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For a comforting wintry weeknight meal or special occasions such as Christmas or Thanksgiving, this mac and cheese, with a super cheesy butternut squash sauce, is one of my family's favorite! And the best part is it's reeeally easy to make.
💙 Why you'll love it
- Homemade version - this copycat version of Trader Joe's famous recipe is just as good as their's, if not even better! I have to admit that I sometimes prefer industrial food (who doesn't, sometimes?!), but for this recipe it's not the case, as it really takes butternut squash mac and cheese to the next level...
- Cozy comfort food the whole family will love - with a rich, cheesy and creamy sauce, this pasta dish is a must in our family! What could be better after a long, cold wintry day?
- Packed with flavors - the delicious subtle sweetness added by the butternut balances with the cheesy sauce and all the spices and herbs used.
- Can be stored for several days or frozen, which makes it an excellent choice for batch cooking if you ask me!
🍝Other comforting pasta dishes
Spicy mac and cheese
Penne alla vodka with shrimp
Creamy leek pasta
Gorgonzola pasta with mushrooms
Lemon mascarpone pasta
🧀 Ingredients
You can find a full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below. Here are a few ingredient notes to make this delicious dish with butternut squash cheese sauce.
- Mezzi Rigatoni pasta : Trader Joe replaced the traditional macaroni by those pasta, but you can use any pasta shape that you like, such as Penne or elbow macaroni!
- Whole butternut squash (uncooked) - in season from September to February/March included. Already-roasted butternut is also an option! And if you want to use pre-made butternut squash puree, just make sure to adapt the quantity of pasta water you add in the blender, because maybe you won't need as much as I use with freshly baked butternut.
- Cheeses - use good-quality cheeses, that you buy in blocks and grate yourself at the last minute, trust me, you'll see the difference and thank me later! I used Gouda cheese, Cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese (which are actually my three favorites cheeses haha), but you can use any cheese that you like such as mozzarella, goat cheese, Brie cheese, etc...
- Garlic powder - if you want to choose your garlic carefully so you do not encourage the slavery of Chinese prisoners, read my Eco Tips on the subject.
- Unsalted butter, milk and flour, as the real Trader Joe's version uses béchamel. I've seen many recipes on socials without béchamel, but as good as they are, they are not an authentic Trader Joe's copycat!
🌶Variations
Feel free to change this recipe to go with your tastes or your dietary restrictions. I suggest several options:
- Gluten-free - use gluten-free pasta and for the béchamel, replace all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour.
- Vegan - use vegan butter (or margarine), replace cow milk with plain plant-based milk, replace cheeses with vegan cheeses and make sure your Dijon mustard is vegan.
- Extra veggies - chopped cooked mushrooms, chopped spinach or chopped cooked broccoli are good options to add to this dish!
- Spice it up with Cayenne pepper, to be added at your convenience.
🍴Utensils
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✨How to make this recipe?
Here are the step-by-step instructions, but you can find the full recipe (quantities + instructions) in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 445°F on natural convection/static heat high and low. Peel the butternut squash.
- Dice it in small cubes.
- Add the olive oil and bake until tender, about 25-40 minutes according to the size of your cubes, then set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
- Once melted, add the flour all at once.
- Mix vigorously with a whisk to make the roux.
- Add a quarter of the milk. The trick to a successful béchamel is to let the mixture thicken (stirring constantly with a whisk to avoid lumps), add a 2nd quarter of milk, let it thicken, add a 3rd quarter, and finish with the last quarter of milk.
- Keep whisking until the sauce thickens. At the end, the texture should be smooth and creamy, but not liquid.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to the instructions on the packaging (al dente cooking).
- Reserve three times 1 cup - or 250 ml - of pasta cooking water.
- Place ¾ cup - 180 ml - pasta water in a food processor (or use an immersion blender in a saucepan) with the roasted butternut cubes, grated cheeses, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, mustard, nutmeg, sage, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper.
- Blend until smooth. If too heavy, add a little more cooking water.
- Pour the sauce in a hot frying pan on medium heat.
- Add the pasta in it and mix until the pasta are perfectly coated with sauce. Enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Chef's Tips
- If you forget to reserve pasta water while pasta cooks, don't panic (been there, done that!), you can always use veggie stock or chicken stock instead.
- Grate cheeses yourself - I know it's soooo tempting to use pre-shredded store-bought cheeses, but trust me, blocks of cheese that you grate yourself last minute are so much better! You WILL really see the difference.
❄️ Storage and freezing
Store - let the dish cool and place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This way, you'll be able to keep it for 2 to 3 days.
Reheat - because of the cold of the refrigerator, the dish may loose a bit of its creaminess. So don't hesitate to add one tablespoon of water or milk before reheating in a microwave safe dish. If needed, you can add more water/milk after reheating and mix well until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
Freezing - once the mac and cheese is completely cold, put it in a freezer bag with the name of the recipe and the date labelled. Remove as much air as possible, seal the bag and place the bag in the freezer.
Defrosting - let the freezer bag in the refrigerator the night before you've planned to eat the recipe. Use microwave or saucepan on low heat to reheat it. Don't hesitate to add one tablespoon of water or milk before reheating, to get creaminess back. If needed, you can add more water/milk after reheating and mix well until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
😋 Other copycats you'll love
- Cheesecake Factory's crusted Romano chicken
- Five Guys Cajun Fries
- Cheesecake Factory's Farfalle with chicken and roasted garlic
If you make this butternut squash mac and cheese, it would be so nice to leave me a comment and rate the recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. You can also tag me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or Tik Tok, or even send me a photo, I love seeing my little dishes in your homes!
📖 Recette
Homemade Trader Joe's butternut squash mac and cheese recipe
Ingredients
- 10.5 oz Mezzi Rigatoni pasta
- 3 ¼ cups butternut squash
- 5 tablespoons milk
- 4 teaspoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup Gouda cheese freshly grated
- ⅓ cup Cheddar cheese freshly grated
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 10 medium sage leaves
- 1 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 pinch Cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 445°F/230°C on natural convection/static heat high and low. Peel the butternut squash. Dice it in small cubes.
- Add the olive oil and bake until tender, about 25-40 minutes according to the size of your cubes, then set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once melted, add the flour all at once. Mix vigorously with a whisk to make the roux.
- Add a quarter of the milk. The trick to a successful béchamel is to let the mixture thicken (stirring constantly with a whisk to avoid lumps), add a 2nd quarter of milk, let it thicken, add a 3rd quarter, and finish with the last quarter of milk.
- Keep whisking until the sauce thickens. At the end, the texture should be smooth and creamy, but not liquid.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to the instructions on the packaging (al dente cooking).
- Reserve three times 1 cup - or 250 ml - of pasta cooking water. Place ¾ cup - 180 ml - pasta water in a food processor (or use an immersion blender in a saucepan) with the roasted butternut cubes, grated cheeses, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, mustard, nutmeg, sage, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Blend until smooth. If too heavy, add a little more cooking water.
- Pour the sauce in a hot frying pan on medium heat. Add the pasta in it and mix until the pasta are perfectly coated with sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Store - let the dish cool and place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This way, you'll be able to keep it for 2 to 3 days.
- Reheat - because of the cold of the refrigerator, the dish may loose a bit of its creaminess. So don't hesitate to add one tablespoon of water or milk before reheating in a microwave safe dish. If needed, you can add more water/milk after reheating and mix well until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
- Freezing - once the mac and cheese is completely cold, put it in a freezer bag with the name of the recipe and the date labelled. Remove as much air as possible, seal the bag and place the bag in the freezer.
- Defrosting - let the freezer bag in the refrigerator the night before you've planned to eat the recipe. Use microwave or saucepan on low heat to reheat it. Don't hesitate to add one tablespoon of water or milk before reheating, to get creaminess back. If needed, you can add more water/milk after reheating and mix well until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
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