mac and cheese – FoodWatcher

Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese

This baked vegan mac and cheese is comfort food at its best. It’s rich and creamy, totally cheesy, and topped with a crunchy breadcrumb topping. There aren’t many foods better than a piping hot bowl of mac and cheese. It really is amazing comfort food….

This baked vegan mac and cheese is comfort food at its best. It's rich and creamy, totally cheesy, and topped with a crunchy breadcrumb topping. There aren't many foods better than a piping hot bowl of mac and cheese. It really is amazing comfort food. And as I've cut more and more dairy out of...

Pizza Supreme Mac and Cheese.

Get ready for pizza mac and cheese! I can’t tell you how often I call this “max and cheese,” because ever since Max was around 1.5 or 2 years old, he would ask for “max and cheese.” So in other words, please enjoy this pizza supreme max and cheese! No but really. Pizza flavors + […]

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Get ready for pizza mac and cheese!

white pizza supreme mac and cheese

I can’t tell you how often I call this “max and cheese,” because ever since Max was around 1.5 or 2 years old, he would ask for “max and cheese.”

So in other words, please enjoy this pizza supreme max and cheese!

peppers and olives

No but really. Pizza flavors + mac and cheese? I need nothing else in the world. This is ridiculously delicious, creamy, flavorful, satisfying and a huge crowd pleaser. It’s customizable and exactly what you want to eat this weekend!

At least, I’m hoping it is. Pizza mac and cheese is what I want to eat all the time.

white pizza supreme mac and cheese before baking

I find it funny that I like to make “pizza supreme” flavored dishes because for most of my life, if I was ever served a pizza supreme, I would run away!! If you’re not familiar, the idea of pizza supreme means that it’s loaded with alllll the toppings. Well, most of them. Peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, olives, etc.

Things like that!

I’m sure it differs depending on location, but these are the ones that nostalgically stick out in my mind.

white pizza supreme mac and cheese

Even since I made a pizza supreme cauliflower crust pizza, I’ve been in love with this version of pizza supreme. I skip the sausage because I just don’t love sausage (it’s the fennel seeds. no thanks!) and stick to pepperoni and mostly veggies. I love anything tart and briney, so roasted red peppers and banana peppers both make their way in. Eddie loves those too and they are toppings that we use often on pizza anyway.

This whole dish was a mishmash of a few of my recipes. My white pizza recipes – which have always been a staple because I grew up not loving tomato sauce. My pizza gnocchi in The Pretty Dish, which is SO delish and comforting. And then that cauliflower crust pizza mentioned above.

white pizza supreme mac and cheese

I just knew that some sort of hybrid of those ideas would be fantastic as a mac and cheese.

And I was right!

So I made this as a baked mac and cheese. Of course, you can use whatever toppings you want and love. You could throw the toppings in a stovetop mac and cheese, but I did find in my testing that baked is best because it also roasts the toppings, like regular pizza does.

white pizza supreme mac and cheese

Obviously I skipped the tomato sauce here, but if you’re feeling it, you could always add in some roasted tomatoes or even diced tomatoes. Or even dollop some pizza sauce on top!

When it comes to cheeses, I kept the sauce somewhat traditional with parmesan and mozzarella. But I did throw in some cheddar for sharpness and flavor and it made the entire dish POP.

It’s also your call if you would like to stir more toppings into the mac and cheese for extra texture or just leave them on top. There is no wrong way here, it’s just your preference and what you like best. For example, I stir the roasted red peppers into my mac and cheese, but that is it. The rest goes on top and I find we love it that way.

white pizza supreme mac and cheese

Now what toppings are first on your list?! (more…)

The post Pizza Supreme Mac and Cheese. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

This creamy, dreamy butternut squash mac and cheese is so tasty! It boasts less cheese and more fiber and vitamins than the standard. Welcome to our new favorite way to use butternut squash in a recipe. Butternut squash mac and cheese! Why add this mighty squash to your favorite pasta? Well, three reasons. The first is simply to have an excuse to use this fall ingredient in your kitchen! Butternut squash also lets you use less cheese and adds fiber to this traditionally starchy dish. But most of all…it’s just delicious. The squash gives the cheese sauce a sweet undertone and makes it extraordinarily creamy. Ready to get started? Ingredients in butternut squash mac and cheese First things first: this butternut squash mac and cheese has cheese in it. Yep, it’s designed as a way to use less cheese: not no cheese altogether. If you’re looking for a vegan mac and cheese, head to our Vegan Green Chili Mac we wrote for Washington Post! It’s incredibly tasty. But if you’re on board for the less cheese, more fiber version: let’s go! Here are the ingredients you’ll need: Butternut squash: Fresh is best: because it has the best flavor and texture! […]

A Couple Cooks – Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

This creamy, dreamy butternut squash mac and cheese is so tasty! It boasts less cheese and more fiber and vitamins than the standard.

Welcome to our new favorite way to use butternut squash in a recipe. Butternut squash mac and cheese! Why add this mighty squash to your favorite pasta? Well, three reasons. The first is simply to have an excuse to use this fall ingredient in your kitchen! Butternut squash also lets you use less cheese and adds fiber to this traditionally starchy dish. But most of all…it’s just delicious. The squash gives the cheese sauce a sweet undertone and makes it extraordinarily creamy. Ready to get started?

Ingredients in butternut squash mac and cheese

First things first: this butternut squash mac and cheese has cheese in it. Yep, it’s designed as a way to use less cheese: not no cheese altogether. If you’re looking for a vegan mac and cheese, head to our Vegan Green Chili Mac we wrote for Washington Post! It’s incredibly tasty. But if you’re on board for the less cheese, more fiber version: let’s go! Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

Butternut squash: Fresh is best: because it has the best flavor and texture!
Pasta: Any short shape works!
Olive oil
Vegetable broth
Spices: chili powder, nutmeg, salt and pepper
Milk
Cheese: there are a few different options: see below!

3 advantages to making butternut squash mac and cheese!

What do you get when you add butternut squash to mac and cheese? So much goodness! Here are the particulars on this butternut squash mac and cheese:

Reduces the standard recipe by over 1000 calories! Compared to a standard homemade mac and cheese, this recipe removes half the cheese, all the butter and flour, and 1 cup of the milk. That’s a savings of over 1000 calories (or 125 calories per serving for 8 servings).
Adds fiber. 1 cup of butternut squash has 7 grams fiber (source), so each serving has about 12% of your daily need.
Adds Vitamin A, Vitamin Cm and other vitamins. 1 cup of butternut squash has 457% of your daily Vitamin A and 52% of your daily value of Vitamin C (source). You get half that in each serving of this butternut squash mac and cheese!

How to cut butternut squash: some tips!

Now, we know: cutting a butternut squash can be daunting. It is for us too! But over the years, we’ve developed some best practices that make it much less painful. Here are a few tips for how to cut the squash for this butternut squash mac and cheese:

Watch the video: First, watch this quick video of How to Cut Butternut Squash.
Use a serrated peeler: A serrated blade makes it easier to peel the tough skin than a normal vegetable peeler, which easily slips. Here’s the serrated vegetable peeler we use.
Cut off the neck and chop it separately from the base: Don’t cut the entire squash together. Chop off the neck, then peel it and chop into squares! Do the same for the base.

Can you substitute frozen butternut squash in mac and cheese?

Technically yes, but we don’t recommend it. You can use 4 cups frozen butternut squash in this recipe instead of fresh. However, fresh such better flavor that we don’t recommend frozen. Here’s what to know:

The flavor is much better with fresh. When it comes to fresh vs frozen squash: fresh is better every time. Frozen is not nearly as flavorful: but it does work in a pinch!
Make these changes with frozen if you must: Use only 1 1/2 cups veggie broth for simmering and simmer for 5 minutes until the squash is tender. Omit the milk. Add additional kosher salt to taste. But instead of frozen butternut squash, we recommend this…

Meal prep tip: peel and dice the squash in advance!

If you do want to speed up this recipe: don’t use frozen squash. Simply peel and dice the butternut squash in advance! You can place it in a sealed container and refrigerate until you make the recipe, 2 to 3 days. It makes the recipe so much easier!

What cheese to use

There are lots of options for the cheese in this butternut squash mac and cheese! Here are a few options, in order of our preference:

Smoked gouda. It’s unique, but it adds a smoky nuance to the flavor and makes it taste completely irresistible.
Sharp cheddar. This one is the classic mac and cheese choice. It’s always tasty and you can combine it with the two cheeses below.
Monterey jack (with cheddar): Monterey jack is a great choice to mix with cheddar: it adds just the right cozy comfort food vibe. Go half cheddar and half Monterey jack.

Variation: make it gluten free!

Another plus for butternut squash mac and cheese: it’s easy to make gluten free. Many mac and cheese recipes use flour and butter to make a roux, a way to thicken a cheese sauce. It makes for a lusciously creamy sauce, but it does have flour. This recipe is simple to make gluten free with a simple swap of pasta. You can use:

Gluten free pasta made with gluten-free flour
Legume pasta made with lentil or chickpea flour. This type of pasta alternative is becoming easy to find at your local grocery.

Ways to serve with butternut squash mac and cheese

Make the pasta, make the sauce, and bam: you’ve got a delicious and healthy dinner idea! How to round out the meal? We’d suggest adding a quick and easy vegetable to add even more fiber and nutrients. Some serving suggestions for butternut squash mac and cheese:

Broccoli: Try Simple Sauteed Broccoli
Green beans: Add Sauteed Green Beans
Simple salad: Make Easy Arugula Salad, Arugula Beet Salad (with pre-cooked beets) or Fennel Orange Salad

This butternut squash mac and cheese recipe is…

Vegetarian. For gluten-free, use gluten free pasta or legume pasta.

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

5 from 5 reviews

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 as a main, 10 to 12 as a side
Diet: Vegetarian

Print Recipe

Description

This creamy, dreamy butternut squash mac and cheese is so tasty! It boasts less cheese and more fiber and vitamins than the standard.

Ingredients

1 pound small pasta shells* (gluten free or legume pasta as desired)
4 cups peeled and diced butternut squash** (about 1 medium squash: not frozen!)
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup 2% milk
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded smoked gouda cheese (or sharp cheddar cheese, or equal parts cheddar and Monterrey Jack)
Seasoned Italian breadcrumbs or plain breadcrumbs, optional

Instructions

Prep the squash and garlic: Peel and dice the butternut squash. Mince the garlic.
Cook the pasta: Start a pot of well salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until it is just al dente. Start tasting a few minutes before the package recommends: you want it to be tender but still a little firm on the inside; usually around 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the pasta. (If it finishes before the sauce, add it back to the pot with a drizzle of olive oil so it doesn’t stick.)
Make the sauce: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat; add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, or just until the garlic is fragrant but not browned. Carefully add the squash and vegetable broth to the skillet and stir to fully combine. Add the chili powder, nutmeg, kosher salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Cover and bring it to a high simmer, bubbling constantly, then cook 20 minutes until the squash is tender.
Blend the sauce: Carefully add the squash and all liquid to a blender. Add the milk and blend until smooth. Pour the sauce back into the pot. Stir in the shredded cheese and stir with a spoon until it is melted (gently heat it over low heat if it doesn’t melt right away). Taste and add additional salt as desired.
Serve: Pour the sauce onto the pasta. Taste and add a few more pinches salt as necessary. Serve immediately, sprinkled with breadcrumbs if desired.

Notes

*We like making half the pasta (8 ounces) and saving half the sauce for later to make with fresh pasta.

**Using frozen squash is not nearly as flavorful. To save prep time, peel and dice the squash in advance, and refrigerate it until making the recipe (up to 2 days).

Category: Main Dish
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

Keywords: Butternut squash mac and cheese

More butternut squash recipes

Butternut squash is a winter squash with personality! It turns everything to gold. Here are a few more butternut squash recipes:

Go creamy and cozy with Best Butternut Squash Soup or Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Try flavor-packed Thai Butternut Squash Curry
Add goat cheese for Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta
Make it into tasty Creamy Butternut Squash Risotto
Opt for super classic Roasted Butternut Squash

A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

This Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe is cozy and cheesy: the ultimate comfort food! It’s fast and easy to whip up in a pressure cooker. There’s nothing more comforting than a good bowl of mac and cheese. Ever tried it in your pressure cooker? Turns out, Instant Pot mac and cheese is layer upon layer of cozy. The way the Instant Pot cooks pasta makes it soft and supple, which has a down-home sort of vibe to it. It’s not al dente, but it almost feels like an elevated version of box mac and cheese. The big selling point here? The method is very hands off: throw the ingredients in the pot and press Go! Nothing better than that. Here are all the cozy secrets to this method. Ingredients for this Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe This Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe might even better easier than cooking from a box. (Maybe?) You need only a few ingredients, and assuming you stock cheese and pasta: they might already be in your pantry. Here’s what you need: Short pasta: Sure, you can use macaroni. But our favorite pasta shapes for mac and cheese are any other short type […]

A Couple Cooks – Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

This Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe is cozy and cheesy: the ultimate comfort food! It’s fast and easy to whip up in a pressure cooker.

There’s nothing more comforting than a good bowl of mac and cheese. Ever tried it in your pressure cooker? Turns out, Instant Pot mac and cheese is layer upon layer of cozy. The way the Instant Pot cooks pasta makes it soft and supple, which has a down-home sort of vibe to it. It’s not al dente, but it almost feels like an elevated version of box mac and cheese. The big selling point here? The method is very hands off: throw the ingredients in the pot and press Go! Nothing better than that. Here are all the cozy secrets to this method.

Ingredients for this Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe

This Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe might even better easier than cooking from a box. (Maybe?) You need only a few ingredients, and assuming you stock cheese and pasta: they might already be in your pantry. Here’s what you need:

Short pasta: Sure, you can use macaroni. But our favorite pasta shapes for mac and cheese are any other short type of pasta: shells, penne, fusilli, bowties, orecchiette and more. See below!
Sharp cheddar cheese: make sure it’s not aged
Monterey Jack cheese
Milk
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Seasoned Italian breadcrumbs (optional)

Pasta cooks to soft, not al dente in an Instant Pot

Over here, we’re sticklers for getting the perfect al dente when we cook our pasta. But here’s what to know about mac and cheese in the Instant Pot:

Cooking pasta in the Instant Pot comes out with a soft texture, not al dente. But here’s the thing: it’s still delicious! Cooking the pasta to a softer texture helps it to soak in sauces and it has more of a “down-home” cozy comforting vibe. Think of it as a totally different way to make a pot of pasta!
Leftovers of this Instant Pot mac and cheese work too. Even though the pasta comes out soft, leftovers work too! Add a splash of milk and reheat it in a skillet, and this tastes almost as good as new.

How to make Instant Pot mac and cheese: basic steps

There’s barely 5 minutes of hands on time here! It takes about 25 minutes to complete, but most of this Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe is hands off. That’s what makes it great as a quick weeknight meal, or to whip up for kids or as a side dish for a stunning main. Here are the basic steps to this recipe:

Pressure cook the pasta for 4 minutes. Remember that there’s a “preheat time” of about 10 minute before the Instant Pot gets up to pressure. This part takes about 15 minutes total.
Quick release! If you’re an Instant Pot pro, you’ll know: quick release recipes are the best! This means you don’t have to continue to wait for a natural release.
Switch to slow cooker mode and stir in the milk and cheese. Stir until they form a creamy sauce, just a minute or two.

Bread crumbs optional!

If you’re a mac and cheese purist, there’s something so satisfying about topping this gooey, cheesy mess with crunchy breadcrumbs. The contrasting texture is extremely satisfying. But of course it’s not necessary! We like using seasoned Italian breadcrumbs because it adds a little nuance of herbs. They’re easy to find at the store, or you can make your own breadcrumbs and add Italian seasoning.

Best noodles for mac and cheese in the Instant Pot

You can use macaroni for Instant Pot mac and cheese…but what’s the fun in that? In fact, our favorite pasta for this comfort food is anything but macaroni. We love using a unique pasta shape to keep things interesting. Shells are a favorite around here: and while they aren’t unexpected, there’s something that’s even more homey about them than the typical mac. Here are our favorite types of short pasta for mac and cheese, in order of preference:

Conchiglie (shells): what we used here
Cavatappi: cork-screw shapes
Orecchiette: ear shapes
Gigli (Campanelle): lily shapes
Penne: long thin tubes with diagonal ends
Gemelli: twisted tube shapes
Rigatoni : long thicker tubes

Sides to serve with Instant Pot mac and cheese

If the idea of using your Instant Pot for mac and cheese is to not do any cooking: let’s stick with the theme! There are lots of ideas for adding nutrients and fiber to round out this pasta into a meal. Here are a few no-cook side dishes to serve alongside:

Spinach salad: This Spinach Apple Salad is full of good-for-you ingredients and topped with a tangy dressing.
Veggies & ranch: Go simple with this Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip and carrot sticks. Perfect for kids (and adults, really).
Coleslaw: Try this Best Coleslaw with a tangy, creamy dressing.
Celery salad: This Celery Salad with Apples is unexpectedly refreshing and a great counterpoint to pasta.
Citrus salad: This Simple Citrus Salad is gorgeous, with beautiful colors and a citrus zing.

More Instant Pot pasta recipes

Want to keep cooking up pasta in your pressure cooker? Here are a few other ideas to try outside of this Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe:

Creamy Instant Pot Pasta A creamy penne: mix a zingy marinara sauce with tangy goat cheese and it’s heavenly! It’s so seriously flavorful and a great easy weeknight dinner recipe.
Instant Pot Spaghetti A fast and easy dinner recipe, where all you have to do is “set it and forget it.” The marinara sauce packs huge flavor.

A note on pressure cookers

All pressure cooker brands vary! Here’s the brand we use: the Instant Pot 6 Qt Programmable Pressure Cooker. We also have 2 Instant Pot sealing rings and use one for savory recipes and one for sweet recipes. This recipe is customized for a 6 quart pressure cooker. We also can’t speak to using other brands and types of pressure cookers for this recipe. Use them at your own risk!

This Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe is…

Vegetarian.