Butternut Squash Miso Mac n’ Cheese, Vegan & Gluten-Free
Unless this is your first time on the blog (in which case, hi!!), you probably already know that my family eats sweet potato mac n’ cheese at least once a week. It’s easy, cozy and something we’re always in the mood for.
Recently I was whipping up a batch of the sauce and realized I was out of tamari (soy sauce). I snooped around my fridge to see if I had anything else that could add a savory, salty flavor and the only thing I came up with was miso paste. I added a tablespoon…and it did the trick!
The success made me curious if there’s a way to give the cheese sauce an even more prominent miso flavor. I love the original sauce but since we eat it so often, I decided to tweak the original recipe and came up with today’s Vegan & Gluten-Free Butternut Squash Miso Mac n’ Cheese.
Trust me, you want to make this for dinner tonight.
It’s earthy, savory, a little sweet and a little smoky, and it’s the kind of meal I could eat every single night once the temperatures start to drop.
Let’s chat about the ingredients for a minute. I used white miso, because that’s what I happened to have, but any kind should be great. I added the tiniest bit of maple syrup to the sauce, which really brings out the sweetness of the squash and balances out the miso paste. I also added a couple drops of liquid smoke which seriously brought the flavor to the next level! If you don’t have liquid smoke on hand, don’t sweat it though- the recipe is still great without!
For the butternut squash puree, canned is always an option, but it’s super simple to make your own. Slice a butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds, place it sliced side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 375F for 40-55 minutes, until tender. Let it cool for a few minutes, then scoop out the flesh and puree it in a blender.
The mac is great on it’s own, but I personally love to mix veggies in. For the batch in the photos, I stirred in roasted Brussels sprouts (slice them in half, toss with olive oil, bake at 400°F for 35-40 minutes), which added such a great pop of texture and flavor. Feel free to add whatever greens and/or veggies sound good to you!
- 4 portions your favorite pasta
- 1 cup butternut squash puree (see above for DIY option)
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons miso paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- salt and pepper to taste
- *optional- 3 drops liquid smoke
- *optional- roasted veggies (see above)
- *optional- sprinkle of paprika
- Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package.
- Place all the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- When the pasta is done cooking, drain it and return it to the pot. Set it to low heat, add the sauce and stir until warm. Fold in roasted vegetables, sprinkle with paprika, and serve warm.
Looks delicious! Do you use red or yellow miso?
Never mind. I can read. 😜
Heheh glad you found it!
My family and I have to decided to go fully plant-based for the new year (and going forward). My wife and I have 4 year old twins (a boy and a girl) and we live in Brooklyn. As someone who used to live in NYC, I’m sure you are familiar with NYC struggles, and now that you have kids, I’m know you’re familiar with that adventure as well, haha.
I just wanted to thank you for making this transition so much easier for us. I’m the sole cook in the house (I’m the Dad, haha), and it’s actually been so much fun to discover and cook with your recipes. I have Colorful Kitchen, I just purchased Colorful Family Table (both on Kindle), and I can’t wait to get started on these new recipes. My only regret is that I didn’t buy physical copies (I love opening a real book to follow recipes 🙂 )!
Happy New Year, and thanks again!
Shane Page