This butternut squash mac and cheese is a vegan, healthier alternative to your classic mac and cheese! Made with good-for-you ingredients, no baking required and is extra CREAMY and delicious! It's sure to be a weeknight favourite that the whole family will enjoy!

This butternut squash mac and cheese is cozy comfort food at it's finest! It's made from roasted butternut squash, cashews, nutritional yeast and just a few other simple, good for you ingredients. No butter, no cheese, no dairy, yet so irresistibly delicious! The texture of the butternut squash makes this pasta extra CREAMY and is loaded with all the warm and cozy flavours you look for in a mac and cheese recipe. I used Banza chickpea pasta for this recipe but you can totally use any pasta you'd like! The great part about this pasta is that it's also super customizable and you can add in any mix in's you'd like! My favourite add in's are chopped broccoli, spinach and kale! (See recipe for how/when to incorporate your add in's.)

Close-up of vegan mac and cheese final product

TIPS TO MAKE THIS RECIPE PERFECTLY

Roasting your Butternut Squash - to roast your butternut squash, drizzle cubed butternut squash with a little coconut oil & salt/pepper. Mix to coat. Layer on a sheet pan and roast in oven at 400F for 35mins till easily pierced with a fork.

Soaking Cashews - soaking your cashews is so important to create that creamy and smooth texture in your vegan cheese sauce. It helps unlock and activate the nutritional ingredients for absorption. It's so important that you do not skip this step as the cashews will not blend as well and could result in cashew chunks.

Adding Vegetable Broth - add in your cup of vegetable broth slowly until your desired consistency is reached. If too thick, add a little more at a time to thin out. If your sauce looks thin enough, you might not need an entire cup. Note that this cheese sauce does thicken in the fridge so I tend to make it slightly more liquidy.

Use a HIGH SPEED blender or food processor - we want all the ingredients to blend together nicely and create that smooth, creamy texture we all love in a mac and cheese!

Cook your pasta al dente - I recommend cooking your pasta just al dente as we cook the pasta for an additional two minutes once the sauce gets poured in at the end.

📖 Recipe

Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 25

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Ingredients

1.5 c cubed & roasted butternut squash
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ c cashews (soaked overnight or in hot water for 2hrs)
1 c vegetable broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon turmeric (optional for colour)
Salt/pepper
8 oz macaroni pasta
Kale, spinach, broccoli (optional)

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Instructions

Pasta

Cook pasta al dente according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Sauce

Blend all ingredients together, including butternut squash, in a high speed blender or food processor until smooth and creamy.

Assemble

Pour sauce into pot of cooked pasta along with any mix ins desired (kale, broccoli, etc.) Cook another 2 minutes over medium heat and serve! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

Notes

*I love this recipe with vegetable broth but you can also sub nut milk (ex.coconut milk, oat milk, etc.)

Keyword Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, Vegan Mac and Cheese