The creamiest mac and cheese with roasted butternut squash and the flavor of sage in every bite. This Roasted Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese is the ultimate twist to the our favorite fall comfort food.
It’s November! Can you believe it?
And strangely, the moment it hit November, SF started feeling like fall. Like yesterday morning. It finally rained, just a little, but we’ll take anything at this point to help end the drought.
Plus the arrival of November means it’s time to rediscover your favorite fall comfort foods (and if you’re me, you’re also trying to figure out which dishes will make it onto your Thanksgiving menu).
One of our favorite fall comfort foods is mac and cheese.
Last year, I made this Pumpkin Kale Mac and Cheese. It was soo amazing.
Well, this year, we’re changing it up a bit and making Roasted Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese. Between butternut squash and pumpkin, I’ll always pick butternut squash, at least for savory dishes anyways. Sorry, pumpkin! This version of mac and cheese is the creamiest I’ve ever had. It’s slightly sweet from the butternut, and the flavor of fresh sage is so unique.
First, preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly grease the surface with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil.
Toss the butternut squash in olive oil until all the surfaces are covered lightly in olive oil. Place the butternut squash in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast the butternut squash in the oven at 400F for about 30 minutes before removing them from the oven.
About 10 minutes before the butternut squash is done, place the pasta and milk in a medium sized pot. The pasta is cooked in the milk to create the creamiest mac and cheese. The starch from the pasta is released into the milk and helps thicken it into a sauce. The only downside to this method of cooking mac and cheese is that you have to pay attention to the pasta. Since it’s cooked in milk, you have to continuously stir the pasta, especially the ones at the bottom, to prevent the bottom from becoming burnt. But, I swear, so worth the extra work.
Add torn up sage leaves after you’ve cooked the pasta for about 10 minutes. The sage will cook with the pasta and add flavor to the dish.
When the butternut squash are done roasting, remove them from the oven and quickly use two forks to mash the butternut squash into puree. Add the puree to the pasta and stir to incorporate the butternut squash into the pasta. Once the pasta has softened to your liking, remove the pasta from heat.
Add the fontina (or the cheese of your choice) and stir to allow the cheese to melt and combine with the rest of the mac and cheese. Cook the mac and cheese until the milk evaporates and the pasta is as creamy as you like. Sprinkle salt to taste.
Serve the mac and cheese immediately.
This mac and cheese serves one to two people depending on if you’re serving as a main or side dish. However, you can easily double or triple the dish to fit your needs.
Enjoy!
Come join me and other food bloggers at Fiesta Friday!
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup dry mini penne
- 1⅔ cup 2% milk
- 6-8 large sage leaves, torn
- ½ cup shredded fontina cheese
- ⅛ – ¼ teaspoon salt
- Breadcrumbs for extra crunch
- More sage leaves for garnish
- First, preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly grease the surface with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil.
- Toss the butternut squash in olive oil until all the surfaces are covered lightly in olive oil. Place the butternut squash in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast the butternut squash in the oven at 400F for about 30 minutes before removing them from the oven.
- About 10 minutes before the butternut squash is done, place the pasta and milk in a medium sized pot. Since it’s cooked in milk, which can easily become burnt, you have to continuously stir the pasta, especially the ones at the bottom, to prevent the bottom from becoming burnt.
- Add torn up sage leaves after you’ve cooked the pasta for about 10 minutes.
- When the butternut squash are done roasting, remove them from the oven and quickly use two forks to mash the butternut squash into puree. Add the puree to the pasta and stir to incorporate the butternut squash into the pasta. Once the pasta has softened to your liking, remove the pasta from heat.
- Add the fontina (or the cheese of your choice) and stir to allow the cheese to melt and combine with the rest of the mac and cheese. Cook the mac and cheese until the milk evaporates and the pasta is as creamy as you like. Sprinkle salt to taste.
- Serve the mac and cheese immediately.
A very refreshing take on ol’ mac’n cheese! Loved the taste, which also seemed to reduce the oiliness common with classic mac and cheese. Thanks, Andrea!
Love this recipe! I usually feel so guilty after eating mac & cheese but love that this has healthy elements too so I won’t feel quite so bad 😉
Now this looks like a mac and cheese I would actually eat! Loving the squash/pumpkin theme! Cristina
This looks yummy!!
Hiya! I’ve been a bit hesitant to try this but you make it look so beautiful that I’m sold! Does the finished dish taste sweet at all? Just wondering since butternut squash can be a bit sweet-looks yummy!
It is a little bit sweet since butternut squash is naturally sweet. If you prefer the Mac and cheese to be less sweet and more savory, you can lessen the amount of butternut squash to around 1 cup or so and add more cheese. Or you can substitute with pumpkin. Hope that helps! =)
I LOVE the butternut squash in here. That’s one of my favorite flavors, and I’m sure it goes well. Happy FF, and have a wonderful weekend!
I would always pick butternut over pumpkin and I have used it in a mac & cheese before but never with sage. It looks so good 🙂
Yummylicious!! It looks so delicious! Thanks for sharing! Happy FF!