Description

This vegan butternut squash mac and cheese tastes phenomenal and beats the Trader Joe’s version any day! It’s creamy, cheesy, packed with flavor and genuinely tastes like traditional mac and cheese.

Ingredients

Scale

Butternut squash (need 1 cup of the flesh)*
2 garlic cloves
Olive oil and kosher salt
½ cup raw, unsalted cashews**
¾ cup unsweetened cashew milk or water
¼ cup nutritional yeast
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp amino acids
¼ teaspoon mustard (optional)
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp black pepper
12 ounces elbow macaroni or medium shells
Fresh thyme or oregano for garnish

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Cut the butternut squash in half or quarters and place on the prepared tray with the garlic. I like to drizzle the squash and garlic with olive oil and salt to help them caramelize (which will add more flavor to the sauce). Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until the squash is fork-tender. Once the squash and garlic are done, let it cool for 15 minutes (otherwise you’ll burn your hands) and scoop out the flesh. You’ll need a total of 1 cup of the squash However, if you want a more prominent squash flavor, you can use 2 cups.
While the squash is roasting, cook the pasta shells according to package instructions and then drain. Don’t rinse the pasta, because the residual pasta water on the shells will help the cheese sauce cling to the pasta.
Add the squash flesh, roasted garlic, cashews, cashew milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, olive oil, amino acids, salt, and pepper into a high-speed blender (I used my Vitamix). Start blending the sauce on low, slowly ramping the speed up to high. Blend for a total of 2 minutes. Then stop, scrape down the sides, and adjust the salt as needed. Blend for an additional 1 minute on high.
Pour all the sauce into the pot of cooked pasta, turn the heat on medium-low, and stir to coat the shells. Continue to cook and stir the pasta until the sauce clings to the pasta. Serve with a sprinkle of minced thyme or oregano and freshly cracked black pepper!
Store any leftovers in a glass tupperware in the fridge for up to 3 days. See notes for reheating!***

Notes

*If you want a more prominent squash flavor, use 2 cups of the butternut squash flesh. I prefer using just 1 cup, but taste-test the sauce and add more if you like!

**If you want to make this butternut squash mac and cheese nut-free, you can substitute the cashews for coconut cream.

***To reheat the mac and cheese, add it to a pot with a generous splash of cashew milk. Turn the heat on medium-low and gently stir the mac and cheese until the sauce loosens a little bit. Continue this process until the mac and cheese is piping hot (takes about 8 minutes).

If you want to take this mac and cheese a step further, follow the directions for the entire recipe and then pour the finished mac and cheese into a casserole dish. Sprinkle generously with breadcrumbs and then bake in a 450°F oven for 15 minutes or until crispy!