Recipe: Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

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| Category: from the Kitchen

By Chela Cooper

Sometimes it’s a good idea to play with your food.

This fall at Great Kids Farm, we had a great crop of butternut squash. Students who came out to the farm for school visits were able to sample some of it cubed and roasted during tasting workshops. On student commented, “this looks like cheese.”

That gave me an idea.

Mac and Cheese is a favorite food for lots of kids. I wondered if we could make a healthier mac and cheese that kids would still find tasty if we used butternut squash to make the creamy sauce. I found that roasting the squash gave it a richer flavor, and blending it with the pasta cooking water gave it a creamy texture. Each day of the Healthy Eating, Healthy Living summit, this mac and cheese was part of a menu that also included grilled chicken breast, and a variety of veggie sides including roasted cauliflower, braised cabbage, beet salad, roasted root vegetables, pickled carrots, mixed green salad, and collards.

Over 300 students in grades Pre-K through 12th grade taste-tested the mac and cheese with an overwhelming two thumbs up! The recipe is below, or you can download and print so you can make it at home. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 lb whole grain elbow macaroni
  • 8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Slice a butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Lightly oil a baking pan andplace the squash cut-side down into the pan. Cook in a preheated 375°F oven until the squash a fork or knife can easily pierce the squash (40-60 minutes). Remove the pan from the oven and let the squash cool for about 15-20 minutes.
  3. Fill a large pot with 1 gallon of water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, add 1 tablespoon of coarse salt and 1 pound of macaroni noodles. Cook until noodles are “al dente” according to the package directions.
  4. While the noodles are cooking, scrape the cooked butternut squash out of its skin and into a large bowl. Measure how much squash you have. 
  5. When the noodles are cooked, turn off the heat. Measure out an amount of the pasta water equal to the cooked squash (e.g., if you have 2 cups of cooked squash, measure out 2 cups of pasta water).
  6. Using an immersion blender or a traditional blender, puree the cooked squash with an equal part of the pasta water to make a 
    creamy sauce. Set aside.
  7. Drain the rest of the water from the cooked macaroni, and return the drained noodles to the pot. Add enough of the pureed squash mixture to almost cover the noodles, and gently mix together with a large spoon.
  8. Pour the noodles and squash mixture into a large casserole dish. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the top.Cover the dish with a 
    lid or aluminum foil and bake at 375°F for 35-45 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

     

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