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You are here: Home / Pasta / Cast Iron Macaroni & Cheese with Butternut Squash Recipe

Cast Iron Macaroni & Cheese with Butternut Squash Recipe

January 25, 2018

I found the best looking mac and cheese recipe a while back and it’s been waiting for me ever since. I’ve had it stored in my bookmarks on my computer. Last night, I decided to go ahead with preparing it and boy was it a treat. I haven’t eaten anything cheesy like this in such a long time. It filled my belly and made me smile.

Cast Iron Macaroni & Cheese with Butternut Squash Recipe

The Recipe

Before I began putting this dish together, I thought it had a lot of moving parts. Whenever I see a recipe like this, I sort of dread making it. I much prefer the easy two or three step ones. Upon further review though, I found that this one wasn’t actually that complicated. When you boil it down, there aren’t that many ingredients and the cooking process is relatively simple.

The best part of this macaroni and cheese dish isn’t only the cheese, but the butternut squash. Mine was really sweet and perfectly cooked. I infused the cheese mixture with ground sage and nutmeg, so there was a fairly distinct flavor going on. Speaking of cheese, I used Asiago and Monterey Jack, which was a great combination. If you want to go with something more robust, I suggest Parmesan and cheddar. Those cheese hit a bit harder. The ones I used with this recipe are more mellow.

Overall, this is a fairly easy recipe to pull off and the result is outstanding. Just make sure you have a large 12″ cast iron skillet before you begin. You’ll need all that room.

Ingredients

Serves: 6-8

1 Medium Sized Butternut Squash, Peeled and Cubed
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
3 Tablespoons Butter
1 Teaspoon Ground Sage
3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
3 1/2 Cups Whole Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1 1/4 Cups Shredded Asiago Cheese, Divided
1 Cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
2 Cups Elbow Pasta, Cooked
1/4 Cup Breadcrumbs
3 Tablespoons Parsley for Garnish

See also  Linguine with Mushrooms, Kale & Muenster Cheese Recipe

Step-by-Step Instructions

I’d like to thank Southern Cast Iron for this recipe. I’m made so many great recipes from this website and I’ve been impressed with all of them. I’m looking forward to more in the future.

Macaroni & Cheese with Sage

Pre-Heat Oven

Arrange your oven racks so one is in the center position. Then, pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.


Prep & Roast the Squash

Trim both ends from the squash. Then, peel it and cut it in half lengthwise. After that, scoop out the seeds and cut the squash into 3/4 inch cubes. Place the cubes into a large bowl and add one teaspoon of olive oil to it. Also, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the bowl along with 1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper. Mix everything together well.

Tossed Butternut Squash Cubes in Large Bowl

Next, place the cubes onto a large baking sheet. Make sure the squash is only one layer deep.

Butternut Squash on Baking Sheet

Place the baking sheet into the oven for 30 minutes. When finished, remove the tray from the oven to cool and increase the heat in the oven to 450 degrees.

Cook the Pasta

Fill a medium sized saucepan about half way with water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta (about one cup of dry elbows) and cook for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender. When it is, drain the water and add one teaspoon of olive oil to the pot. Mix the pasta with the oil so it doesn’t stick to itself. Set the pot aside.

See also  Pumpkin Alfredo Recipe

Cooked Elbow Pasta in Saucepan

Prepare Cheese Mixture

Warm a large 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and when it’s melted, add in the ground sage. Mix these ingredients well until the sage is dispersed into the butter. After that, add the flour to the skillet, mix constantly, and let cook for one minute. Add the milk and let that warm up. Stir for five minutes until it thickens slightly. Then, add in the ground nutmeg, one teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, one cup of Asiago cheese and the one cup of Monterey Jack cheese. Mix until the cheese is completely melted (this should only take a few seconds) and all the ingredients are combined.

Finally, reduce the heat to low and add in the cooked pasta and the butternut squash.

Cheese & Milk Mixture in Cast Iron Skillet


Smooth the ingredients in the skillet so they are relatively level with the rim.

Add Topping & Roast

Sprinkle and remaining Asiago cheese over the contents of the skillet evenly. Then, sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the same thing.

Cheese & Breadcrumb Topping on Mac and Cheese

Place the skillet in the oven for eight minutes. During this time, the cheese should melt and the breadcrumbs should brown slightly. Keep an eye on things to make sure they don’t go too far. When finished, remove the skillet from the oven and turn off the heat.

Plate & Serve

To make things really good looking, you can sprinkle some chopped parsley over the mac and cheese if you wish. Or, you can use another herb, such as sage or something along those lines. Then, divide the mac and cheese among plates or bowls and serve. Enjoy!

See also  Eggplant, Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna Recipe

The Final Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

This was so good. I’m telling you, it was creamy and smooth and the butternut squash added a unique element. Definitely give this a try and when you do, be sure to tell me about your experience down in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!

Macaroni & Cheese with Butternut Squash

Related posts:

  1. Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Pizza Recipe
  2. Roasted Butternut Squash with Pecans, Goat Cheese & Maple Syrup Recipe
  3. Whole-Wheat Penne Pasta with Butternut Squash and Sage Recipe
  4. Fettucine with Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Recipe
  5. Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Broccoli Recipe

Filed Under: Pasta

About Jay Gaulard

My name is Jay Gaulard and I'm what I like to call an "inexperienced chef," if that's not an oxymoron. I initially decided to immerse myself into the world of food and cooking in May of 2015, when I began growing, in earnest, my first garden. The garden produced a wonderful yield and with some newfound confidence, my hobby of learning about what I eat took shape. Currently, I'm enrolled in an online cooking school and am quite active with the culinary community. I primarily write posts about what I research and learn along the way.

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