Make creamy macaroni and cheese healthier by adding acorn squash. This great hidden vegetable side dish is a perfect way to add an extra veggie to your plate without anyone knowing it!
Super creamy stove top mac and cheese is a welcome addition to any dinner plate. Your family doesn’t have to know that this recipe has a healthy secret.
It cuts out the butter and milk and reduces the amount of cheese you’d need because there is a healthy dose of acorn squash. It may sound far fetched, but it is super delicious!
Squash used to be one of Little Dude’s favorite foods. He got a couple of squash for Halloween last year and he loved it!
Now, he prefers to not touch the stuff. But he loves noodles and he loves cheese.
The squash from last year’s Halloween accidentally procreated. We ended up with dozens of little squash plants in our compost.
So, we moved a couple behind the garage. Now we have a pile of acorn squash that needs to be used and a little guy who thinks he doesn’t like it.
Luckily he love macaroni and cheese. So, I just added some squash to homemade mac and cheese and it disappeared like magic!
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We had it for dinner tonight and everyone had seconds. It is creamy without using a ton of fat or milk.
If you don’t have acorn squash on hand, don’t fret! A can of pumpkin puree would do the job as well. Mashed butternut squash is another great option.
To add even more fiber to your mac and cheese, use whole grain pasta. I like using something with lots of ribs or twirls to really hold on the sauce.
The first time I made it, I used whole grain rotini. This last time celantini seemed to be just the right thing. I just love all of those curly ques!
This great side dish goes with just about anything. We love it with ham, but it would also be fabulous with baked bbq chicken.
More Great Mac and Cheese Recipes
Try creamed spinach mac and cheese for a little something different. The creamy white cheese sauce, pasta, and green spinach make for a lovely all in one side dish.
Pumpkin pepper jack mac and cheese is another great option with squash. The pepper jack cheese adds a little spice and some bacon gives it a great smokey flavor.
Stove Top Acorn Squash Mac and Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium acorn squash
- 6 ounces pasta
- 4 oz extra sharp cheddar
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the squash until soft. I like to do this while it is whole, it makes cutting it a lot easier. So, you can either boil it whole for 10-15 minutes or poke it with a fork and stick it in the microwave for 6 minutes.1 medium acorn squash
- While the squash is cooking, go ahead and cook the pasta to al dente following the package directions. Drain and set aside.6 ounces pasta
- Scoop the seeds out of the squash. Mash the squash until smooth. For a super smooth and creamy sauce, use a blender or food processor.
- In a saucepan, mix the squash, pasta, a half cup of the pasta water.
- Add the mustard powder and cheese.4 oz extra sharp cheddar, ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- Stir over low heat until the cheese is melted.
- If needed a splash of milk or water can be used to loosen up the sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper to your liking and serve!
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Can you use butternut squash too?
Yes, butternut would work great.
This recipe doesn’t feel like it was tested before it was posted. It tells you to use rotini pasta but the pasta in the picture is corkscrew pasta. If you don’t know a lot about pasta and have some else grab the groceries then you will be really surprised. Luckily I had some rigatoni which worked well.
Boiling the acorn squash for 15 mins was not long enough. I ended up cutting the acorn squash in half and putting it back in the water while I boiled the pasta and that was enough to make the squash blendable. You should probably just roast the squash for 40-45 mins at 400F. It will take longer but it will make the squash easier to turn into sauce. I don’t know how many people own an immersion blender but a food processor will also work. If you roast the squash in the oven you could probably get a stand mixer with a whisk attachment to work or even whisk it by hand with enough elbow grease.
The recipe also doesn’t let you know when to start cooking the pasta. If you are someone newer to cooking it can be helpful to know so everything stays on track.
If you don’t really like acorn squash then this recipe may not be for you. Even if you add a lot of cheese it’ll still taste mostly of squash. I really like the taste of squash so that was fine for me but it won’t really taste very macaroni and cheese like. Overall this recipe could use a little more detail to make it more beginner friendly.
I have actually made this recipe quite a few times. That explains the different shapes of pasta. I do appreciate your detailed review though. I am sure it will help other folks with the recipe.
I added some veggie bouillon and nutritional yeast to up that cheesy flavor and it was perfect! Also added garlic, onion powder, and some paprika. Smoked paprika would have been even better. Yum!
Yum! Smoked paprika really would be fabulous.
I did not have high expectations for this recipe. It blew my mind, it was delicious and it took no time to make. A+
I am so glad you liked it!
You couldn’t really taste anything but the squash, but while that isn’t a bad thing, I’d also like to taste the other ingredients.