Vegan Butternut Squash Mac And Cheese (Nut-Free)

This vegan butternut squash mac and cheese is so creamy and delicious! It is also pretty quick to make!

I love making my Stuffed Butternut Squash and then using the leftover squash to make this recipe! It is so easy and you get two recipes for the price of one!

This is one of the best Vegan Kid’s Meals ever because it literally looks exactly like real mac and cheese and this butternut squash mac and cheese is vegan and nut-free so both you and the kids will be happy!

The color, the texture, the creamy nature! Everything about this butternut squash vegan mac and cheese looks like regular mac and cheese and it is perfect for kids or kids at heart!

The good part is that you can prepare your butternut squash in advance and then whip up your pasta noodles and the sauce super quickly!

You can even use this in place of the cheese sauce in my Vegan Baked Mac And Cheese!

A lot of other recipes for vegan butternut squash mac and cheese call for a lot of nutritional yeast.

If you follow my recipes, you will know that I love nutritional yeast as an ACCENT to the dish, not as the whole flavor! For example, it adds an amazing taste to my Vegan Brown Gravy!

In this vegan butternut squash pasta recipe, we do use a little nutritional yeast, but as an accent, not gobs and gobs of it!

I also do not use cashews in this recipe as the butternut squash is already creamy enough and works incredibly well!

I hope you enjoy making this easy and creamy nut-free butternut squash vegan mac and cheese as much as I enjoy eating it!

Why You Will Love This Nut Free Vegan Butternut Squash Mac And Cheese

• It whips up super quickly. This butternut squash vegan mac and cheese literally takes 15 minutes to make! And the best part? You can meal prep it in the fridge for the week if you want to take it for lunch.
• Perfect for new cooks. If you are new to cooking and want something that sounds fancy but is super easy, this is the recipe for you! It is truly hard to fail when making this tasty pasta.
• There are very few ingredients. The goal of this dish is to allow the flavors of the butternut squash to shine! As a result, there are very few ingredients. This means that aside from buying a few things, you probably already have everything required to make this meal right in your house.
• Perfect for picky eaters! If your kid is a picky eater, making this butternut squash mac and cheese vegan is the perfect way to get them to try new foods! It looks yellow like normal mac and cheese and families love this recipe.

What Type Of Milk To Use In The Butternut Squash Pasta

A lot of recipes call for cashews in order to make the vegan butternut squash mac and cheese creamy, but I do not find it necessary!

Instead, we use a little cornstarch/arrowroot and regular non-dairy milk. This way, we can keep this recipe nut-free if you wanted to!

That being said, make sure to use a thicker plant milk so that when you make butternut squash mace and cheese vegan, it is still creamy!

The butternut squash itself is already quite creamy, but adding a nice thick plant milk really does the trick.

Try to avoid using rice milk or thinner plant milks as they are the consistency of water. Of course, you can always use them, but just keep that in mind!

I like using oat milk, flax milk, cashew milk, almond milk and similar thicker plant milks when making the butternut squash pasta!

How To Make The Vegan Butternut Squash Mac And Cheese

The first thing you want to do when making the vegan butternut squash mac and cheese is to prepare the squash.

There are a few ways to do this! First, you can roast the squash as I have done in my Stuffed Butternut Squash Recipe.

Or, you can steam the squash, this is the fastest way!

You can also use the instant pot or slow cooker if you prefer!

However you get the butternut squash soft and ready for use is up to you and how much time you have on hand.

I love roasting mine for depth of flavor in the vegan butternut squash mac and cheese, but steaming it works too because it is super quick and easy.

To make this butternut squash sauce, all you have to do is put the butternut squash in the blender.

Add in all of your seasonings such as salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes and more.

Add in your plant milk and either cornstarch or arrowroot. This helps thicken the butternut squash mac and cheese and makes it creamy without using additional nuts!

Once all of your ingredients are in the blender, puree until creamy like a nice thick cheesy sauce.

If your puree is too thick, add in more plant milk, 1-2 tablespoons at a time and give it a good whir until it is combined.

You want the sauce to be creamy but you don’t want it to be thick and unworkable!

Now you are going to combine it with the cooked pasta noodles to make your delicious vegan squash mac and cheese!

I love using shells with this recipe as the creamy sauce gets stuck in the shells and it makes for a yummy bite every time!

When you put the butternut squash sauce over the pasta noodles and it is still too thick, add a little bit of plant milk until it reaches your desired creamy consistency!

I recommend stirring the pasta noodles and the sauce together over medium heat so that the butternut squash sauce can easily spread and combine over the noodles.

Serve this vegan butternut squash mac and cheese while warm with a side salad or some Vegan Garlic Knots because carbs are so good!

How To Store The Vegan Butternut Squash Mac And Cheese

This vegan butternut squash mac and cheese stores wonderfully! But! There are a few ways you can store it!

First, you can just make the butternut squash mac and cheese sauce! This is the orange stuff you blend up in the blender.

You can store this in a mason jar or airtight container in the fridge and then just make fresh pasta noodles when you are ready to eat!

Or, you can make a big batch of the butternut squash pasta and combine the noodles with the sauce and then save the whole thing for later in the fridge. If you loved this recipe, you may also like my Vegan Pumpkin Pasta Recipe!

If you store the noodles and pasta combined, the sauce may become thick but this is okay!

All you have to do is reconstitute with a little non-dairy milk when it comes time to reheat. I like reheating this vegan mac and cheese with squash over the stove, but you can also do it in the microwave.

If you are just storing the sauce, you may also find that it gets a little thick after sitting. Go ahead and add a little bit of non-dairy milk and reheat the sauce in a small pot. Then combine with pasta noodles!

This vegan butternut squash mac and cheese stores well for up to 5 days in the fridge. If you loved this recipe, you may also love my Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe!

Did You Try This Recipe?

If so, I would love to keep in touch! I enjoy seeing photos and comments about the recipes that you make! You can follow me on Instagram and I will repost your goodies in my stories and comment on it too! Just tag me at @wowitsveggie and hashtag #wowitsveggie. I can’t wait to see what you make!