Butternut Squash, Kale and Bacon Mac and Cheese
Creamy mac and cheese packed with butternut squash, crispy bacon, and tender kale.
Prep time: 1 hr 5 min
Total time: 1 hr 5 min
Servings: 8-10
Key Ingredient
An unsweetened spin on the original, with 0 grams of sugar per serving and only 40 calories.
FIND A STORE >Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
- 1 12 ounce bag chopped kale, large stems removed
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 1 pound large shell pasta
- 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
- 2 cups Planet Oat Unsweetened Original Oatmilk
- 24 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese freshly grated (do not use store bought pre-grated), divided
- 4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
Optional:
- Chives, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with tin foil.
- Place butternut squash on one baking sheet. Drizzle butternut squash with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Roast for 30-45 minutes, until tender and caramelized, flipping halfway through cooking time.
- Place kale on the other baking sheet. Rub with additional 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 10 minutes (do this during the last 10 minutes of squash cooking time). Remove squash and kale from oven and set aside.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until barely al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain and pour into a 9x12 baking dish and set aside.
- In the same large pot you used to boil the pasta, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add Planet Oat slowly, constantly whisking until mixture is steaming, but not boiling. Remove from heat. Add remaining ½ teaspoon garlic salt. Add cheese by the small handful into the Planet Oat mixture, whisking constantly, until you have roughly 1/4 of the cheese remaining. Reserve remaining cheese, you’ll add that to the top of the dish later. Continue whisking until cheese sauce is smooth and has no clumps.
- Pour the cheese mixture overtop the pasta and stir in the cubed butternut squash and kale. Top with remaining cheese and crumbled bacon. Place baking dish into the oven for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.
- Remove from oven. Serve.
Recipe Tip:
To make this recipe vegetarian, omit bacon.
