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Home > Recipes of the Month > Muffin Tin Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

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Muffin Tin Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

Prep and cook time: 25 min. Servings: 2 (2 muffin cups per person)

Everyone loves mac and cheese. In this version, pureed butternut squash plays a stealth role in the cheese sauce by adding color and richness to what otherwise might’ve been a bland, low-fat dairy dish. This recipe can be easily increased, and the individual cups can be frozen for future dinners. Microwave frozen macaroni and cheese cups for about 2–3 min. until hot.

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Ingredients

  • ½ c. chopped broccoli
  • ½ c. raw elbow pasta (or substitute 1 c. leftover cooked pasta)
  • ¾ c. butternut squash puree*
  • ⅓ c. fat-free milk
  • ¼ c. reduced-fat cheddar cheese
  • 1 t. sweet paprika
  • ½ t. salt
  • cooking spray
vegetarian-ico

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Put the broccoli in a medium strainer. Set aside. Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water until just tender. Drain the pasta into the strainer holding the broccoli. Set aside.
  3. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce: In a medium bowl, stir the squash puree, milk, cheese, paprika and salt together. Add the pasta and broccoli mixture to the sauce mixture and stir gently to combine.
  4. Spray 4 wells of a muffin tin with cooking spray. Divide the pasta mixture evenly among the 4 wells. Bake for 10 min. until the macaroni and cheese is heated through.

     

    Puree, and Call It a Day

    *It’s easy to make your own butternut squash puree: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut butternut squash in half the long way. Scoop out the seeds and spray the cut side with cooking spray. Place the halves, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Roast squash until tender, about 45 min. Let cool, scoop out pulp (discard skin) and mash with a potato masher or in a food processor. Portion into zipper-top bags and store in the freezer.

Nutritional Information

Per serving: 165 calories (25 from fat), 2 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 5 mg cholesterol, 337 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 7 g protein.
Exchanges: 2 starch, ½ vegetable, 1 protein, ½ fat.

VEGETARIAN recipes are prepared without any meat, poultry or seafood. Check the label on each ingredient to make sure the brand you are using does not contain these items. TOPS vegetarian recipes may contain animal products, including foods with animal fats, milk or eggs.

All exchange values are approximate. When an optional or additional ingredient is offered, exchange values may change.

Previous Recipes of the Month

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