Butternut squash cauliflower mac and cheese

At Rebel Roots H.Q. we love veggies and loooooove mac and cheese! With this recipe you get the awesomeness and nutrition of butternut squash and cauliflower and the satisfaction and comfort of mac and cheese, a delicious win-win. There are a few butternut mac recipes floating around but I like to base mine off Jessica’s at the forked spoon because it’s tasty, integrates cauliflower, and well, I can follow it.

Note that this recipe gives you a ton of mac and cheese. As you can see, it fills my entire 4.2 litre dutch oven. But this works for us because although it’s just the two of us we’re big fans of meal prep so I can make this bad boy and spread it out over

several meals. I even potion it out and freeze it then defrost and pop it back in the oven to make it all yummy, crispy. *If you intend on freezing this, make sure you undercook the pasta otherwise it ends up a bit mushy.

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash (I’ve used all sizes, it doesn’t matter too much) – peel this guy and cut it up into cubes – this is basically the most time-intensive step
• 4 cups milk (whatever kind you use, whole milk is creamier but non-dairy should work too)
• 1 cup ricotta (I have omitted this on several occasions. Honestly I don’t taste the difference)
• 1 T flour (I use whole wheat because fiber and nutrition)
• 2 t salt
• 1 t pepper (or to taste)
• 1 t paprika (or to taste)
• 2 cups cheddar – cut up or shredded
• 1 cup parmesan cheese (I often don’t have the right amounts of this so I make 2.5 cups of cheddar +  whatever and .5 cups of parmesan for the top)
• 1 large cauliflower head – cut up into small pieces – If I don’t have enough cauliflower or I’m feeling the need for extra nutrition, I’ll add broccoli until it equals a large head
• 1 lb of pasta (I just use one package of what I have around)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (Also totally optional, I skip it a lot, cause carbs, but it’s tasty so you decide)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F (190 C)
2. If you have a dutch oven or oven-safe large pot use this to reduce dishes, otherwise large saucepan will do.
   Combine 4 c. milk and squash, bring to boil on med-high heat, stir to avoid burning milk.
   Once boiling, reduce to med-low heat and let simmer until the squash is soft (20-25 min usually).
3. Using a blender/food processor/immersion blender, blend up the milk and squash and put it back into the pot, turn on low heat and whisk in 1T flour, 1 c. ricotta, once combined add 2 t salt, pepper and paprika to taste, 2.5 cups of cheese (maybe 2 cups cheddar .5 parmesan).
4. In another large pot boil water and add in the cauliflower and pasta. You can follow the directions on the pasta but I would highly recommend under-cooking it. Promise. You don’t want mush-fest.
5. Drain the pasta/cauliflower and add it into the cheese pot. Mix is all up and see if it needs more salt/pepper/paprika.
6. Once you’re satisfied you can top with your optional breadcrumbs and .5 cup of parmesan.
7. Bake for 20-30 min until toasty on top.

If you’re looking for a nice companion to this tasty dish, I love asparagus as a side… or just be a purist. Whatever you decide, enjoy and let me know how it goes in the comments!