Description
The best healthy mac and cheese! Made with cauliflower and butternut squash!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ghee, butter, or vegan butter
- 1/2 of a yellow or white onion, finely diced
- 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 head of cauliflower, roughly chopped
- 1 cup low sodium vegetable broth
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4–1/3 cup butternut squash puree
- Plain unsweetened dairy free milk as needed, up to 1/2 cup (can sub regular milk)
- 1 lb of your favorite pasta
Optional additions:
- Steamed broccoli
- Parmesan for topping
- Chicken, ground turkey, or any protein
Instructions
- Start by making the sauce. Heat a heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Once hot, add ghee or butter and stir in onions. Allow to cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in minced garlic and allow to cook for about 30 seconds, then stir in the chopped cauliflower.
- Add the vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, sea salt, and pepper to the pot and give everything a good stir. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until cauliflower is fork tender, about 10-12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to directions on box.
- When cauliflower is soft, remove from heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Carefully add everything from the pot for the sauce to a blender, plus the butternut squash puree and 1/4 cup of milk of choice. Blend everything until smooth, and add more milk as needed.
- Mix the sauce with the pasta and any add ins of choice. Top with parmesan (optional) and enjoy!
This was amazing! Made this with pumpkin instead of butternut squash, used leftover beef pho broth which made this taste amazing. Didn’t need any milk. Put this over miracle noodle macaroni. Topped it with crispy roasted cauliflower and a Parmesan cheese. We all loved it and will make again!!
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Ok this sounds amazing!! Love how you tweaked it! So glad you enjoyed it thank you Gayle! 🙂
This was amazing!! Thank you so much for the recipe.
how many calories are in this? i use an app to track them so it helps me make sure i’m not eating to much but i can’t put it in without knowing that 🙁
Is the butternut squash purée cooked? I bought precut butternut squash. Do I cook it and then purée?
Yes mine was from the can so it’s cooked! You’ll have to steam your squash until tender then purée!
can i use butternut squash soup instead of purée?
It will be a bit more thin but will work! You can also sub steamed butternut squash!
Sooo good! I couldn’t find butternut squash purée so I just roasted some and then added bite sized pieces in the blender with the rest of the sauce and it came out great! I love how versatile this recipe is, I added ground turkey and broccoli, but could easily add any protein/veggie combo! Thanks Mia! 🙂
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I have been changing my eating habits and you recipes have done in handy, though I’m still not ready to cut of dairy. What can I use instead of nutritional yeast to add the cheesy flavor?
Parmesan would work!
This is AMAZING!!! I love the Panera Mac and cheese and this tastes almost the same! I didn’t have milk so I used around a tbs plain Greek yogurt and some water and it made it so creamy!
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What a sweet compliment thank you sooo much Abby!! 🙂
This recipe is absolutely delicious! I’m already craving more. I made mine with Banza shell pasta and this entire dish is veggie/nutrient packed. My boyfriend tried some and also enjoyed it. We both agreed we would probably call it “Creamy Vegan Pasta” instead, but that might be our non-vegan bias. We love cooking vegan dishes and eating whole, healthy foods.
Mia, thank you so much for the yummy recipe, I will surely make it again.
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A-ma-zing!!!!!!!!
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I never knew one food could be so heavenly good
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I will be making this tonight. I was wondering is you blended the cauliflower as well. Or did you just put it aside and added it later? Thank you in advance ????
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Yes you blend it in! 🙂
I made this for my family tonight and they loved it! I used banza shells and mixed in steamed broccoli at the end and it turned out so good! I love mac and cheese and this did not disappoint:)
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Yet another bomb recipe from Mia, I get even the pickiest eaters in my house to eat AND actually enjoy this recipe unlike some others I’ve tried to force feed them lol – for sure a go to when I want the comfort of regular mac and cheese without all the subsequent bloating #hotgirlswithgutprobs
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I kept pushing this recipe away since I started following you because I seriously didn’t expect the satisfaction but I am so happily surprised. This was incredible! I’m so happy to have something that has the satisfaction and creaminess of having cheese without the hurting stomach and next-day breakout. I’m so happy I finally made it <3
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This is literally so incredible! I only made a half pound of pasta. Would this sauce freeze well?
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Thank you so much Lily! I have not tried freezing this sauce, but it should be ok!
This recipe is AMAZING! I can’t believe this is dairy free- it tasted better than normal mac & cheese with the added benefit of lots of veggies. I added cinnamon to the cauliflower as it was cooking and some paprika/cayenne for a little heat. I recommend adding both or just cinnamon if you don’t like spicy food. I used chickpea pasta and added chicken sausage, zucchini, mushrooms, onion, broccoli, and spinach to the pasta. Every single recipe on this site that I have made has been absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait to make more!
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I am so happy you loved this Megan! Your additions sound amazing!! Thank you so much for the sweet note 🙂
So delicious. We made this last night with steamed broccoli and grilled sausage mixed in and it was the most filling, satisfying meal. I have leftover sauce for tonight, too! Thank you!
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Great recipe again! I skipped the nutritional yeast and the milk and added some paprika. Also, I used frozen cauliflower and butternut squash which was what I had on-hand and it was super quick and easy. You just add the frozen squash in ten mins after the cauliflower. Thanks Mia for this satisfying and yummy recipe!
Thank you so much Zaynep! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
YUMMM! So satisfying, creamy and easy to make! I added brocollini on side and topped with a tiny bit of shredded parm! Best (almost) vegan mac n cheese I’ve ever had 🙂
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So delicious! This dish is just the right balance between health food and comfort food. I added the only cheese I had (Asiago and Parmesan) but it would probably be good with any cheese, or even with just the nutritional yeast!
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