Recipe: Creamy Curry Butternut Squash Vegan Mac & Cheese

While I am cleansing I am dreaming of making this recipe….

Ooey, Gooey, Creamy.  When I am craving something comforting it better be all three and most of all it better be vegan mac and cheese.  The problem with most mac and cheese is that they are high in calories and cholesterol, usually aren’t vegan and aren’t so healthy for you.

In an effort to change all of that I decided to make an ooey, gooey, creamy, non-dairy mac and cheese with an added twist- butternut squash! The pureed squash is a sneaky way to add a vegetable to your mac and cheese and help provides that bright orange color of the mac and cheese of your childhood but in a healthy way.

Additionally, Silk PureAlmond unsweetened original makes this mac and cheese nice and creamy without all the added calories and cholesterol of dairy products. The curry adds a nice little twist to this mac and cheese and goes so well with the sweet butternut squash. This recipe is so delicious your family won’t even realize that it’s vegan (or healthy).

Creamy Curry Butternut Squash Vegan Mac & Cheese

Serves 8
Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash, seeded, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon coconut or canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2/3 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Original
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 lb cooked small pasta (penne, macaroni, goblietti, fusilli)
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425F.
• Toss butternut squash with the coconut oil, salt and pepper and pour into a roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until tender. While the squash is baking cook the pasta.
• In a blender or food processor combine the vegetable broth, almond milk, curry powder, nutritional yeast, and the roasted squash. Toss the squash “cheese” sauce with the pasta and return to the roasting. Toss the panko with the olive oil and sprinkle  over the pasta. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until brown and bubbly.

Tip: Rather than serving family style, portion out into individual oven safe dishes,  top with a little of the panko breadcrumbs, bake and serve.

*Nutrition (per serving): 336 calories. 8.2g fat. 41mg cholesterol. 342mg sodium. 54.2 carbohydrates. 4.9g dietary fiber. 2.5g sugar. 14.1g protein.

Calories saved per serving by using Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Original instead of skim milk: 9 calories

*From Calorie Count Recipe Analysis (http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php)

FitFluential LLC compensated me for this Campaign. All opinions are my own.