Mac n’ Cheese Bread Bowl
After my terrible confession a couple weeks ago, I’ve really been trying to improve myself and be a better (m-n-c eating) person. The result? B’nut Squash (which I believe is the sexiest of the squashes) combined with some kickass vegan Mac n’ Cheese, creating an ooey-gooey deliciousness that actually has some nutritional value. Top that! And “deliciousness” doesn’t even begin to describe this dish. One of the main things that keeps Jason stuck in omnivore status is his love of “real” cheese, and he went just as crazy for this stuff as I did. Seriously. This is the dish you can serve to meat/cheese eaters and DARE THEM not to love it!
One trick I’d like to share with folks who roast their own squash- I like to cube and freeze my excess roasted squash in a zippie bag, so when a recipe calls for smooth (or mostly smooth) squash, I’ll just work the bag with my fingers until it’s the right consistency, then add it to the recipe! Easier and faster than transferring it to a bowl and mashing it.
If you love this recipe, check out my Mac n’ Cheese Bites!
Butternut Squash Mac n Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta I used shells
- 2 T Earth Balance
- 1 small sweet onion very finely diced
- 3 T flour
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 10-12 ounces of butternut squash cooked and/or thawed
- 1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk choose one with a mild flavor
- 1 bag Daiya cheddar shreds
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon Herbamere or salt of your choice
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put pasta on to boil, making sure you keep it a little firm, otherwise it'll start to fall apart when you stir in the cheese sauce.
- In a large pot over medium heat, melt the Earth Balance, then add the onions, cooking for about 2 minutes. If you need more moisture, you can add a tablespoon of water or more EB.
- Add flour, and mix all together- this is your roux. Cook for another minute.
- Pour in veggie stock and squash, stir until completely blended. This is your chance to make sure there are no large chunks of squash swimming around in there! Make sure you're constantly scraping the sides of the pan, I recommend using a rubber spatula.
- Add milk and stir, letting it come to a slow bubble, then add the Daiya. Keep stirring (Don't stop!)
- Once it's all melty and gooey, add in your nutmeg, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust. But don't taste too much, or there wont be any left! Pour in your (slightly undercooked) pasta, and that's it!
Notes
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Wow does that look creamy!
Yummy! That looks mouth-wateringly “cheesy.”
I JUST roasted a squash yesterday and WAS going to make soup. NOT. NO WAY. Making this. Must HAVE Mac ‘n Cheese. Boy will my husband be SURPRISED tonight!
Let us know how you like it! 🙂
I only have Mozarella Daiya. Maybe that and some cayenne? On the bright side I’ve got 4 cups of pureed Butternut squash. Yummy.
Boy, does that ever look lucious!!! Oh, darn…I just happen to have some butternut squash that has been looking a tad lonely. I’m sooo excited, as that will be on my dinner plate tomorrow!!!
OK…you got my attention!! You know when you see lovely pictures of someone’s food, and you make the recipe, and oh, does it need some further seasoning?
This is not, I repeat, NOT one of those recipes. The sauce is sooo unbelievably silky, and ooey and gooey, and …there are no words. This is a must make. After I finished making it, I said “The consistency is so delightful, this will probably taste better tomorrow.” Then we ate. My husband just came in the kitchen as I’m typing this, and said “So, you think this will taste better tomorrow?” I said “Yup”…and he informed me there won’t be any tomorrow….
Connie, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for the wonderful feedback! This is definitely one of my favorite dishes, and I always kind of wonder if other people will enjoy it as much. Thanks for letting me know that you and your husband loved it!
By the way, Barb….I understand that you are from NH? Is that correct? I live in VT. Are we neighbors? (No, I’m not a stalker…just very nosey!)
I grew up in NH, but I live in Colorado now. VT is great! I have a girlfriend in upstate NY, and sometimes when I’m in NH we’ll meet halfway, in Wilmington I think… Adorable little town!
That sounds wonderful!!!! I would love to meet up. I hear there is a vegan restaurant…yes, I said vegan…in NH, just can’t remember quite where. Somewhere in southern NH? I will find out, tho’.
There are at least two that I know of, in Concord! Sadly I don’t get back home to visit much anymore 🙁
Well, I am making this, yet again!!! This time I’m going to add roasted cauliflower on top of the cheeze sauce……….in addition to the roasted squash in the sauce. My taste buds are on overdrive even as I type this…..can’t wait for dinner!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, Barb, if and when you come home…let me know…we’ll meet somewhere!!
OMG. I tried this recipe and it is FABULOUS. Totally reblogging because the world should know. . . .
Thanks! It’s a huge favorite of mine 🙂
Reblogged this on Uncanny and commented:
I am reblogging this post for two reasons: it is fabulous and the world should know about this recipe. OMG. And I don’t use that acronym lightly.
Ain’t that the ever-lovin’ truth, Lisa. This recipe needs to go down in the Who’s Who of recipes………It is a staple in my house.
You’re making me blush 😉
OK, this is a must try. For the last several months butternut squash seems to be appearing in one type of cheese sauce after another. Adding it to my list. I bet butternut squash would also be a great addition to the mac ‘n cheese recipes that use potato, onion, and carrot as a base, rather than vegan cheese (thinking of Jo Stepaniak, who did a vegan mac ‘n cheese sauce with a veggie base in “The Uncheese Cookbook”, and VegNews, which did one a couple years ago). You are definitely on to something here!
What kind of “soy cream” do you use?
I believe I used Silk brand, but any would probably work. Let me know how yours turns out!
On the menu this weekend! Thanks!
OK, I feel like a stalker. Just have to say, this may just be my favorite food on planet earth, or at least it is definitely in the top ten favorite foods. I can’t tell you enough how much I love this recipe!!!!
One week ago is was 80 degrees (record setting temps here in Vermont), this morning (with the wind chill…8 degrees) and I got to make this again!!!! Yippee!!
Hey, I love hearing it 🙂 (and I love it too!)
OK so I finally got hold of some Daiya cheddar but I didn’t remember the directions so well. So some veg stock, a can of full fat coconut milk, 12 oz butternut squash puree, a thai chili, 3 cloves of garlic, salt and lime. I drank a whole cup of it before it went on the pasta. Oops. The Daiya cheddar, butternut squash etc. is a seriously wonderful, versatile combo. Thanks so much!
OMG! I found this recipe thanks to the Daiya Roundup and knew we had to give it a try. My husband and I are attempting to go completely vegan, but I have two little meat and potato lovin’ boys that are fighting it tooth and nail. I’ve tried a dozen different vegan mac recipes and they’ve rejected all of them… until now! Thank you!!!
That’s awesome, thanks for letting me know! You might also try some of my Korean-seitan recipes, those seem to be a hit with omnivores 🙂
I wonder if I will be able to get this past my hubby who hates all squash. (A vegan who hates all squash! Yes!) He eats squash pie with abandon, though…… Hmm… 🙂
I don’t think you can even really taste the squash, it really “becomes one” with the Daiya. If you try it, let me know if he likes it!
My boys like to think they hate all veggies. I just didn’t tell them there was squash in the mac until after they tried it and admitted they loved it! If they’d known beforehand they probably would have refused to even try it. It doesn’t really have a squashy flavor. My boys are terrified of onions too, so after I added the squash and stock (but before the cream) I gave it a quick whirl with the immersion blender to make 100% sure it would be smooth and chunk free. Good luck!
If I don’t have soy creamer what can I use?
I’ve only ever tried it with soy cream, so I can’t say for certain, but another kind of non-dairy cream would probably work.
Maitlyn, I make my own soymilk, and that works just beautifully!!
Just saw this on Veg News’ Facebook feed and immediately printed it out! I have everything I need to make it, I think, except for the Daiya. We can’t find it around here–the only thing I can get my hands on locally is Follow Your Heart. Has anybody tried it using brands other than Daiya? Will it work okay with something like Follow Your Heart? Also, I’m guessing by “1 bag Daiya” you mean 8 oz.? Just wondering how much to shred when I get home.
Thanks for the beautiful looking recipe! My mouth is watering, and supper is still about 6 hours away! 🙂
I’ve never tried it with FYH but as long as it melts it should work. Oh, and 1 bag of Daiya has about 2 cups of shredded cheese. Let me know how it turns out!!!
I made this over the weekend! At first I was not so sure this was going to work then the magic started to happen when I added the soy cream and then the Diya!! OH the magic! And I added a little nutritional yeast too. My 12 yo daughter helped me make it, she was actually on the fence too then we added the pasta and tossed it all together and… the big taste test… She was sold! As a matter of fact our oldest took some in a thermos for lunch today! Yep sold!! Even our youngest was sold …. I didn’t tell her it wasn’t “real” mac and cheese till after 🙂 My husband said it was quite good and he was actually surprised you could turn B Nut Squash into “mac and Cheese” LOL! I am the only vegan in the house I made the conversion about 6 months ago so I think it says a lot that the non vegans loved the dish and could hardly tell there was no actual cheese in this dish! I am working to convert them to the other side 🙂 this dish may have done the trick! 🙂 thanks for this great recipe! I roasted my own B nut squash this time … next time I will try frozen.
Yay! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed it! I always say this is the perfect dish for “tricking” non-vegans because it’s just so cheesy!
Hey Barb!! I just wanted to let you know I loved it so much I added the link to the recipe to my new blog: http://christine-in-progress.blogspot.com/2012/09/mack-ad-cheese-maybe.html
Keep all the good stuff coming!
That’s awesome, thanks so much!
No problem! My Pleasure! Thank YOU! 🙂
Hey Barb,
I was excited to try this recipe this past weekend. I’ve been meaning to try your recipie and I think it’s okay. It looks fantastic, but with the starchiness of the squash and using Daiya, it turned out tasting more like cheese pierogi with fried onions! Granted I put everything in that the recipie says, and I blended everything in my vitamix so there were no lumps, but I guess I would have expected to have the roux made separately from the onions, or maybe excluded onions all together. I will admit my Polish Father-in-Law loves it, especially with the nutmeg on it. But I wanted to let you know my experience. Thanks for all the great ideas!
That’s too bad it didn’t turn out for you- mine always comes out very creamy!
I just made this. WOW!!! I am in love! We didn’t have nutmeg 🙁 so it was omitted. I will be making this at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yum! So good!!!!
That’s awesome, thanks for letting me know!!
Oh Wow!!! I love mac n cheese but then I sometimes feel a little guilty because it has 0 nutritional value. I love butternut squash. This is a great idea. Daiya cheese is heaven sent and made by the angels!! 🙂
I want to make the Butternut Squash Mac-n-Cheese.
But first I want to know what “soy cream” is?
Creamer? Soy milk? Soy cream cheese???
My local grocery sold a soy cream… creamer would work, or if you don’t have either, just a non dairy milk would work in a pinch!
Thank you for your reply!
As I write this, my mother is literally reheating the batch I made last night. Which was so good! I did use “creamer” that was plain, but had sugar cane in it. So, I would definitely use a non sweet one next time, and add some red chili flakes. BUT yum! It tuned out great! Thank you!
FYI-my mom just fried it up in an iron skillet. Double yum!!
I’m so glad I found this recipe! Do not have vegan cream available so used almond milk It turned out sooooo fantastic!!
The second time I cut back on the pasta and added cauliflower and broccoli that I had pre-cooked.
I have only been Vegan for about 8 months and am still trying to entice my husband to try my new vegan creations. He absolutely loved both of these dishes!!
Thanks again!!
That’s wonderful that he enjoyed them! I really try to create dishes that will tempt omnivores as well as vegans… I think serving delicious foods is the best form of activism 😉
The first vegan mac n cheese recipe I’ve tried that didn’t taste like feet to my nutritional yeast-sensitive palate. Thank you so much!
For those asking about soy cream, here’s a very simple recipe to make your own sustitutue: http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/sauces-syrups-spreads/sauces/soy-cream
Thank you so much for letting me know!!! 🙂
Sounds amazing! But can it be made with another flour (coconut flour)?! We eat gluten free so regular flour won’t work. I am going to try it with the coconut flour. I have been trying to find a mac & cheese that our kids will like and also dair and gluten free.
Haven’t tried it with coconut flour, but as long as it works in a roux, it’ll work here!
the recipe link is broken!!! 🙁
It’s fixed now. My code has a severe “case of the Mondays” 🙁
Just found your website on Thursday and I made the butternut M&C today (Sunday) and both my husband and I liked it. I’m not a fan of vegan cheese, I usually go without or add the tiniest of real cheese but I used only the Daiya Chedder. I roasted butternut squash the other day so to get it liquid-ie, I blended it in the food processor with the vegetable broth. It was a quick dish to make. I saved some pasta water for when I reheat the leftovers. We do that with any pasta dish. it really helps revive it. Thanks for the recipe because now we are full and don’t have that weighed down with dairy feeling.
OK, Barb….here it is 2 yrs later, and there just isn’t a better M-n-c recipe…ANYWHERE!!!!! I still love this stuff!!!!
Thanks Connie!!
I made this last night, with a couple of minor tweaks. I left out the onion, used organic canned squash, and added a bit of nutritional yeast. I topped it off with some applewood smoked bac’n chips too. My cheese loving hubby gave it an “eh, it’s ok” verdict. He’s very much a meat and cheese heavy omni who is like a little kid that can pick even the most hidden veggies out of a meal, and squash is one of his nemises. My father-in-law on the other hand couldn’t stop raving and refused to believe that it was dairy free. I’m fairly certain you could put this sauce on an old pair of shoes and they’d suddenly be edible. BEST VEGAN MAC’N’CHEEZE EVER.
Score one for you and your FIL!! 🙂
Hi, I’ve recently developed a sensitivity to casein so I’ve been on the hunt for recipes. I’m loving your recipes so far, but have a question. I see “soy cream” a lot and wondered what this is. A brand of substitute sour cream or an actual liquid cream? Do you have a brand you like?
Thanks!!
Hi Kristina, sorry for the delayed response, I was on vacation! Soy cream is just cream made with soy milk. I’ve seen it in the dairy case at the grocery, usually Silk brand. It’s an actual liquid cream. These days I’ve been using silken tofu run through the blender with a bit of milk, rather than buying the cream.
Hi! I am planning on making this tomorrow and I am so excited! However, I wanted to know what I can use for the soy cream. I couldn’t find any, but I was able to get a culinary coconut milk by so delicious (someone told me it can replace a creamer) and I also have a soy sour cream.. Can I use any of these or is there something else I can use instead to replace the cream? Thanks in advance!
I would probably just use a non dairy milk