Mac n Cheese is a timeless classic loved by so many families, but it's not always the most balanced of meals. So I wanted to create a version that was healthier and lighter, yet just as satisfying and cosy, plus one that the kids would still want to eat. And that's when I came up with this Healthier Mac n Cheese with a butternut squash and cottage cheese sauce. It does still have grated cheese in it too, just not as much as a regular macaroni cheese.
For this version, we will roast a whole butternut squash, caramelising it in a way that cooking it on the stove cannot achieve. Then we will blend the butternut squash with cottage cheese to make the sauce, instead of making a classic white sauce of flour, butter, and milk.
It's also got a crumb topping which although I say is optional, I thoroughly recommend it for next level flavour. Plus, it only uses a few ingredients and takes just a few minutes to pull together. It's made with panko breadcrumbs, walnuts and dried sage and bakes briefly in the oven while the butternut squash is roasting.
We can serve this Healthier Mac n Cheese as a main meal, but it also makes a delicious side dish for roast chicken or BBQ chicken or pork.
If you have a toddler, weaning baby or fussy eater and are wondering how to adapt this healthy mac and cheese for your family, see here >
What makes this Mac n Cheese Healthier?
Classic mac n cheese is a simple meal of carbs, fat and some protein. It doesn't include any vegetables and is high in fat because of the amount of hard cheese that goes into it. Adding butternut squash will give an infusion of vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants into your mac and cheese. Using cottage cheese instead of a white sauce, makes it significantly higher in protein than the classic. This Healthier Mac n Cheese recipe also uses less cheddar cheese, making this version lower in fat also.
I have noted that the crumb topping is optional, but it's so low effort to make and delicious that I really recommend you do make it. One of the three ingredients in the crumb topping is walnuts. Walnuts contain healthy fats (especially polyunsaturated fats and omega-3s), are rich in antioxidants, beneficial vitamins and minerals, plus are a good source of fibre.
FAQ's For My Healthier Mac n Cheese
Can I use regular breadcrumbs instead of panko?
You sure can! You can use shop-bought bread crumbs or make your own by whizzing up some slices of bread (crusts removed) in your food processor or blender. Just make the same amount as the recipe specifies for the panko bread crumbs.
Can I use a different type of squash for this Healthier Mac n Cheese?
Yes, just be sure to go for an equally sweet squash such as delicate or carnival squash. Don't use a super-sweet squash like sugar pumpkin or honeynut or any other that you would use for baking as they'll be too sweet.
Can I use low-fat cottage cheese?
You can if you want this mac and cheese to be as a low fat as possible. If you are making this recipe because you want your mac n cheese to have the highest protein content as possible, then stick with full fat cottage cheese, as low fat cottage cheese doesn't contain as much protein. Also, if you're planning to share with a baby or toddler, it's best to use full fat cheese as they need plenty of protein.
Can I prepare this Healthier Mac n Cheese in advance?
You can, as I often do, make the sauce earlier on in the day. You can even make it the day before if you like. Just roast the butternut squash, scoop out the flesh, measuring it into your blender add in your cottage cheese and nutmeg, salt and pepper and blend into a smooth sauce. Then just refrigerate until you're ready to cook. If you are making this Mac and cheese with fridge cold butternut squash sauce, you'll need to heat it through a couple minutes longer in the pan.
Can I feed more people with this recipe?
You can already feed 4-5 adults with this Healthier Mac n Cheese recipe, but you could make it stretch further by serving it with garlic bread and salad, I reckon that would stretch it to 6-7 adults servings. You can double the recipe if you like, but you would need a really large sauce pan to cook and toss the sauce through in. If you do double it, you may need to serve it in two serving or oven dishes.
This amount would probably serve around 10 as a side dish.
How can younger children help make it?
If you have a little helper or two in the kitchen, they can help you measure out and mix the crumb, and with adding the cottage cheese to the blender and whizzing up the sauce up, with your supervision.
Can I Store Healthier Mac n Cheese leftovers?
You can store any Healthier Mac n Cheese leftovers in an air-tight container or resealable food bag in the fridge for up to 3 days (cook day + 2). Leftovers can also be frozen, just defrost for 24 hours in the fridge and reheat in the microwave, breaking up the macaroni and moving it around a little halfway, until steaming hot all the way through.
More on safe food storage and reheating.
What diets is this recipe suitable for?
My Healthier Mac n Cheese is suitable for egg and peanut-free diets, plus vegetarians. It is NOT suitable for vegans, tree nut-free diets (unless made without the crumb topping), gluten, diary or lactose-free diets. To make this meal gluten-free, try making with gluten-free pasta instead.
Adapting My Healthier Mac n Cheese For Your Family
Eating together is beneficial for families of all ages and stages, for a multitude of reasons; nutritional, behavioural, psychological and for healthy family functioning. This section will show you how to tweak this mac n cheese with cottage cheese recipe for sharing with a weaning baby, toddler or a fussy eater, which will help make it easier to eat together as a family.
Keeping Fussy Eaters Happy
If you have a picky eater who doesn't like vegetables, don't worry, they will not be able to tell there is butternut squash in this meal as it's blended into a smooth sauce, along with the cottage cheese.
If you are unsure if they will like the crumb topping, leave it off their serving and instead put a little in a small bowl for them to add on if they feel like it.
Making My Healthier Mac n Cheese Suitable for Baby Weaning
Because of the small size of macaroni, if you want to share this healthier mac n cheese with a 6 to 12 month old baby, you will need to make it with a pasta shape that they can palm like rigatoni or penne. If your little one is 12 months+ you can make this recipe with macaroni pasta. If you are spoon-feeding, you could cook your little one tiny baby pasta stars or other tiny shapes and then stir through a little bit of this sauce for them.
And for sharing with any age baby or toddler just leave salt out of the cook. You'll also want to stick to the full fat cottage cheese because that has a higher protein content than low fat and little ones need plenty of protein in their daily diet.
If you want to serve the crumb to 6 months +, I recommend blending the walnuts finely in a mini food chopper. Otherwise, leave the crumb off their serving.
I've also added these notes to the bottom of the recipe so you have them to hand when you come to cook.
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Healthier Mac n Cheese
Special Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash washed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 200 g full-fat cottage cheese see notes
- 350 g macaroni pasta
- Pinch nutmeg
- Black pepper & salt to taste
- 200 g grated 3 or 4 cheese mix or mature/sharp cheddar (for stronger flavour)
FOR THE CRUMB (optional)
- 70 g walnut halves or pieces
- 45 g panko breadcrumbs or regular
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
See notes for baby & toddler tweaks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°c/200°c fan/425ºf/gas mark 7.
- Slice the butternut squash in half lengthways. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and strings. Place the halves, flesh side down on a lined baking tray and brush with the oil. Use a fork to pierce the skin a few times. Roast at the top of the oven for 45 minutes, or until soft.
- While the butternut squash roasts, make the crumb. Start by preparing the walnuts, either by crushing them into small pieces in a food bag with a meat mallet or rolling pin or by pulsing in a mini food chopper. Line another oven tray with baking paper and add the walnuts, panko and sage and drizzle over the oil. Mix together well with a large spoon and level out. Pop into the same oven, on the middle or bottom shelf, for around 5-7 minutes, until just golden. When done mix the crumb with the spoon again briefly and set aside.
- When the butternut squash is cooked, set aside for around 10 minutes to cool off a little. Towards the end of that time, start cooking your macaroni according to packet instructions.
- Once the butternut squash is just cool enough to handle, remove the flesh from the skin. Set your blender or food processor pot on your scales and scoop out the butternut squash flesh in big chunks, adding them to the blender pot as you go. you will need 310g / 10.93oz / 1 ¼ packed cups. See notes if you want to cook the butternut squash ahead of time.
- Add the cottage cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper and blend until smooth, scraping the pot down when needed.
- When the macaroni is cooked, reserve a ladle of the pasta water and then drain it. Add the pumpkin and cottage cheese sauce to the empty pasta pan and heat through over a low heat for a minute or two. Then add the macaroni back in and stir well. Add the pasta water to loosen up the sauce as needed, a little at a time.
- Lastly, stir through your grated cheese until melted. Level out and top with with a generous amount of the crumb sprinkled over, or sprinkle it on to individual servings.
Notes
Baby & Toddler
Baby-Led Weaning
For 6–12 months, use a larger pasta shape like rigatoni or penne. For babies 12 months and up, macaroni is fine.Spoon-Feeding
Cook them some tiny pasta shapes (for babies) and mix in some sauce. To serve the crumb to 6 months +, blend the walnuts finely in a mini food chopper, or leave off their serving.STORAGE
Nutrition
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