preferred way to go for this sauce. But there are you two options.
Another thing I add to this recipe is nutritional yeast. This is a vegan cheese flavored flake sold at most grocery stores. I think this adds a lot of good flavors and gives you that cheesy taste that you’re going for with the mac & cheese. So here are a couple more options though. If you eat dairy and don’t mind this not being vegan, you can add some shredded cheddar cheese in place of the nutritional year. You will most definitely get the cheesy flavor then. Or if you want to keep it vegan, a shredded cheddar works. I stick to nutritional yeast because it has a lot of vitamins including B vitamins and I feel like that keeps more with whole gradients, but those other two shredded kinds of cheese are definitely options.
For this recipe you need:
- Butternut squash – roughly 12 ounces
- Cashews soakd in very hot water for 10 minutes
- lemon juice
- one onion
- nutritional yeast
- dijion mustard
- garlic powder, paprica, salt and pepper
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Begin by soaking cashews in hot water for 10 minutes
- While cashews are soaking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil onion and butternut squash for 10 minutes, until tender. Use a slotted spoon and add squash and onion to a high speed blender.
- Bring water back to a boil and cook pasta according to package instrustions.
- Drain the cashews and add to blender. Place the rest of the ingredients in the blender (not the pasta). Blend until creamy.
- Once the pasta is done cooking, drain and place back in the pot. Stir through the 'cheese' sauce. Serve and enjoy!
