You all know how I feel about creamy, cheesy pasta. (Hello Creamy Chicken Pasta with Bell Peppers, Easy Fettuccine Alfredo With Broccoli, and cute little Mac and Cheese for One). You throw some butter, some milk or cream, and some cheese over carbs, and I am good to go. But come fall, I start wanting to a little something extra in my pasta, like maybe some bacon, or maybe some butternut squash, or maybe both… Folks, please allow me to introduce Bacon Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese for Two.
Oh this is a beautiful, wonderful, amazing fall dinner for two. It’s smokey from the bacon, just a tiny bit sweet from the butternut squash, crunchy from the panko on top, and so cheesy. See Also: Short Rib Mac & Cheese You start with a few slices of bacon, cooked till crisp, and then you roast the butternut squash in the bacon drippings. Since this is a dinner for two, you only need about 1/4 of a butternut squash, but I totally recommend roasting some extra, because you are going to want to eat the bacon-roasted squash right off the pan (learned this one the hard way).
Puree the squash that you don’t eat (or if you’re lazy like me and don’t mind a little texture in your sauce, just give it a good mashing with a potato masher). Then you mix your roasted squash puree with with a simple cheese sauce, stir in half of your bacon, stir in some pasta, coat with more cheese and panko and bake. Let that butternut squash mac and cheese hang out in the oven just long enough for the cheese on top to melt and the panko to crunch up and turn a beautiful golden brown. Sprinkle a little more bacon on top and enjoy! This makes a generous meal for two or side dish for four (perfect for a small Thanksgiving side, perhaps?), or you could scale it up as much as you’d like. This is a particularly flexible dish!
Bacon Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Recipe Notes
If you don’t normally stock panko, you can order it from amazon or find it next to the bread crumbs at the grocery store. You can substitute bread crumbs here, but I really recommend panko for its superior crunch and texture. Here’s how to cut butternut squash if you’ve never done it before. I’m not kidding about roasting some extra squash for eating! If you are roasting more than half a squash or have particularly lean bacon, cook an extra piece or two of bacon so you have plenty of drippings for roasting. You can omit the bacon to make this vegetarian butternut squash mac and cheese, just toss the squash with about a tablespoon of oil before roasting.
Recipe Adapted From: Two Peas and Their Pod This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
