Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

I. love. casseroles. Are you with me? Meet Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese. It will satisfy what your heart desires. What does my heart desire? Carbs and cheese. That’s pretty much it. Add in some butternut squash? Now we can call this healthy. Try it for yourself!

This recipe is from The Toasted Pine Nut. Her recipes are great! Especially this one. Some of her recipes are low carb because her husband is a diabetic. But not this one! I like that this one because it has carbs. I neeeed carbs. I feel so much more satiated when I have plenty of carbs in my diet. It sucks that our society demonizes carbs and makes us feel guilty for eating pasta and pizza. Italians eat a lot of pizza and pasta. I’ll fit right in next semester.

I pretty much love butternut squash. I enjoyed the trader joe’s butternut squash ravioli. But this homemade pasta tastes so much fresher!!! I can’t go back now.

I learned from Struggle Meals on snapchat that butternut squash is super creamy so it tricks the brain into thinking there is more cheese. Interesting… I’ll take it!

Also, I learned a new trick when I made this recipe: broil the breadcrumbs. GENIUS. It makes the topping perfectly crispy. From now on I will always broil my breadcrumbs. Game changer.

Here’s the recipe. Y’all should try it. You won’t regret it. I loved having homemade mac and cheese in the fridge to eat all week. In fact, typing this right now I miss it. I need to make it again asap.

Recipe from: thetoastedpinenut.com

Ingredients:

• 3 cups butternut squash cubes
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 16 oz. noodles
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Over high heat, add the butternut squash, broth and garlic to a pot. Cover and bring to a boil.
2. Then, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
3. While the squash is boiling, cook your pasta according to package directions.
4. Once the butternut squash is easily pierced with a fork, pour the entire mixture (broth and squash) into a high powered blender or food processor along with the cream, cheddar, mozzarella, and salt. Blend until smooth.
5. Drain the pasta and place back into the pot. Pour the cheese/butternut sauce on top and mix until coated.
6. Transfer the mac & cheese to a baking dish and top with panko breadcrumbs.
7. Broil for 1-3 minutes until the breadcrumbs are browned and crispy.
8. Share with your friends at your own risk 😉

Puns make life better. Here’s some cheese inspriation for finals:

Things will get feta and brie strong.

-Sho