This Crockpot Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese has the perfect amount of creaminess and flavour that the whole family will love. It makes an easy vegetarian meal since all of the sauce ingredients can simmer in the crockpot for the day. With the addition of butternut squash and lentils, this mac and cheese packs a powerful nutritional punch for the ultimate healthy comfort food! {Vegetarian}
So our baby Leo is officially the guinea pig for testing new recipes in our household. He’s basically my full-time blogging assistant.
When I’m in the kitchen testing new recipes, he drags himself all over the kitchen floor (that’s his attempt to crawl) and plays with my toes while I do my food prep. It’s like a free foot massage.
What kind of blogging assistant gives you a FREE foot massage?! It’s a pretty sweet deal.
The other day, we went grocery shopping and bought a butternut squash on a whim. I really had no idea what I was going to do with the thing, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.
When we got home, we started brainstorming recipe ideas together.
Butternut squash soup?
Meh. Too hot outside.
Roasted butternut squash?
Tasty, but we’d already been there, done that.
We wanted to try something new.
And then, suddenly it dawned on me.
What about doing a healthier butternut squash mac and cheese??
I hadn’t given Leo pasta yet, but I thought he might enjoy the texture, especially when paired with a creamy butternut squash sauce. My husband also LOVES pasta, so I knew he’d be eager to try out this new recipe experiment as well.
As it turns out, it was a hit!
Benefits of Crockpot Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
Great for all ages: this dish is incredibly versatile and great for the whole family! Everyone including babies, toddlers, young children, older children and adults can enjoy this recipe.
Easy: you can toss all of the ingredients for the sauce in the slow cooker and let it cook for a few hours. All you have to do is blend the sauce and add the noodles. DONE.
Packed with nutrients: unlike your typical boxed mac and cheese, this version is loaded with vitamins and minerals. The addition of the butternut squash adds a dose of vitamin C, A, fibre and potassium. The lentils add an extra source of protein, iron, and fibre. Not your typical mac and cheese!
Satisfying: this dish is extra filling due to its fibre and protein content. It has 6 grams of fibre and 16 grams of protein per serving to be exact! How often can you find mac and cheese with THAT much fibre and protein??
Modifiable: like your mac and cheese more cheesy? Add more cheese? Prefer it more creamy? Add more milk. It can be easily modified to suit all tastes and preferences.
Required ingredients:
Another bonus? This recipe comes together with only a few simple ingredients!
- Onion
- Garlic
- Thyme
- Butternut squash
- Lentils
- Broth
- Bay leaves
- Cheddar Cheese
- Milk
- Pasta
- Salt and pepper
How to make macaroni & cheese in a crock pot
Preheat your crockpot to high.
In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until softenend and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add thyme and cook 2-3 minutes. Add to warmed crockpot along with the bay leaves, broth, plus the squash and dry lentils.
Stir, cover and cook in crockpot for 3-4 hours on high or until squash is very tender.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions to be al dente.
Once the squash is cooked, remove bay leaves from mixture.
Using an immersion blender, puree the squash to create a smooth sauce. You can also place in a regular blender if you don’t own an immersion blender.
Stir in milk and cheddar cheese.
Taste and adjust seasoning and cheese to your liking. Sauce should be slightly sweet due to the addition of the squash.
Toss with cooked pasta and serve with extra cheese, or toss in optional add-ins if desired. See below for some ideas!
Reheating Directions
To reheat, place leftover mac and cheese in a sauce pan. You may wish to add more milk to give it a creamier consistency as the sauce has a tendency to thicken up over time. Cook over low heat until heated through.
Alternatively, you can pop the mac and cheese in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes or until heated through.
Can you prepare this recipe on stove-top?
Yes! Once you’ve cooked the onion and garlic, add the butternut squash, lentils, broth, thyme and bay leaves to the sauce pan. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for about 20-30 minutes, or until butternut squash is soft enough to be pierced with a fork.
Puree using an immersion blender or regular blender. Stir in the cheese, milk and salt and pepper, to taste. Taste and adjust, adding in extra cheese, milk or seasoning if desired.
Meanwhile, in a separate sauce pan, prepare pasta according to package directions to make them al dente.
Add sauce to the pasta and toss to coat. Serve warm.
Can you freeze this mac and cheese?
Personally, I haven’t tried freezing the noodles with the sauce on it, however, I have tried freezing the sauce separately and then thawing it out and adding it to freshly cooked noodles. This worked out quite well.
If you would like to freeze this recipe, I would recommend just freezing the sauce as opposed to the finished dish, as the pasta might get mushy after freezing.
If you want more individual portions of the sauce, I suggest freezing the sauce in an ice cube tray so that you can pop out the desired number of sauce cubes to combine with the desired amount of prepared pasta.
Optional add-ins:
The great thing about this recipe is you can add in extras to customize it according to what you’re feeling that day!
Feel free to add in:
- Peas
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Diced ham
- Hot sauce
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
Serving suggestions:
The benefit of this mac and cheese is that it’s hearty enough that it can be served up as a main dish or you can also pair it with some extras and have it as a side dish!
You can serve it up with:
- Sun-Dried Tomato Lentil Veggie Cups
- Lean Chicken Meat Loaf Muffins
- Almond & Coconut Crusted Fish Sticks
- Almond Coconut Crusted Chicken Fingers
No matter how you serve it up, this mac and cheese is delish!
More similar recipes
- Easy Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Butternut Squash, Pomegranate & Kale Quinoa Salad
- Squash Apple Cranberry Bake
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Crockpot Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup no salt-added vegetable broth
- 2.5 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (or sub in frozen diced butternut squash)
- 1/4 cup dry split red lentils
- 1/2 cup milk or milk alternative, or more to taste
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish
- 3/4 pound desired pasta try: whole wheat or gluten-free rotini, macaroni, or fusilli pasta (about 2.5 cups dry)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Optional add-ins:
- Peas, broccoli, spinach
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Drizzle of hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat crockpot to high.
- In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until softenend and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add thyme and cook 2-3 minutes. Add to warmed crockpot along with the bay leaves, broth, plus the squash and dry lentils. Stir, cover and cook in crockpot for 3-4 hours on high or until squash is very tender.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions to make them al dente.
- Once the squash is cooked, remove bay leaves from mixture. Using an immersion blender, puree the squash to create a smooth sauce (you can place in a regular blender if you don't own an immersion blender). Stir in milk and cheddar cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning and cheese to your liking. Sauce should be slightly sweet due to the addition of the squash. Toss with cooked pasta and serve with extra cheese, add in optional veggies or top with a pinch of red pepper flakes or hot sauce, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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Is there a substitute for split red lentils? I can’t find any in the grocery stores around me. They only have whole.. will that work? Can I leave it out completely?
I haven’t tried this recipe using brown or green lentils, but you could try subbing those in, although it might change the colour of the sauce slightly. You could also try leaving the lentils out altogether. The main reason for adding the lentils is to provide an extra boost of protein and iron, but it shouldn’t alter the taste too much if you leave them out. Let me know how it goes if you try it out!
So good!!! I was looking for a recipe for my small slow cooker and used 2 – 3 cups of butternut. Only change I made was the cheese based on what was in my fridge. Reheated it today and added some more oat milk to thin the sauce out and it tasted just as good as the first time around.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! It’s such a great way to use up that butternut squash! Thanks so much for stopping by to comment :)
Could I freeze the sauce in small portions and thaw as needed and add to pasta?
Definitely! I do this all the time by freezing the sauce in an ice cube tray so that we can make individual portions when necessary. Hope you enjoy!!