Butternut Squash Mac & "Cheese"

Start your ovens!  This cheese-less, gluten free version of mac & cheese is about to revolutionize your taste buds.  Many vegan mac 'n' cheese recipes call for cashews to give a creamy consistency to the sauce.  While yes, it tastes great, it also adds a lot of unneeded calories to the dish.

Not for long...  Get ready!

Butternut Squash Mac & "Cheese"

serves 4

Ingredients: 

For the Pasta...

1 8oz bag of brown rice or quinoa pasta (macaroni noodles or spiral)
1 butternut squash (smaller size)

Get your greens in** optional: 1 1/2 cup steamed broccoli and 1 1/2 cup chopped Dino kale

For the Sauce...

1 tbsp Earth Balance
3/4 C. unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp all purpose gluten free flour
1/4 C. nutritional yeast (or 6 tbsp)
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees.

Wash and chop butternut squash into 1-2 inch cubes.  Watch a "how to" video here.

In a glass casserole dish, place chopped squash with olive oil (about 1-2 tbsp), salt and pepper. Roast for about 40 minutes, uncovered.

Meanwhile, prepare the "cheese" sauce in a stove top pot.  First, melt Earth Balance at low heat.  Then, begin to whisk in almond milk and flour.  After mixing for about a minute, add in mustard, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast.

Whisk the sauce for about 5 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

As your butternut squash finishes cooking, put aside 1 cup for blending into the "cheese" sauce.  The rest of the squash with mix in with the mac 'n cheese.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta and heat up your veggies in a stove top pan.  To reheat my squash, I placed them in as well.  And remember, brown rice pasta typically takes about 8 minutes, so make sure to not overcook your noodles!

In a blender, blend the sauce with 1 cup of roasted squash.

Pour sauce over drained pasta.  Slowly mix in the kale, broccoli, and remainder of the squash.

Feel free to add hot sauce, more pepper, or more salt to your liking!

Bon Appetit! xx