Butternut Mac and Cheese

Mac and Cheese never tasted so good with this plant-based take on this staple! Our Butternut Mac and Cheese is a great alternative for keeping it healthy in the kitchen, all-while satisfying your mid-week cravings. Featuring a combination of chickpeas, garlic, nutritional yeast, mustard, and of course, butternut squash, our butternut squash purée is sure to emulate all the cheese, creamy flavours of this dish. 

Prepared entirely in our Round Dutch Oven, this recipe is both easy to prepare and delicious. This iconic piece of cookware traps in heat and moisture, exposing the pasta to a consistent heat source all-while ensuring it absorbs the creamy flavours from the butternut squash purée! Be sure to serve this Butternut Mac and Cheese directly out of the Dutch Oven for a bold centerpiece come dinnertime. 

This recipe is sure to become a crowd-favourite among friends and family thanks to its rich medley of savoury flavours. This recipe yields between four and six portions, taking just over an hour to prepare from start to finish. If you are expecting more guests, simply adjust the portions accordingly and enjoy! Here are all the ingredients you’ll need along with the steps to follow before tackling this vegan treat. 

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.

Peel, deseed and cut the butternut into evenly sized cubes. Coat the butternut with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and ½ tsp each of ground coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper.

Place in a roasting tray along with the thyme and the 4 cloves of garlic. Roast the butternut until cooked through and slightly caramelized, about 45 minutes.

Place the Round Dutch Oven on the stove with salted water. Bring the water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook pasta until al denté, strain, lightly coat with olive oil and set aside until needed.

Blend the crumb ingredients in a blender or food processor until it forms a crumb. Set aside.

Once the butternut is cooked, add it to a blender along with 1 tin of chickpeas, nutritional yeast, garlic, and mustard. Blend until smooth, adding the milk until a thick puree is achieved. Season to taste.

In the Round French Oven, mix the pasta with the butternut puree, until well incorporated. Sprinkle with the crumb topping and bake for 25-30 minutes until the crumb is golden brown. Serve warm.

Image and recipe by The Honest Grazer