This vegan butternut squash mac and cheese is gorgeously creamy, rich, and cheesy tasting. Just 9 ingredients and 30 minutes to make, this healthy pasta is the perfect easy to make dish to enjoy during squash season!
To say I'm obsessed with vegan mac and cheese is an understatement. This recipe will be my 5th variation! I mean, what's not to love about pasta + vegan cheese? Adding butternut squash to this version makes the pasta so flavourful and creamy, this recipe has become a new autumn favourite!
The key to making this vegan mac and cheese taste super cheesy is the addition of white miso paste. Now I know that may sound a bit odd, but the miso paste is the secret ingredient that adds an aged umami tang that really gives this pasta a cheddar vibe. Then I also add nutritional yeast for more cheesiness, and it's actually kinda crazy how cheesy this tastes!
How to Make Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the macaroni according to the package directions.
In a large saucepan, melt the vegan butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes until the onion turns translucent and begins to brown. Add the butternut squash and vegetable broth. Cover and cook 10 - 15 minutes until the butternut squash is very tender when pierced with a fork.
Add the cooked butternut squash mixture to a blender along with the nutritional yeast, miso paste, and salt. Blend until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. Be careful not to fill the blender too high so it doesn’t erupt.
Alternatively you could use an immersion blender straight in the pan. If your sauce is too thick, you can add another ¼ cup of vegetable broth or water.
Return the sauce the pan, and add the cooked macaroni to the sauce and toss well to coat. Serve hot.
I love this vegan butternut squash mac and cheese all on its own, but to make it a heartier meal you could serve it with a side of roasted cauliflower or asparagus, and if you really want a gorgeous meal my Italian seitan sausages. YUM!
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
Servings: (makes about 6 cups)
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Ingredients
- 3 cups macaroni noodles, (gluten-free if preferred)
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter, (or other light oil)
- 1 yellow onion,, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic,, minced
- ½ medium butternut squash, 580g peeled, deseeded, and chopped into 2 inch cubes (4 cups cubed)
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the macaroni according to the package directions.
- In a large saucepan, melt the vegan butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes until the onion turns translucent and begins to brown. Add the butternut squash and vegetable broth. Cover and cook 10 - 15 minutes until the butternut squash is very tender when pierced with a fork.
- Add the cooked butternut squash mixture to a blender along with the nutritional yeast, miso paste, and salt. Blend until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. Be careful not to fill the blender too high so it doesn’t erupt. Alternatively you could use an immersion blender straight in the pan. If your sauce is too thick, you can add another ¼ cup of vegetable broth or water.
- Return the sauce the pan, and add the cooked macaroni to the sauce and toss well to coat. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Cassidy Nunn says
I highly recommend this recipe!! both my kids (toddler and 4 year old) LOVED it, didn't even realize there was no cheese in it! It's simple and delicious!
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Woo! We love to hear when kids love it - they can be tough critics!
Julie says
Excited to try this recipe! What’s the best broth to use? I think the veggie better than bouillon will be too strong…. I think the type of broth can make or break this recipe…
Ray says
I just kinda winged it, but I was wondering: Is the 580g of squash meant to be before you peel and deseed, or after you have just the squash that's going in the pot?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
It should be just the peeled and cubed squash going into the pot!
Adrienne Gembala Agarwal says
Does not taste like cheese but really tasty regardless, and easy to use! I used protein pasta for extra nutrition.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
So happy you enjoyed it!
Carl says
I'm giving this 5 stars because it met my expectations and provided that comfort food kind of feeling, without the fat hangover. I've passed on every recipe that uses cashew cheese, as the saturated fat content is too high for me; may as well eat regular cheese.
After looking at the ingredients, I did not for one minute expect that 'processed cheese food' kind of experience, and perhaps that's what allowed me to really appreciate this recipe. Realizing this, I also subbed in some chickpea pasta to assuage my wife's misgivings about a super carb-y dish.
I did find that I needed to cook the squash several minutes longer than the recipe states. The key is cooking it to 'very tender', no matter how long it takes. I took it all the way to the point where it was almost melting away, leaving less work for the food processor to do, which I think results in a smoother consistency.
I still have the other half of the butternut squash....perhaps I'll make it again!
Anonymous says
Everyone I’ve shared this recipe with absolutely adores it, even if they normally don’t like butternut squash. I also am not a huge butternut squash fan so I was skeptic all of trying this one out, but it was amazing! It’s great as-is, and I’ve also had success making it as a baked mac and cheese with a bread crumb topping. So good!
Veronica says
It's not bad, but not very good. Very bland and kind of sweet. I don't know if I did something wrong, but I might try again with more spices. I also used shiro miso so that might have thrown it off.
Sylvia W says
Somewhere recently someone mentioned butternut mac & cheese and my back brain sprang a leak it sounded so good.....but I have a reaaaaallly nasty allergy to cow milk in any form. Waaah! Then, when I came to my senses, I realized anything that sounds that good, someone must have done a Paleo and/or vegan version, so I started looking. Didn't take long to find a good double digit collection for my Pinterest 'cheezy' folder, but out of all of them this site stood out. I already have a bunch of email subscriptions to various recipe blogs, and I rarely add a new one since my time is limited.... But how could I resist a blog with a name like this one!?! Too clever by half, and so far I have liked the attitude, and the recipes. Hoping to have time to start cooking some of these, now that the evenings are finally cooling down a bit (central Florida takes its own sweet time acknowledging the change of seasons).
Rachel says
Loved this! It's sweet from the butternut squash and while it doesn't *quite* scratch the mac and cheese itch for me, it's SO good in its own right! The texture is divine. I added a quarter teaspoon of mustard powder (in a lot of cheese sauce recipes) and a bit of turmeric to make that yellow really pop. 🙂
Barb says
How can you cut the sodium
Sam Turnbull says
Reduce or omit the salt. 🙂
Moose Repole says
I have been sooo excited to make this for weeks and once I finally set out to do it, I'm heartbroken to say it came out awful for me. I don't know if I undercooked my squash and that's why it didn't blend properly, or this is not a recipe that should be attempted with a low-speed blender like I have. The sauce came out chunky/watery and flavorless, and there was twice as much sauce as pasta. I don't really know how or why this happened, maybe I just messed up and added the wrong amount of some ingredients. I've loved every single other recipe I've ever made from this blog (which is MANY! <3), but I'm going to have to throw this one away. 🙁
Carl says
I found that I needed to cook the butternut squash far longer than the recipe states. This will vary depending on the size of the cuts of squash you make. The recipe does state that the squash should be very tender. I think if you'd continued cooking the squash like I found I needed to, it would have turned out less chunky and watery.
Henna says
So delicious! The texture and creaminess of the sauce is EVERYTHING! I'll definitely be making this again in the future!
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo!! So thrilled you loved it, Henna 🙂
Stella says
I loked it a lot. My meat eating family not so much 🙁 Do you know if the puree can be frozen for easier mac and cheese in the future?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes it should freeze nicely, enjoy!
Beth says
Delicious! We made your tofu crumbles and mixed them in. A winning combination 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
OOO sounds delish!
Sarah Jones says
Amazing! This was so easy to make and came out so delicious. I used rotini pasta. The creaminess from the butternut squash makes this recipe a new favorite. I'll have to stock up on squash and make this all winter!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you loved it, Sarah 🙂
Tiffany says
This is amazing! Thank you for this recipe, it’s better than any Mac and cheese I had before going vegan! I could eat it everyday
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, amazing! So happy you enjoyed Tiffany 🙂
Jennifer says
This was sooooooo good! I used penne pasta. My whole family loved it! It was so simple to make with already cut up squash. So very healthy and I was impressed that it tasted so good without any nuts or coconut milk! It’s a keeper!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you loved it so much, Jennifer!!
Sherry Schreffler says
I have light yellow miso. Will that work ok? Or should I get white. Thanks! I can't wait to make this recipe!!
Sam Turnbull says
That should work fine. Enjoy!
Lettuce says
Hey, Sam! Was there a specific way to cook the butternut squash for this recipe or just until it’s soft enough to blend?
Sam Turnbull says
Full instructions are written in the recipe. 🙂
Jenn says
OMG!!! OMG!!! This is AMAZING!!! Took a shortcut and used frozen steamable butternut squash & extra nutritional yeast & some red pepper flakes. So So yummy & easy. Finally a no nut mac n cheeze. Thank you
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! You're so welcome, Jenn! Thrilled you enjoyed 🙂