Butternut Squash & Bacon Mac & Cheese
Take your mac and cheese to the next level with this "grown-up" version featuring butternut squash, crispy bacon, shallots, creamy gruyere, and fresh rosemary.
- Prep time
- 45 min
- Cook time
- 15 min
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 butternut squash, (peeled, seeded, cubed)
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 slices bacon, (cut into 1 inch pieces)
- 1 cup finely diced shallots
- 1/2 cup (8 TB) butter, (divided)
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups milk, (1%, 2% or whole)
- 2 cups gruyere cheese, (grated & divided)
- 2 cups sharp cheddar, (grated and divided)
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, (chopped)
- 16 oz macaroni or cavatappi pasta, (cooked according to box directions)
- 2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup parmesan, (grated)
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper, (to taste)
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- 2
Place cubed squash on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper (to taste). Place in oven to roast for 20 minutes or until pieces are fork tender. Using the back of a wooden spoon, mash half of the pieces roughly. Leave on tray and set aside.
- 3
In a large, deep skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and place on a towel-lined plate. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the skillet.
- 4
Reduce heat to medium then add diced shallots. Cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
- 5
Add 4 tablespoons of butter to the shallots. Once melted, whisk in flour. Cook for about 1 minute or until the flour starts to brown. Whisk in milk with a slow, steady stream then bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- 6
Once the sauce thickens, add 1 ½ cups of gruyere and 1 ½ cups of cheddar. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and about ½ teaspoon of pepper. Stir until cheese is melted then remove from heat.
- 7
Add rosemary, bacon, butternut squash and cooked pasta to the cheese sauce. Stir to combine. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- 8
Melt remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a bowl. Add panko and parmesan then stir to combine.
- 9
Add remaining shredded cheese to top of pasta then sprinkle the panko mixture on.
- 10
Bake for 15 minutes or until topping starts to brown. Serve immediately.