Butternut Squash Mac n Chz
Serena and I had a compromise making this recipe. She wanted pasta. Yet I had already started roasting butternut squash to turn into soup. We had one of those cold, wet nonstop rainy days and hearty, comfy food was a must. So we settled on a creamy Butternut Squash Mac N Chz dish.
I’ve made a variety of vegan cheesy pasta sauces which have all been a huge hit but I’ve never experimented with butternut squash before. It was such a crowd pleaser that I thought I’d share it with my readers too. Welcome to my Butternut Squash Mac N Chz.
I kept all the ingredients pretty much the same as my other “creamy cheese” sauces, I simply added roasted butternut squash. You can use your nut milk of choice, simply remove the cashews and sub almonds, coconut or other alternative for your liquid base. You could also simply use water to make it a much lighter version, it will still have a cheesy taste because of the nutritional yeast – lemon – paprika combination.
I hope you LOVE this Vegan Mac N Chz pasta dish as much as we did! It’s:
Vegan, Gluten free, Satisfying, Healthy, Wholesome and so incredibly DELICIOUS.
If you are short on time, you can also whip up this dish in a matter of minutes by steaming the butternut squash vs roasting it. Steaming reduces your prep time to under 10 minutes. Simply peel, then cut the squash into cubes and steam for approx 5-10 minutes. (depends on the size of your cubes) If Roasting, plan on a good 45 minutes prep time. Or, my favourite time hack, is a hybrid of steam and roast. Turn your oven to broil. Steam the squash until tender. Remove the squash and place on a baking tray. Drizzle a little EVO and place in the oven. Be sure to keep an eye on the squash so it doesn’t burn! You want it lightly browned.
- 1 cups cashews soaked min 2 hours
- 2 cup roasted butternut squash cubed and peeled, seeds removed
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 cup water
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp chili peppers
- 2 tsp Celtic sea salt or taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Soak cashews overnight, or in hot water for a min of 2 hrs. Rinse thoroughly
Pre-heat oven to 400. Peel and cube butternut squash be sure to remove all seeds. Place onto a baking tray and lightly drizzle with olive oil and salt.
Roast butternut squash until tender and lightly browned; approx 25 mins.
In a high speed blender add all the ingredients, blend until creamy and smooth
- Enjoy!
If you try this recipe, let me know. I’d love you to pin it on Pinterest or share it on Facebook. Post your re-creation on Instagram (tag me @amandavs #amandavs, #healthyissexy) I’d love to see your creations.
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XO Amanda