Out of this world, creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese! It's a healthy, gluten-free, and allergy-free recipe! No soy, nuts, dairy, or fake cheeses needed! Super easy and baked to perfection (or leave it unbaked!), this cheesy and kid-friendly butternut squash sauce is savory with fresh herbs and so quick to make along with your favorite pasta for a weeknight dinner or lunch!
I mean it when I say this vegan mac and cheese is OUT.OF.THIS.WORLD! It's a creamy delicious butternut squash dream! Who needs cheese to make an ultra-creamy sauce to dress your favorite gluten-free noodles? Not us! You don't even need nuts, soy, or store-bought processed dairy-free cheeses! You only need under 10 real food ingredients, 15 minutes or more if you want to bake it!
Simple Ingredients You'll Need
We all love a recipe with less than 10 ingredients! Super easy, inexpensive, and quick to whip up in a flash!
- Olive Oil (or vegan butter)
- Sweet Onion
- Garlic
- BUTTERNUT SQUASH
- Unsweetened Non-Dairy MIlk
- Fresh Sage and Thyme
- Dried Rosemary
- Nutritional Yeast
- Gluten-Free Pasta
- Salt and Pepper (to taste!)
- Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs (optional, if you want to bake it!)
Fresh or Frozen Butternut Squash
If you don't have time to roast or boil 4 cups of butternut squash, have no fear! I used frozen pre-cubed butternut squash! You only need about 1 pound of butternut squash, and using a bag of frozen squash is a major time saver (plus you don't need to worry about peeling and chopping!)
How to Make the Butternut Squash Sauce
- First, you'll quickly saute the onion and garlic in a large pot, before adding the cubed butternut squash.
- Once the squash has softened, add the milk, herbs, and nutritional yeast.
- Blend the sauce until creamy and smooth, directly in the pot using an immersion blender or transferring it to a standard blender.
Use the Sauce in More Ways
You can stop right there and store your butternut squash sauce in the fridge for different meals throughout the week, freeze it for later, or use it with any pasta you have on hand! You can add vegetable stock for a deliciously creamy soup, dump it in a slow cooker with your favorite protein, or use it as a dip (butternut squash nachos perhaps?)!
Bake it or Leave it
Initially, I was going to stop right there with a simple stove-top vegan mac and cheese, but tossing it in a casserole dish to bake for 20 minutes sounded super cozy for a fall or winter meal! I'll leave it up to you and whichever way you go, however much time you have, you will not be disappointed!
Leave it stove-top:
- If you used an immersion blender, dump your sauce out into a bowl and set aside, then rinse out the pot you used to cook the sauce.
- Cook 8 ounces of your favorite gluten-free pasta according to package directions, drain, and add it back to the pot along with the sauce (you may not need all of the sauce if you are not baking it, about 2 cups.)
To bake it:
- Follow the same steps above, adding 2 cups of sauce to the cooked pasta before adding the pasta to an 8x8 casserole dish.
- Add the rest of the sauce to the top of the pasta (make sure it covers all the noodles!), sprinkle on some gluten-free breadcrumbs if you'd like, and then bake the mac & cheese in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 20 minutes.
Storage & Additional Tips
- The stove-top and baked version of this vegan mac can be stored in the fridge for 5-6 days. You can reheat this in the microwave.
- To freeze this mac and cheese, I'd suggest going for the baked version, allowing it to cool completely, and freezing it, tightly wrapping the casserole dish in foil. You can leave the mac and cheese unbaked and freeze it the same way.
- When you want to reheat the mac & cheese, simply take it out of the freezer and bake at 400°F until heated through.
- Depending on the strength of your nutritional yeast, you can add more or less. I added ¼ cup, but 3 tablespoons will work as well!
- For a high-protein, complete healthy dinner, I went with chickpea pasta, but you can use anything your family likes!
- If you do not want to add the fresh herbs, you can season your butternut squash sauce however you'd like or leave it completely plain for a toddler-friendly meal!
- This recipe is great year-round, not just during winter squash season! Using frozen squash is perfect for that too!
Your Next Healthy Family Dinner
The best way to hide some veggies (actually, squash is technically a fruit...) in a healthy and delicious family meal everyone will love! From dinner to lunch, to a perfect casserole freezer-meal you can make-ahead or bring to a friend in need! This recipe is 100%:
- Gluten-Free
- Vegan
- Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
- Sugar-Free
- Grain-Free & Protein-Packed (if you want!)
- Toddler & Kid-Friendly
- Healthy & Packed with Butternut Squash
- Freezer-Friendly & Great for Meal Prep
Vegan Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese Recipe
Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese (Gluten-Free, Allergy-Free)
Out of this world, creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese! It's a healthy, gluten-free, and allergy-free recipe! No soy, nuts, dairy, or fake cheeses needed! Super easy and baked to perfection (or leave it unbaked!), this cheesy and kid-friendly butternut squash sauce is savory with fresh herbs and so quick to make along with your favorite pasta for a weeknight dinner or lunch!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
- Category: Main, Side
- Method: Stove-Top, Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 TB Olive Oil (or Vegan Butter)*
- 1 Cup Chopped Sweet Vidalia Onion
- 1 Tsp Minced Garlic
- 4 Cups (about 1lb) Peeled & Cubed Butternut Squash**
- ½ Cup Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk***
- 3 to 4 TB Nutritional Yeast
- 1 TB Chopped Fresh Sage (1 tsp dried)
- 1 TB Chopped Fresh Thyme (1 tsp dried)
- 2 Tsp Crushed Dried Rosemary
- Salt & Black Pepper (to taste)
- 8 oz Gluten-Free Pasta
- 3 TB Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs (optional, if baking)
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat, then add the chopped onion and garlic. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes until the onion softens.
- Add the cubed butternut squash and allow the squash to cook for about 5 minutes before adding the milk, herbs, and nutritional yeast.
- Turn the heat off and use an immersion blender or transfer the squash sauce to a standard blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the blended sauce to a bowl if you would like to use the same pot to boil the noodles.
- Boil the gluten-free pasta according to package directions, drain, and add 2-3 cups of sauce to the cooked pasta and mix.
To Bake:
- While the pasta is boiling, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Drain the cooked pasta, add it back to the pot, and mix in 2 cups of butternut squash sauce.
- Add the coated pasta to an 8x8 casserole dish, then add the remaining sauce to the pasta, pushing it down between the noodles and covering the top.
- Sprinkle on the gluten-free bread crumbs, if desired, and bake the mac and cheese for about 10 minutes until golden brown on top.
Notes
*You can also dry-saute and make ti oil-free.
**Cooked and frozen or boil fresh squash for 10-25 minutes on the stove, or roast the squash for a more intense, sweet taste for 25 minutes at 425°F.
***If making the stove-top version you can add ¾ cup of milk to the sauce to make it runnier.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
Keywords: casserole, quick, easy, butternut squash, butternut squash sauce, vegan mac and cheese, gluten-free mac and cheese, comfort food, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, grain-free, allergy-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free, peanut-free, coconut-free, corn-free, sesame-free, sugar-free, oil-free, kid-friendly
This will be a meal you make WEEKLY (if not daily?). So yummy, everyone in the family will gladly gobble this vegan butternut squash mac and cheese up (and they won't even care that's it's dairy-free!)
More Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipes:
- Baked Mini Gluten-Free Vegan Mac & Cheese Bites
- Curry Mac & Cheese
- Microwave Gluten-Free Vegan Mac & Cheese For One
- One-Pot Vegan Mac & Cheese
- Baked Vegan Mac & Cheese
- Nut-Free Vegan Mac n’ Cheeze
So tell me:
+ What's your favorite way to use/eat butternut squash?
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Helen
This is going to be a new go-to for the winter!
★★★★★
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Right? So simple and delicious to make!
EA Stewart
Absolutely love this recipe! And, the herbs add so much flavor. Delicious!
★★★★★
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Using fresh herbs always brighten up a dish and these make it so cozy for fall!
Debra
Absolutely delish. This was so easy....and everyone loved it. I will definitely be making it again...and making the sauce by itself to put on everything. So many great ideas you have.
★★★★★
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, the sauce is a fall/winter staple that you can use on just about anything! Vary the thickness and it could even be a sandwich spread!
Kimberly
I love mac and cheese and this sounds delicious to try and change it up!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Awesome, enjoy!
Karen
This looks delicious and perfect for a hearty, Fall meal! Bonus that it's so healthy!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
It is! Will leave you nice and satisfied, especially with a bean pasta!
Charline
This recipe looks amazing! I am pinning it for the future!
★★★★★
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I know you'll enjoy it as much as my family did!
Cassie Webber
I have made something similar before following a different recipe, but yours looks even better! I love mac and cheese, but I try to be dairy free as much as I can when I eat at home for my eczema. I will definitely be trying this out! Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Well this is the perfect vegan mac and cheese for FALL (and winter!)
Aliceee Traveler
I like the backed version but I never tried this recipe. Thanks for sharing my dear 🤗
★★★★★
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Baking it does add to that cozy factor! I hope you enjoy 🙂
John
Great idea. Buttenut squash is perfect for "mac and cheese". I can't wait to try it.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
So delicious! Enjoy!
Lisa
This looks delicious. I would never have thought to have used sage in the recipe. Can't wait to try. We're a gluten free household so always looking for yummy gluten free alternatives. Thank you.
★★★★★
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
The autumn/winter trifecta: thyme, sage, rosemary!
Bethany
Looks so yummy!!! I will have to make it this week!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Hope you enjoy!