This was a recipe I had seen floating around the vegan recipe pages and thought it was worth a shot. My husband, as you probably know by now, loves all things butternut squash and my daughter is very picky, so, this seemed like a good way to hide a few veggies. I followed the recipe I saw online and I was not happy with the way it turned out. I was very sweet and my daughter would pick out the flavor and turn her nose up quick. My husband poured hot sauce on it and ate it anyways, but I knew I had to work on this recipe before feeding it to the kids.
This recipe is similar to the one I saw online, except I made it more of a Mac-n-cheese with hidden butternut squash. If my daughter could taste the cheesiness first, she would be fine ( she pours ketchup on her mac-n-cheese anyways). This batch passed with fling colors! In fact, the ENTIRE pan was cleaned out and my daughter ate 2 helpings. I truly enjoyed this recipe once I reworked it and made it more family friendly.
Looking for more great family friendly meals? Try my "Baked & Loaded" Stuffed Burritos, Vegan "Meaty" spaghetti, "Beefless" Pies with Roasted Butternut Squash, Vegan "Chick'n" (Jackfruit) Casserole & Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Cheezy Butternut Macaroni:
Recipe :
4 cups butternut squash, cubed
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves Chopped fresh garlic
1 cup nutritional yeast
4 cups butternut squash, cubed
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves Chopped fresh garlic
1 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups veggie broth
1 cup unsweetened plain plant milk
8 oz. vegan cheddar style shreds
1 tsp. Paprika
4 cups veggie broth
1 cup unsweetened plain plant milk
8 oz. vegan cheddar style shreds
1 tsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Chili powder (optional)
1 (16oz )Box pasta
**For the breadcrumbs :
5 slices of bread
2 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast
1 Tbs. groundflax seeds
Sea salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp. Paprika
Olive oil to drizzle
Preheat oven to 350.
Boil water and cook pasta about 7 minutes... just slightly under cooked.
In a deep skillet over medium high heat, cook butternut squash, onions, garlic, nutritional yeast and paprika in veggie broth & chili powder (Should cover all veggies, add more if needed).
Allow to boil, then reduce heat to simmer and add plant milk, salt & pepper to taste. Cook 10 minutes.
Drain pasta and pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish.
Transfer butternut squash and all the liquid it cooked in, to a high powdered blender and puree until smooth.
Pour over pasta. Add vegan cheddar shreds. Stir to mix well. Mixture will seem a bit "runny", but it will absorb during baking.
Toast your bread. Let cool completely.
Add bread to a food processor with nutritional yeast, salt,ground flax seeds, pepper, and paprika.
Process on high until it becomes breadcrumbs.
Sprinkle breadcrumbs over pasta and drizzle with olive oil.
Place in oven and cook for 25 mins.
Serves 6-8.
** you can substitute 1 cup of premade breadcrumbs if you don't have time to make them.
1 (16oz )Box pasta
**For the breadcrumbs :
5 slices of bread
2 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast
1 Tbs. groundflax seeds
Sea salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp. Paprika
Olive oil to drizzle
Preheat oven to 350.
Boil water and cook pasta about 7 minutes... just slightly under cooked.
In a deep skillet over medium high heat, cook butternut squash, onions, garlic, nutritional yeast and paprika in veggie broth & chili powder (Should cover all veggies, add more if needed).
Allow to boil, then reduce heat to simmer and add plant milk, salt & pepper to taste. Cook 10 minutes.
Drain pasta and pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish.
Transfer butternut squash and all the liquid it cooked in, to a high powdered blender and puree until smooth.
Pour over pasta. Add vegan cheddar shreds. Stir to mix well. Mixture will seem a bit "runny", but it will absorb during baking.
Toast your bread. Let cool completely.
Add bread to a food processor with nutritional yeast, salt,ground flax seeds, pepper, and paprika.
Process on high until it becomes breadcrumbs.
Sprinkle breadcrumbs over pasta and drizzle with olive oil.
Place in oven and cook for 25 mins.
Serves 6-8.
** you can substitute 1 cup of premade breadcrumbs if you don't have time to make them.
Hello, when do you put in the first tsp. of paprika? I have this just about in the oven, it looks so good.
ReplyDeleteThank you for catching that detail. I went back and edited the recipe. You can add it to the noodles and sauce before topping with the breadcrumbs and just mix well. Please let me know what you think of the recipe.
ReplyDeleteThis is so good! My kids gobbled it up and my toddler asked for more. The sauce is so savoury (before even adding cheese shreds) and would make an awesome soup (I drank some as a soup and shared it with my toddler that way too). Thank you for this recipe!
ReplyDeleteYes! I always taste the sauce before mixing it in the noodles. I really love it because it is such a nice balance of flavors.
ReplyDeleteThe last couple of times I made this, I added a little red pepper flake. It is also a nice balance since it adds a little heat to the sweetness of the squash.
So glad your family enjoyed it! I know it is always so wonderful to find a recipe that your kids will eat that is actually pretty good for them. We have that struggle at our house too.