In this Butternut Mac and Cheese, tender macaroni pasta is smothered with a golden butternut squash pasta sauce, loads of cheese, and a crisp breadcrumb topping. It is rich and hearty and perfect as a main dish with a salad or as a side to pair with all sorts of main dishes. This casserole can absolutely be a part of your Thanksgiving spread with its fall squash and decadent blend of both Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses.
We look forward to all of the colorful winter squash that appears in markets from late summer through the bleakest chilly months. From butternut and honeynut squash to kabocha and baking pumpkins, there are so many varieties to try. Some require a bit of work to process, but that combination of subtle sweetness and bright color can't be beat. Looking for a winter squash dish that requires no peeling? Try this roasted delicata squash with a bright ancho and maple vinaigrette!
Jump to:
- Ingredients
- Prepare the Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
- Cook the Pasta, Assemble, and Bake
- Working With Whole Butternut Squash
- Substitutions and Variations
- Equipment
- Serving Suggestions
- Make This Recipe Kid Friendly
- Storage and Make-Ahead Options
- FAQ
- Cozy Pasta Recipes
- Extra Cheese, Please!
- Try It and Share
- Recipe
- Comments
Ingredients
I include ingredient notes here when I think they'll be helpful, including ways to source, any preparation tips, or why I've chosen a particular ingredient. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their quantities!
- Butternut Squash - Butternut squash has a vibrant golden-yellow flesh and a sweet, nutty flavor. We absolutely choose the easy path and purchase peeled and chopped squash right from the store, but you can start from a whole butternut squash, too. Check out the tip below to process a whole squash.
- Pasta - Choose your favorite shape, but we almost always use a classic macaroni or curly mac like the Brami pasta pictured in the process photos below. Other good shapes are fusilli, cavatappi, or rigatoni.
- Chicken Broth - Use chicken stock or broth from scratch, bouillon cubes or paste, boxed, or canned.
- Milk - This recipe was developed with 2% milk. You can use whole milk or evaporated milk for a richer sauce.
- Garlic - Two cloves of garlic add some complexity to the pasta sauce, but no need to finely mince them! Everything will get blended to smooth perfection.
- Greek Yogurt - Add a subtle tang and extra creamy texture to your sauce with a few spoonfuls of whole milk Greek yogurt. You can choose a lower fat version with great results.
- Gruyère Cheese - Gruyère brings a nutty and slightly sweet flavor to the sauce and melts into the pureed butternut squash very well.
- Parmesan Cheese - The sharp, salty, and umami-rich flavor of Parmesan cheese helps create a butternut squash pasta sauce that is balanced with sweet and savory flavor.
- Breadcrumbs - Choose panko crumbs or classic breadcrumbs. You can even choose Italian-style breadcrumbs! Any of these options will give you a crisp topping on your baked butternut mac and cheese.
Prepare the Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Preheat your oven to 375°F before starting the cheesy butternut squash pasta sauce.
Peel the garlic cloves and trim off the stem ends. Crush the cloves under the broad side of the blade of your chef's knife.
Add the garlic, squash, stock or broth, salt, pepper, and milk to a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Watch the mixture carefully so that it doesn't boil over.
Shred the Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses on the large holes of a box grater.
Toss the cheeses together to mix them. Set aside about 1 ½ ounces (or ½ cup) of the blend.
Cook the squash mixture for 15-17 minutes, or until the squash is very tender. The milk might look a bit curdled, but everything will blend to a smooth texture.
Use an immersion blender to blend the squash into a smooth puree. You can also transfer the mixture to a blender to process it. Be sure to vent the blender and place a clean kitchen towel over the top to avoid a blender explosion from trapped steam.
Add all but the reserved portion of the cheese blend to the squash sauce along with the Greek yogurt. Blend this again with the immersion blender or standard blender to incorporate the cheese well.
Your butternut squash pasta sauce should be silky smooth and loaded with cheesy flavor.
Cook the Pasta, Assemble, and Bake
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat at the same time as you prepare the sauce to save time. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to al dents, using the package instructions as a guide.
While the pasta cooks, prepare a 9" x 13" casserole dish by spraying it with cooking spray or coating it with butter or oil.
Drain the cooked pasta over a colander.
Add the drained pasta to the pot containing the prepared butternut squash pasta sauce. Stir everything together to coat the pasta well.
Transfer the pasta and sauce to the prepared baking dish.
Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave.
Add the reserved cheese blend and the breadcrumbs to the melted butter. Stir well to coat the crumbs and cheese with the butter.
Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top of the pasta and sauce.
Bake the butternut mac and cheese for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are golden and the sauce is bubbling.
Working With Whole Butternut Squash
Starting from a whole butternut squash is a little bit trickier than using a bag of peeled and diced squash from the supermarket. It's still doable! Peel the squash with a potato peeler or paring knife. Pierce the squash with a skewer or fork a few times and microwave it for 3 minutes to allow it to soften just a bit. This will make it easier to cut it in half from stem to bottom with a sharp chef's knife.
Once you have it cut in half, scrape out the seeds. Cut the remaining flesh into large cubes and proceed with the recipe as written.
Substitutions and Variations
The substitutions listed below have been tested in this recipe and work well. If you successfully make any other ingredient substitutions, let us know in the comments!
- Make It Vegetarian - A few swaps will turn this hearty baked pasta into a vegetarian dish that will work as a main or side. Use vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock. Choose cheeses made with vegetable rennet instead of animal rennet. This may mean you need an "Alpine-style" cheese in place of the Gruyère and a different sharp Italian cheese.
- Use Other Winter Squash - Swap peeled and chopped acorn squash, honeynut squash, or kabocha squash in place of the butternut squash in the recipe.
- Add Herbs - You can add finely chopped herbs to the butternut squash pasta sauce or to the breadcrumb topping before baking. Parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary will all compliment the sweet squash and rich cheesy flavor well.
- Skip the Baking - If you cook the pasta fully to your preferred texture, you can toss it with the butternut sauce and stop there with a stovetop version of butternut mac and cheese! This is a saucier version without the crunch of the breadcrumb topping. Different, but also delicious!
Equipment
Here are the kitchen tools and equipment that will help you make this butternut mac and cheese in no time
- Chef's Knife - An 8- or 10-inch chef's knife is an essential tool in any kitchen. I use it for chopping, of course, but also for crushing garlic cloves on the broad side of the blade, preparing fruit, finely chopping herbs, and more.
- Dutch Oven - An enameled cast iron Dutch oven is a great pot to have in your kitchen for all sorts of recipes. The deep pot is perfect for cooking up the butternut squash sauce.
- Box Grater - Just a bit of elbow grease is required to shred even the hardest cheeses using this classic kitchen tool. A box grater is also a great tool to have for shredding carrots, zucchini, or onions for both sweet and savory recipes.
- Immersion Blender - An immersion blender or stick blender will make quick work of the butternut sauce, blending the tender vegetables into a smooth texture. Immersion blenders save you the step of transferring your hot soup to a blender and back again to the soup pot.
Serving Suggestions
Serve a big helping of this savory butternut mac and cheese as a main dish with steamed broccoli, green beans, or a side salad. You can also serve it as a side to broiled chicken, pulled pork, or braised short ribs.
Make This Recipe Kid Friendly
Macaroni and cheese is a favorite dish for lots of kids, but not every kid likes it the same way. If you want to increase the chances that they love this dish, swap the blend of Parmesan and Gruyère with cheddar cheese. If your crew prefers stovetop mac and cheese to a baked version, choose that variation from the options listed above.
Storage and Make-Ahead Options
Any leftovers can be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three days. You can also make a double batch of the butternut squash pasta sauce and freeze one portion for future you! Move the frozen sauce from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before you want to make the mac and cheese. Boil the pasta, add the thawed sauce, and proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
FAQ
Add some crumbled and browned Italian sausage to the pasta and sauce to create a casserole that's loaded with pasta, cheese, vegetables, and protein! Follow the directions as written in the recipe card and brown one pound of Italian sausage in a separate skillet. Stir it in with the sauce and pasta before transferring everything to the casserole dish.
We are partial to the combination of Parmesan and Gruyère, but you can customize your mac and cheese by swapping the cheeses. Choose at least one cheese that melts well, like cheddar, fontina, or gouda cheese. Add a second cheese with sharp and salty flavor like Romano or asiago and add it sparingly like the Parmesan in this recipe.
Swap breadcrumbs for any mixture of french fried onions, crushed butter crackers, or potato chips for an extra salty crunch on your baked mac and cheese.
Cozy Pasta Recipes
Keep the comfort food vibes going with any of these delicious and cozy pastas:
Extra Cheese, Please!
We love cheese and find plenty of ways to add it to recipes. Check out the options below for some ideas that highlight cheesy goodness:
Try It and Share
I hope you try this Butternut Mac and Cheese and enjoy the recipe as much as we do. I want to see your results! Tag your photo with #planeatpostrepeat and mention me @planeatpostrepeat on Instagram or Facebook. I can give you a virtual high five and thank you for cooking one of my recipes! Comment below with any questions and please leave a review so others can find this recipe more easily.
Recipe
Butternut Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- 9" x 13" casserole dish
Ingredients
- 20 oz. butternut squash (diced)
- 1½ cups chicken stock (or vegetable broth)
- 1½ cups 2% milk
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (ground)
- 3 tablespoon Greek yogurt
- 8 oz Gruyère cheese
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese
- 1 pound pasta (short, sturdy shape, i.e. macaroni, cavatappi, rigatoni, etc.)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoon salted butter
Instructions
Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Peel the garlic cloves, trim the stem ends, and crush them using the broad side of your knife.
- Combine the squash, broth, milk, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Watch it carefully so it doesn't boil over and then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook the squash mixture until the squash is very tender, about 15-17 minutes.
- While the squash is cooking, shred the cheeses and toss them together. Remove about 1.5 ounces of the blended cheese (roughly ½ cup) and set this aside.
- Once the squash is tender, remove the pot from the heat. Puree the mixture using an immersion blender or by transferring it in batches to a standard blender.
- Add all but the reserved cheese to the squash mixture along with the Greek yogurt. Stir the sauce until the cheese are melted and the sauce is smooth. You can also add the cheese and yogurt to the blender and give it another mix to incorporate the cheeses.
Cook the Pasta, Assemble, and Bake
- You can start the pasta at the same time the butternut squash pasta sauce is cooking to save time. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, using the package directions as a guide.
- Grease a 9" x 13" casserole dish with butter or cooking spray.
- Strain the pasta and set it aside. When the butternut cheese sauce is ready, add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir to coat the pasta evenly. Transfer the pasta to the prepared casserole dish.
- Melt the butter in a medium microwaveable bowl. Add the panko breadcrumbs and the 1.5 ounces of reserved cheese blend to the melted butter. Mix this together until it is well combined.
- Top the pasta with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake the mac and cheese for 25-30 minutes, until it is bubbly and the top is golden brown. Allow the mac and cheese to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition facts are sometimes provided below and are calculated using an online calculator. With specific brands of ingredients and additions, omissions, or substitutions the nutrition facts may change. We encourage you to use your own nutrition facts calculator to obtain the most accurate nutrition facts for your meal.
Cassie Waltman says
This tasty mac and cheese is on repeat all fall and winter long!