Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

By MaryEllen

Butternut squash helps slim down this macaroni and cheese. You can't taste it, and it boosts the nutritional value of the dish!

Ingredients

• 1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded, and diced (about 3 cups)
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound whole wheat spirals
• 1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Olive-oil cooking spray, for baking pan
• Serves 8!

Details

Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 70mins
Adapted from recipes.sparkpeople.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Combine squash, stock, and milk in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add noodles to boiling water; cook according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Mash contents of saucepan; stir in nutmeg, cayenne, and salt, and season with black pepper. Stir to combine.
Drain pasta, and transfer to a large bowl; stir in squash mixture, cheddar, ricotta, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.

Coat a 9x9 inch baking dish with olive oil spray and pour in the noodle mixture.

In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, remaining parmesan, and oil; sprinkle evenly over noodles.

Cover with foil, and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top, 20 to 40 minutes more. Serve immediately.

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Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 230.0
Total Fat: 4.3 g
Cholesterol: 10.5 mg
Sodium: 305.7 mg
Total Carbs: 35.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 5.2 g
Protein: 13.2 g
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Inadvertantly added twice the amount of sharp cheddar. Glad I did! Sprinkled Panko crumbs and sprayed with butter flavored spray for the topping. Probably unnecessary. HUGE portion! used a 9X13 pan and it was full. Can't imagine 2X the cheese could make that much difference in size. Served w/Broccoli