Cooking
To make this macaroni cheese you will need:
Start by cooking your macaroni according to package instructions. Drain the pasta and set aside. Whilst the macaroni is cooking, cut the onion into thin rings. Heat the butter in a frying pan. Add the onion rings.
Butternut Squash Macaroni Cheese
After a rollercoaster couple of months I am back at home with much more free time. This means that I've been doing lots of cooking and baking and I am currently planning my next sewing project. I've been trying to experiment with my cooking, finding alternatives to make my favourite meals healthier and yummier. Macaroni cheese is my ultimate comfort food. Here is a healthier version replacing most of the cheese and milk with butternut squash whilst still being incredibly creamy and rich. It serves 6-8 people depending on how hungry you are and you can adjust the amount of pasta to get your desired sauce to pasta ratio.
To make this macaroni cheese you will need:- 500 g macaroni
- 1.5 tbsp butter
- 1 onion
- 1250 g butternut squash
- 1.75 litres vegetable stock
- 250 ml milk
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 100 g grated cheese (any strong tasting cheese will due)
- parsley
- salt and pepper
- a few pieces of stale bread
Start by cooking your macaroni according to package instructions. Drain the pasta and set aside. Whilst the macaroni is cooking, cut the onion into thin rings. Heat the butter in a frying pan. Add the onion rings.
Sautee for about 20 minutes until caramelised.
Remove the skin and seeds from your butternut squash and cut into small cubes. Heat the vegetable stock in a large pan. Add the cubes of butternut squash and cook for around 5 minutes until soft. Pour out 200 ml of the stock and set aside.
Puree the squash. Add the onions, milk and left-over stock. Blend until smooth and add salt and pepper to taste. I also added a pinch of paprika to give it a bit of a kick but you could add whichever spices you prefer.
Blitz the bread until you get breadcrumbs. These breadcrumbs are completely optional but I love the texture they bring to the dish. Also, we always seem to get odd crusts of stale bread in the bottom of our breadbin which would otherwise be thrown away.
Mix the sauce with the pasta and add the cheese, reserve some of the cheese for the topping. Preheat the oven to around 180 C. Add the parsley and mix well.
Top the macaroni cheese with the breadcrumbs and the rest of the cheese. Place in the oven until the cheese has melted and is turning golden. This should only take a few minutes.
Plate up your macaroni cheese. We had ours with a selection of fresh vegetables.
This is such a quick, easy and healthy alternative to the super cheesy macaroni cheese we are all used to. It would be perfect for a midweek family meal or as a student dinner if you kept the sauce in the fridge and simply made fresh macaroni whenever you wanted a nice filling meal. I hope you enjoyed making this. I would love to see your pictures in the comments or on instagram.
Love Rhiannon x
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