Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Vegan

The famous butternut squash mac and cheese vegan is healthy and gluten-free yet so delicious. This is my instant pot go-to vegan meal, which is taste-tested and kid-approved. Presenting my vegan butternut squash mac and cheese.

I recently worked with an online magazine and created a pumpkin-based pasta casserole for them. That was a vegetarian version of this sauce that I am going to share with you. The light flavors of garlic, sweet onion and sage worked beautifully with the pumpkin cheese sauce that I made for the casserole. But it was not dairy-free. Therefore, I created this vegan version of the famous butternut squash mac and cheese and used chickpea pasta to make it gluten-free.

What's In Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese?

Cashew and nutritional yeast add the cheese-like flavor to this squash-based sauce. But if you don’t want cashew, you can always use macadamia nuts or store-bought vegan cheese. Don’t skip the sautéed onions and sage as both of these add a really nice flavor to the butternut sauce. Even though my kids are not big fans of squash, they really loved this dish.

In my version of vegan butternut squash mac and cheese, I make everything in the instant pot. It’s kind of dump and go meal. So you just sauté the sauce ingredients and blend them and dump the rest of the ingredients in the instant pot and pressure cook them. After the beep, quick-release pressure and add the vegan butternut squash sauce and serve.

Customizing Your Vegan Mac and Cheese with Butternut Squash:

Vegetarians and meat-eaters can customize this recipe by adding cheese, heavy cream and even bacon bits. For a crispy crust, a panko and sage mixture and few minutes of broil will give you a nice, brown and crusty top on your mac and cheese casserole.

How to make Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Vegan Recipe?

Ingredients for Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Vegan Recipe:

For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients: butternut squash cubes(around 4 cups divided), ½ white or yellow onion chopped, 3-4 cloves of garlic pods roughly chopped, few leaves of sage, 1 tablespoon avocado oil, ½ cup raw or roasted unsalted cashews soaked for an hour, 1 cup of almond milk, 2 cups of water or vegetable broth, ½ cup nutritional yeast, 16 ounces of chickpea or any gluten-free pasta macaroni or rigatoni, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes, juice of half lemon, salt and pepper to taste, fresh chopped parsley to garnish

Method:

• Set the instant pot into the sauté mode and allow it to be hot before adding the oil. Once the oil is hot, add chopped garlic, onions, 3 cups of butternut squash, and sage followed by salt and pepper.
• Once the veggies look cooked and roasted(5-7 minutes), transfer them to a blender jar.
• In the same pot, add pasta, rest 1 cup of the butternut squash, 2 teaspoon of the onion-garlic-sage mixture, half the nutritional yeast, almond milk, broth, and dry seasonings.
• Season with salt and pepper and pressure cook for 4-minutes in the high manual.
• While the pasta is cooking, blend the sautéed onion-butternut squash, cashews, nutritional yeast and lemon juice to a smooth puree. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. After the beep, quick-release pressure and open the lid.
• Use a spoon to break the cooked butternut squash cubes and mix them well with the pasta.
• Add the vegan cheese sauce and mix it really well.
• Vegetarians can add cheddar cheese and heavy cream at this point if they want to. Garnish with parsley and serve warm.
• Enjoy.

📖 Recipe

How to Add a Crispy crust To Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese?

Mix together a cup of panko breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon melted vegan butter and Italian seasoning mix. Add the mixture over the Mac and Cheese in a casserole dish. Bake at 350F for 10-minutes till the top is brown and crust. Serve warm.

What Can Be the Best Cashew substitute in Vegan Cheese Sauce?

Macadamia nuts are the best cashew substitute in this vegan cheese sauce. They are mild, have a neutral flavor and taste the best in this vegan butternut cheese sauce.

Can I Add More veggies to This Dish?

Yes, very much. Customize this recipe with some chopped carrots and broccoli added to the pasta while pressure cooking.

What's The Best Substitute Of butternut squash?

Any variety of pumpkin or pumpkin puree can be the best substitute of butternut squash in this recipe.