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Beecher's Handmade Cheese
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Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

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Tips For The Best Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Perfect for cold weather – and tastes just like fall! This recipe screams comfort food and is the delicious side for a date-night meal or even an entrée for a cold night in. The cubed butternut squash adds a soft yet noticeable texture that you couldn’t get with just the noodles. For anyone who likes multiple textures in their food, this is the recipe! Not to mention that the butternut squash sauce and our Flagship and Just Jack cheeses complement each other beautifully.

How To Make Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

There are several ways you can roast a squash. For this recipe, we cut it in half and roast it face down in a small amount of water. This allowed us to separate the skin from the squash easily and lets the squash itself stay moist. Our cubed squash came out the ideal texture with this roasting method and processed into the perfect thickness for our Butternut Squash Sauce.

Roasted Butternut Squash Close Up

Serve & Store

Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy hot. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Recipe

Prep Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Serves: 2 to 4 (as a side)

Beecher's Product used

Flagship Cheese

Triangle of Beecher's Flagship Cheese
The first wheel of Flagship, Beecher’s signature cheese, was handcrafted just as Beecher’s Handmade Cheese opened its doors in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market in November of 2003. Flagship is a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese with a uniquely robust, nutty flavor. It is carefully aged for 15 months to fully develop its complex flavor and ever-so-slight crumble. Outstanding on a Beecher’s cracker! BUY NOW AT MURRAY'S CHEESE
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Ingredients

6 ounces penne pasta

8 ounces Beecher's Flagship cheese, grated (about 2 cups)

1-1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 ounces Beecher's Just Jack cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Pinch garlic powder

3 tablespoons Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce (see note) (recipe follows)

1/4 cup roasted butternut, cooked, cubed (reserved from the sauce recipe)



Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce

Makes about 3/4 cup

1 small butternut squash, cut in half, seeded

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Nutmeg, kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
  2. Cook penne 2 minutes less than package directions. Rinse in cold water and set aside.
  3. Melt butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk while whisking. Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
  4. Add 1-3/4 cups Flagship cheese, 1/4 cup Just Jack cheese, salt, 1/4 tsp. chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir until cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes.
  5. Combine pasta and sauce in a large bowl and mix carefully. Fold in the butternut squash sauce and cubes. Scrape into an 8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and chili powder.
  6. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Let Mac & Cheese sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Note: For extra butternut flavor, add an additional 1 tablespoon of the Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce.



Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce

Makes about 3/4 cup

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
  2. Fill a baking sheet with 1/2 inch of water. Place squash cut side down in the water. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until you can pierce both halves with a knife all the way through.
  3. Remove squash from the oven and set aside. Let cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  4. Remove skin from the squash and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Set aside 1/4 cup of cubes.
  5. To a food processor, add the remaining squash, chicken stock, and olive oil. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.
  6. Process for 20 seconds or until the sauce is well-combined. 

Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days.

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