Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese — 🎃🧀😋 The pumpkin flavor is subtle compared to the super CHEESY and creamy factor!! The pumpkin boosts the cheesiness to a whole new level everyone loves!!
Table of Contents
Stovetop Mac and Cheese … with Pumpkin!
Mac and cheese is one of my daughter’s favorite comfort foods, and with fall around the corner, I decided to work in some pumpkin. Yes, the first pumpkin recipe of the season and it’s a total winner. My family loves this pumpkin mac and cheese recipe.
The pumpkin flavor is very subtly present without being overwhelming and what you notice is how cheesy and creamy the macaroni tastes.
I wrote a cookbook with 50+ recipes using pumpkin and in the cookbook, there’s a recipe for baked mac and cheese with a breadcrumb topping. However, my daughter likes her mac and cheese more classic, basic, and straightforward.
No panko breadcrumbs, bacon bits, or truffle oil, which makes my job even faster and easier since there’s nothing to bake in the oven, and it’s ready in 30 minutes.
Pumpkin Mac and Cheese Ingredients
Here’s an overview of what goes into this pumpkin macaroni and cheese:
- Pasta shells – I recommend using medium-sized pasta shells, but you can substitute any pasta you like best such as elbow macaroni or gluten-free pasta
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Silk Unsweetened Cashewmilk – This keeps the recipe on the lighter side without sacrificing any of the creamy texture we want in the pumpkin cheese sauce
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic powder, ground mustard, ground nutmeg
- Pure pumpkin puree – Butternut squash puree makes a good substitute if you aren’t a fan of pumpkin
- Extra sharp cheddar cheese – For the best results, buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself. Store-bought shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that prevent it from melting well
- Parmesan cheese
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Creamy Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
If making mac and cheese with pumpkin sounds strange to you, just stay with me! It’s essentially your classic stovetop mac and cheese sauce plus a little pumpkin puree and warming spices.
Here’s how the pumpkin mac and cheese is made:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions, drain, and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Then, add the flour, and whisk constantly until the mixture is light brown and has bubbled for about a minute. We want to cook off the flour taste, but be careful not to overly brown the flour!
- Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, making sure to smooth out any possible clumps that formed.
- Add the spices, and whisk to incorporate. Then, whisk in the pumpkin puree, add the cheese, and whisk until it’s melted and smooth.
- Add the pasta, and stir to evenly coat. Enjoy warm!
What to Serve with Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Make It A Complete Meal
Feel free to enjoy this recipe as a main dish or side course. If you want to turn it into a complete meal on its own, try adding protein like shredded chicken or ground turkey.
Recipe FAQs
This recipe is best served fresh, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes! This recipe is great to double and freeze for later. Once cool, you can transfer leftovers to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 4 months.
Thaw frozen mac and cheese in the fridge overnight. Then, gently reheat it over medium-low heat, being careful not to separate the cheese.
If your pumpkin mac and cheese is on the thicker side, add a splash of milk or water as needed to thin it out. I haven’t needed to do this, but it’s an option in case!
I’ve got hundreds of pumpkin recipes between the pumpkin recipes on my blog and in my “Cooking with Pumpkin” book.
The recipe doubles easily in case you want to freeze leftovers in single-serve portions and you can pull them out and re-heat at a moment’s notice.
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Easy 30-Minute Stovetop Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 12 ounces medium-sized pasta shells, cooked according to package directions
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, 1/2 of 1 stick
- scant 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups Silk Unsweetened Cashewmilk
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dry ground mustard, optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 ½ cups about 6 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated (grate your own because pre-grated cheese in bags doesn’t melt well)
- ½ cup about 2 ounces parmesan cheese, finely grated
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and set pasta.
- To a large skillet, add the butter and heat over medium heat to melt.
- Add the flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns light brown and has bubbled for about 1 minute. Cook long enough to cook off the raw flour taste, but not so long it gets overly browned.
- Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, making sure to smooth out any possible clumps that formed.
- Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, optional dry mustard, optional nutmeg, and whisk to incorporate.
- Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to incorporate.
- Add the cheddar, parmesan, and whisk until melted and smooth.
- Add the pasta and stir to evenly coat. Depending on preference, if macaroni and cheese is on the thicker side, add a splash of milk or water to thin out to taste. I haven’t needed to do this, but it’s an option in case.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Mac and Cheese Recipes:
Easy 30-Minute Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese — Classic mac and cheese the whole family will love! The creamy, cheesy comfort food you crave!! So much better than anything out of a box and just as easy!!
20-Minute Stovetop White Cheddar Mac and Cheese — Almost as FAST and EASY as using a box but tastes a million times BETTER!! So creamy, ridiculously cheesy, and the extra sharp white cheddar cheese gives this mac and cheese so much FLAVOR!!
One-Skillet Tex Mex Mac and Cheese — An EASY recipe that’s made in ONE skillet so you don’t have to cook the pasta separately!! Loaded with ground beef, peppers, tomatoes, cheese, and cilantro! A family FAVORITE that feeds a crowd!!
Instant Pot Chili Mac and Cheese — Hearty chili mac made with ground beef, onions, tomatoes, kidney beans, and two types of melted CHEESE!
Easy 30-Minute Taco Mac and Cheese — Super creamy, ultra cheesy, flavored with taco seasoning, black beans, green onions, tomatoes, and cilantro!! EASY comfort food with a Mexican flair that’s a family FAVORITE!!
Baked Macaroni and Cheese Balls – A perfect use for leftover macaroni! Bread it, bake it, devour it!
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This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.
CHEESE BALLS! That looks awesome and I have all the ingredients already. Yum!
I’ve never tried pumpkin in a savory way before that I can think of! Now I really want to check out your baked version as well. Can’t wait to see what other pumpkin goodies you have in store for fall! :)
There’s 50+ in my pumpkin cookbook :) And about 1/3 are savory per my publisher’s wishes. It was going to be almost all sweets but they wanted some savory and so I learned that pumpkin can be awesome savory-style!
This looks so good! I used to hate pumpkin when I was I kid. Now I can’t get enough of it. I’m ready for it in July. Can’t wait to try this!
Yay for the first pumpkin recipe of the season!! It is seriously my fave, totally craving a pumpkin spice latte right about now haha!
The pumpkin spice lattes are just around the corner :)
This looks to die for! First thing I’m gonna make when I have a stove again! :)
If Sac is anything like San Diego, it’s beyond hot. It was 96F here at the coast yesterday and I ran a race! Probably better you don’t have an oven or a stove right now :)
Oh, wow!! this looks so tasty. I’m wondering if you would recommend making this or the baked mac & cheese balls first?
You’d have to make this first so you have leftover mac & cheese to create the cheese balls.
I still haven’t gotten around to making your original M&C recipe and now you are throwing another one at me! I need to get motivated to cook ….
It’s summer and I think everyone slacks off :)
This looks so good….I’m at my lunch break right now and how I wish I had a bowl of this. Can’t wait to make this and I so agree with you on bagged shredded cheese…theres something weird about it.
It doesn’t melt nearly as well and for things were you need a true cheese sauce, no-go. For things like dips I will use bagged cheese b/c I’m also mixing it with sour cream, cream cheese, etc. and dips are more forgiving but for sauces, no way!
That mac and cheese looks dreamy. Yay for pumpkin.
Pumpkins are here! Yay! The end of summer (sad), beginning of autumn (and perfect recipes like this one!)
http://www.allnnothing.com
This sounds like a really versatile cheese recipe. My niece LOVES mac and cheese (I am also 99% sure she is both lactose and gluten intolerant and she refuses to believe or even entertain that possibility….) but she also really loves chessey broccoli. I bet this would be WONDERFUL on top of a big bowl of steamed broccoli.
Your posts make me hungry. Without fail. ;)
I think that many people with food allergies/intolerances don’t want to believe they have them but as you and I both know, once you stop eating your allergens and start feeling better, you’re a believer :)
My family actually loved this version more than just plain mac & cheese!
Oh wow – I’m with your daughter – if I could have this bowl of cheesy, creamy goodness, I would want it no-frills too!
I have such a huge grin on my face, Averie, you OPENED the pumpkin season with a great recipe, let the pumpkin overload start!
I still have a few summery garden-ey kind of recipes but thought I’d sneak in an early pumpkin one :)
Yum! Totally perfect for the upcoming fall months ahead of us!
Paige
https://thehappyflammily.com
I’ve heard of using squash in mac and cheese, but pumpkin is such a good idea, too. And not using as much dairy means no upset stomach!
I’ve seen recipes too for squash and most canned pumpkin puree is really a blend of pumpkin and squashes (learned that writing a pumpkin cookbook!)
It’s dark now when I get up and the sun is setting a little earlier–a sure sign fall is around the corner. A little pumpkin in the sauce sounds delicious–I think I could eat that alone as soup!
The sauce was so good and would be awesome over some broccoli or veggies as a cheese sauce :)