Butternut Mac-n-Cheese Recipe (2024)

I agree with Matt. The butternut does add flavor, but also a lot of sweetness. To my taste, I wanted something to counter-balance it a bit & keep it from being bland. I just made this and added:
1 Tb. Dijon Mustard
2 tsp. Dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Large Garlic Cloves, minced (added just after the flour & butter are bubbling, before you add liquid).

Step 3 says to add the squash to the Mac and half the cheese sauce. "If it seems too dry, add the rest of the cheese sauce." That's another three and a half cups of cheese sauce! Might you not need it? That seems like a lot of extra cheese sauce to either use or not!

I make something similar (baked-style). You don't need milk or a roux at all! I just roast the squash, puree it along with a sauteed onion and garlic, then add reserved pasta water to get the right consistency. Less dairy, fewer calories, highly delicious. I also add some smoked paprika and cayenne pepper to the puree. I also don't melt the cheese in the sauce, I just mix it all together, top with breadcrumbs, and bake.

Seven cups of sauce to 1 pound of pasta is a bit excessive.

Adding a little Worcestershire sauce and/or dijon mustard to the cheese sauce really give it a nice flavor

Kept the cheese, cut the butter, flour and milk amounts in half. Perfect. I consider this to be winning at fall.

What kind of recipe asks you to use only half the sauce, and add the second half only if it seems like it needs it? Test your recipe and tell me how much sauce to make. (FYI 1 lb pasta to 5 cups of milk seems about right).3/4 cup flour is too much for 6 Tbs of butter. 1/2 cup flour is plenty... especially if you use an appropriate amount of milk, not the seven ridiculous cups called for. I used kabocha squash and it isn’t too sweet.Bake at 375 so you get the prerequisite golden crusty top.

1 Tb. Dijon Mustard
2 tsp. Dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Large Garlic Cloves, minced (added just after the flour & butter are bubbling, before you add liquid).

The butternut squash is great but very sweet. I added around a tablespoon of Dijon mustard to round it out and it turned out great!

Well this was interesting. Given the comments below, I used 3 cups milk, 1/2 lb cheese, 2 cups pureed squash, 1/3 cup flour, 4 Tbps. butter, 1 tsp. salt, pepper, and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper. But it was still too much sauce. Next time I'd reduce it to 2 cups milk and 1/4 cup flour - but leave everything else the same. It was sort of a mild, delicate macaroni and cheese.

The cheese to milk ratio in this recipe is way off--the recipe I have used in the past has the same amount of cheese (8 oz. or two cups) to TWO cups of milk as opposed to 7 1/2 cups. All the excess milk dilutes the cheese flavor. I used 5 cups of milk--still too much. I added the mustard, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce as Nikki noted; also added about a 1/2 cup chopped onion. A processed sharp cheddar melts better and does make a smoother sauce, but then, you know, it's processed...

I made this today but cut some of the milk, added a cup of gruyere, a half pound of Dungeness crab and half a jalapeño. Damn tasty. Next time I’ll add more crab, a whole jalapeño and probably some broccoli. Oh, and the Dijon mentioned by others.

It would be helpful to know what size dish, but as the recipe calls for only a "large" butternut squash, I suppose it varies.

I did the same!

Idea of roasted butternut squash in Mac&cheese=genius. This recipe is awful: bland, way too much floury sauce, & not enough cheese. Hard to believe it was tested. Made 2d time w/this cheese sauce: 1.5 c water, 2.5 tsp sodium citrate, 12 oz cheddar, 1.5 tsp mustard, 1.5 tsp hot sauce, .5 tsp Worcestershire added sautéed onions, jalapeños, garlic. I cut recipe in half, used 1/2lb pasta and 12 oz roasted squash. Amazing. Can do w/bechamel IF cut milk/flour WAY down & tune flavor as noted above

I add more cheese 3-4 cups total Cheddar, Gruyere and Parmesan. I use 3 cups mill and one cup pasta water. I also added Worchestershire and mustard as described below.

I added a head of boiled cauliflower to the pasta (rigatoni) and still had way too much sauce. I kept the milk amount but doubled the cheese and added a second butternut squash. I also blended the cheese sauce together with the squash to make one sauce to pour over the pasta and veggies, which made this sauce less “milky”. I’ll make this again but I’ll halve the milk and add breadcrumbs for texture as well as garlic and onions per the other recommendations, and a little nutmeg.

What in the world is "a large butternut squash"?

Tasty, but won’t be following this recipe again. Extremely sweet, and very strangely large amount of milk (and only using half of the sauce?!) Also baking on 325 left no crust, so why even bake at all?

With the cooked macaroni in the bowl, add some roasted chicken breast (cut into small cubes); roasted garlic bits (2 tablespoons); and pinch of cayenne pepper. For the cheese sauce, I used more cheese (doubled amount of extra sharp cheddar cheese). Puréed the butternut squash with Boursin cheese for more flavor. Before baking, top the dish with grated Parmesan; sprinkle w Everything But the Bagel spice.

Seven cups of milk is a bit much, five worked just fine. Added some nutmeg .

Made this using corrections from others here. Even with only 3 cups of milk, 1/2 lb of cheese, 2 cups pureed squash, 4T butter, 1/4 cup flour, and Dijon and Worchestershire to taste, I had nearly a pint of extra sauce. And I filled my pan so full you could barely discern the elbows beneath. C'mon, NYT Cooking, when many people tell you there's a problem, there's a problem!Very tasty, though, which is why 4 stars.

i only used a cup of butternut squash - not a whole large squash. and the recipe calls for about double the amount of roux needed. i also added some spices nutmeg and chili peppers

It is a lot of sauce... I just doubled the pasta and froze half (in two containers). Add the Dijon and mustard powder as others suggested to cut the sweetness. I also added some cayenne. Viola - cook once, eat three times!

I did not mind having extra sauce. I had about 1.5 cups left. Put in the fridge for broccoli or cauliflower topping later in the week. I added a generous amount of salt and pepper and about 1 2 teaspoons straicha hot sauce.

Needs something acidic (orange or lemon juice? Tomato in some capacity?) To balance the sweetness. Liquid ratio is off - cut it in half which worked well. Otherwise solid recipe.

Three cups of milk worked well for me. Left everything else the same. YUM.

I made this yesterday and was so grateful for the advice in the comments, because the sauce amount seemed so wrong to me. I halved the recipe and used 1 1/2 cups milk, and 2 T butter and flour with 1 cup butternut squash puree which I stirred into the sauce before adding to the pasta. I also added the recommended mustard, Worcestershire and garlic. Topped with bread crumbs and a little extra cheese before baking. Turned out pretty well. I doubt the recipe would have worked as written.

Very forgiving recipe. I just eyeballed all the amounts based on what I had on hand, came out great. Didn't use nearly so much milk. Agree with the suggestion to add mustard and worcestershire sauce

I forgot how much sauce this makes, like 10 cups. I know NYT has fixed other recipes and unsure why this one hasn’t been adjusted. Use a very sharp cheddar to stand up to the squash. Yes on a tsp of Worchester and a Tbs of dijon, and some garlic. As the recipe stands it is potluck level volume and is enough for 3 lbs of dry pasta