Everyone loves pasta because it’s quick to make—but then a pasta can be very difficult to digest—especially one made with cheese and tomatoes.
That’s where this genius recipe is different. You’ll feel good and light after eating this vegan dish, especially if you select a gluten-free pasta option.
Jump to Recipe
The creamy sauce for this vegan mac and cheese draws on the natural grounding and smooth qualities of butternut squash.
The addition of broccoli adds the bitter taste, and a light, airy quality that combats stagnation, and promotes peristalsis, so that you won’t feel any heaviness after eating.
Tahini and miso add rich savory umami flavor to the sauce.
Tahini is a source of protein and healthy fats made from ground sesame seeds that’s rich in thiamin, calcium, magnesium, protein, iron, niacin, and zinc.
Miso is a fermented product that’s a little salty and a lot umami. It’s commonly used in soups and sauces. If you don’t have it, you can substitute with nutritional yeast, or leave it out.
I dare you to test your friends and family to guess if there’s cheese in this mac and cheese. I bet they don’t notice, because it’s so tangy and creamy.
Jump to:
How to make
This dish comes together in about 30 minutes.
I’ve combined cooking the pasta together with cooking the broccoli. Both get cooked at the same time in the boiling water.
Then, separately you’ll steam the butternut squash with the onions.
The squash and onions go into a blender with some water and the rest of the sauce ingredients: the tahini, miso, vinegar, and black pepper.
The last step is to mix the sauce with the cooked pasta and broccoli, and sprinkle in some parsley.
An optional topping of pumpkin seeds or almonds adds crunch, and added protein.
Serve with
This dish is a complete meal on its own, especially with the seedy topping.
I would personally enjoy it with a salad at lunchtime for additional light quality and digestive support from the bitter and astringent tastes of the leafy greens.
I am particularly attracted by the idea of arugula salad.
You could also cook arugula into the pasta when reheating, since it takes just a minute to wilt.
Optional add-ins
More vegetables! Feel free to add carrots, cauliflower, kale, Swiss chard, etc. along with the broccoli
- Cheddar cheese (½ cup), chopped or shredded
- Red bell peppers (½ cup), chopped and sautéed with the onions
- Garlic (1-2 cloves), for that taste!
- Fresh basil, oregano, etc.
Optional bake
Who doesn’t love baked pasta? You can finish this in the oven with some fancy toppings. Or if you added in some of optional add-ins, and they need cooking, then oven baking is for you.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Transfer the prepared pasta into a baking tray. Sprinkle with crushed pumpkin seeds or almonds. Mix in some bread crumbs for additional texture.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned, bubbling, and fragrant.
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese w/ Broccoli
Helpful Kitchen Tools:
- pasta pot
Ingredients
for the pasta
- ½ pound pasta, (any type, see notes)
- 4 cups broccoli, chopped
for the sauce
- 3 cups butternut squash
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- ¼ cup tahini, (see notes)
- 1-2 tablespoons miso, (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon umeboshi plum vinegar, (sub with any light colored vinegar; see notes)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
to finish the pasta
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
optional toppings
- pumpkin seeds, chopped
- almonds, chopped
Instructions
cook the pasta
- Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a teaspoon of salt, then add the pasta. Stir well and boil for about 7 minutes, until partially cooked.
- Meanwhile, wash and chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Add the broccoli to the boiling water and continue to boil until the pasta is cooked to your liking and the broccoli is soft (about 8 minutes). Strain, and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
cook the squash and onions
- Select a whole butternut squash, purchase prepared butternut squash chunks, or skip this step and use a 15.5-oz can of squash or pumpkin.
- If you are using a whole butternut squash, I recommend steaming it. To prepare for steaming, slice off the top and bottom first. Next, use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin, OR cut the squash in half down the middle, stand up each side individually, and carefully use your knife to trim the skins off. Next, slice the peeled squash pieces lengthwise and remove the seeds with a large spoon. Finally, chop into 1-inch chunks.
- Chop the onion roughly.
- Bring a cup of water to a boil in a saucepan and insert a steamer basket. Add the chopped squash and onions, and steam for 12 minutes, until the squash is soft and breaks apart easily.
finish the sauce
- Use a blender, an immersion blender, or a potato masher to make the sauce.
- Combine cooked squash and onions, tahini, miso, vinegar, salt, black pepper, and 1 ½ cups of water. Blend, or mash until smooth and creamy.
combine and serve
- Transfer the sauce into the mixing bowl with the cooked pasta and add chopped parsley. Use a couple large spoons to fully incorporate the sauce with the pasta.
- Add any optional add-ins, such as grated cheddar cheese, chopped red bell peppers, fresh garlic and/or additional fresh herbs.
- Serve in individual serving bowls and top with optional pumpkin seeds or almonds. Enjoy with arugula salad or another green salad to balance out the richness of the pasta.
Notes
Pasta
Use your favorite pasta shape. It can be elbows, or you can do penne, farfalle, fusilli, etc.Tahini
Tahini is a source of healthy fats made from sesame seeds that are ground into a paste. If you don’t have tahini, substitute with sunflower butter, cream, or cream cheese.Umeboshi plum vinegar
Umeboshi plum vinegar is made from the salted, pickled Japanese ume plum. Popular in macrobiotic cooking, and a personal favorite of mine, ume plum is known to promote digestion and the assimilation of nutrients in the small intestine. If you don’t have this vinegar, use apple cider, white wine, white vinegar, etc. Umeboshi plum vinegar is salty, so if you substitute with another vinegar, you may need to add extra salt to the recipe.Miso
Miso is also salty, and brings the umami flavor to this vegan dish. I used 1 tablespoon of brown rice miso, which is medium strength. If you use a lighter white miso, you might need to add more. Miso adds savory umami flavor. Use as much as you like to achieve the taste that you prefer. If you don’t have miso, substitute with nutritional yeast, or just leave it out.Cheese
This recipe is wonderful without cheese, but it’s even better with cheese. Try cream cheese or cheddar. Experiment.optional add-ins
- More vegetables! Feel free to add carrots, cauliflower, kale, Swiss chard, etc. along with the broccoli
- Cheddar cheese (½ cup), chopped or shredded
- Red bell peppers (½ cup), chopped and sautéed with the onions
- Garlic (1-2 cloves), for that taste!
- Fresh basil, oregano, etc.
Optional bake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer the prepared pasta into a baking tray. Sprinkle with crushed pumpkin seeds or almonds. Breadcrumbs could also be nice for texture. Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is lightly browned, bubbling, and fragrant.Nutrition
Leave a Reply