How to Make Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Steps to Make Healthy and Flavoursome Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

After collecting all the required ingredients, you can quickly move towards the cooking process.

Step One: Pumpkin Puree

To start the process of making pumpkin macaroni and cheese, you can transfer the pre-made pumpkin puree into one bowl. If you want, you can blend the puree a little because the smoother the puree is, the better your dish will taste.

You can finish step one by cooking the pasta as directed. Make sure your pasta is slightly al dente. Do not overcook it because then the pasta will lose its rich, creamy flavor.

Step Two: Make the Sauce for Your Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese

Once you have transferred the puree and cooked the pasta as required, you can move towards making the sauce. For preparing sauce, you need a saucepan. Keep the pan over medium heat and melt the butter.

After melting the butter, sprinkle in some flour and combine it well without letting it burn. After a couple of minutes, add whole milk, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Cook the mixture for around three minutes till it gets thick.

While the sauce is cooking, you can put shredded cheese and grated parmesan. Combine all the ingredients. After some time, you can add pumpkin puree, dried oregano, and garlic powder to get that kicking spicy flavor.

Step Three: Bake the Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese

After you have combined all the sauce ingredients, constantly stir it so the sauce does not get burnt. Then, after 5-7 minutes, you can add cooked pasta to the sauce and combine them properly.

Put the sauce and pasta into a greased casserole pan and bake it at 350 F degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

Take the pumpkin mac and cheese out of the oven, garnish it with extra cheese, and enjoy!

Key Notes

• Try using good quality cheese because creamy cheese can single-handedly lift your dish without fail.
• While cooking the pasta, do not overcook it because then the pasta will lose its shape after it is added to the sauce.
• Garlic powder is the secret spice of this recipe because you cannot make your dish truly gourmet without it.

Best Pasta for Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese

Although you can use any kind of pasta, try using macaroni if you want to enjoy that rich, creamy mac and cheese. That’s because this tubular pasta can perfectly hold the cream inside it.

If you can’t find macaroni, you can even use penne or elbow.

Best Cheese for This Dish

The best cheese for this dish is cheddar and mozzarella. But as an alternate, you can even use gouda, parmesan, or gruyere.

Do not pre-heat the cheese, as it can take down the rich and creamy flavor of your dish.

Can I Freeze Pumpkin Mac and Cheese?

You can freeze pumpkin mac and cheese and enjoy it later, but the pasta sauce won’t be as creamy and tasty as it was the first time.

When you want to eat the frozen mac and cheese, pre-heat it in an oven for around 30 minutes.

How Can I Make Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese Ahead of Time?

While fresh mac and cheese tastes delicious, if you are running out of time, you can even prepare this dish ahead of time.

You can cook the pasta as instructed and coat it with a few drops of olive oil so that the pasta does not stick while freezing. Just like cooking pasta, you can make the entire pasta sauce. Transfer the sauce into an airtight container and keep it inside the fridge.

The next day, you can heat the sauce and toss in the pasta.

How Can I Make Pumpkin Puree from Scratch?

If you don’t want t use pre-made pumpkin puree, you can make it yourself. For this, preheat the oven to around 190°C. After that, you can put the nicely diced pumpkin pieces on the baking tray. If you want, you can coat the pumpkin pieces with pepper, oil, and salt.

Roast it for 20 minutes and blend it once it cools down. And just like that, your fresh homemade pumpkin puree is ready.