Fall isn’t far away now, so it seemed like time to try making one of my favorite autumnal dishes: butternut squash mac and cheese.
Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman, is known for her family-friendly comfort food recipes. I decided to try her butternut squash mac-and-cheese recipe.
The simple recipe, which takes less than an hour to make, would be perfect for an early fall or cooler weeknight dinner after a long day at the office. It also requires only a few low-cost ingredients, making it a cost-effective option for a large crowd — or a lot of leftovers.
I spent about $43 on the ingredients for the recipe, but I needed to buy some pantry staples you might already have on hand, like butter, milk, and flour. The recipe is also intended to feed 12 people, so it comes out to less than $4 per serving if you had to buy every ingredient.
Here’s how to make Drummond’s butternut-squash mac and cheese, which has become one of my new go-to fall dinners.
I started by prepping my butternut squash.
Instead of pre-cut cubes, which I usually buy, Drummond’s recipe calls for a whole butternut squash cut in half.
I found it surprisingly easy to cut the squash. You only need one half of the squash, so after cutting it, I set the other half aside for another day.
I removed the seeds from the hollowed-out part of the squash with a spoon.
This only took a minute but required some vigorous scraping to remove all the seeds and guts from the butternut squash.
After preheating my oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, I placed the prepped squash on a baking sheet and drizzled it with olive oil.
I then cooked it until it was fork-tender and slightly browned, according to Drummond’s instructions. This took about 30 minutes.
While the squash was roasting, I started cooking the onions.
The recipe calls for two sliced yellow onions. I added them to a large, oven-safe skillet with 2 tablespoons of butter.
I cooked the onions, stirring them occasionally, until they were a deep golden brown.
This took about 15 minutes but was easy enough to do. I also loved how the rich onion scent filled my kitchen — even my roommates commented on how good everything smelled. After the onions were done, I set them aside on a plate.
While the onions and the squash were cooking, I made the macaroni.
I boiled the macaroni until it was al dente, then drained it and set it aside in the colander. The recipe calls for 12 ounces of macaroni, so I used about three-quarters of the box.
After about 30 minutes, the roasted squash was tender and ready to remove from the oven.
I let it cool slightly before I began removing the butternut squash with a fork.
Using a fork, I easily scraped out the soft flesh of the squash.
After transferring the scraped-out butternut squash into a medium-sized bowl, I mashed it lightly with a fork. I found that the squash was already so tender that it didn’t require much mashing to reach the desired consistency.
After the squash was done and set aside, I prepared the sauce in the same skillet I used to cook the onions.
To get started, I added 4 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and melted it over medium-high heat.
The sauce calls for 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
I used medium-sharp cheddar, but you can use whichever cheddar cheese you prefer. I also hand-grated my cheese, rather than buying it pre-shredded in a bag — I think you get a better flavor this way and it melts much better, but you can use whichever method you prefer.
Once the butter was melted, I added the flour, cheddar cheese, and butternut squash.
I combined the ingredients by folding them with a wooden spoon.
I slowly added 2 cups of whole milk, stirring as I went.
I added the milk bit by bit, folding the sauce together to evenly distribute the ingredients.
Once the sauce was done, I added the cooked macaroni.
I used my wooden spoon to fold the macaroni into the sauce, making sure it was well-mixed.
Then I added the cooked onions and stirred everything together.
Mixing the onions evenly into the mac and cheese took some effort, since they tended to clump together in certain spots. After a minute or two of gently folding everything together, though, I was able to distribute them evenly throughout the skillet.
I then prepped the breadcrumbs, which were supposed to be sprinkled over my mac and cheese.
After melting 2 tablespoons of butter in a microwave-safe bowl, I added half a cup of seasoned Panko breadcrumbs.
I sprinkled the breadcrumbs over the mac and cheese and then baked it for about 20 minutes.
I baked the mac and cheese in the skillet until the edges were a deep golden brown and the breadcrumbs were toasted.
Then, it was finally time to serve my mac and cheese.
When I served the mac and cheese with a spatula, I could see the onion interspersed throughout the dish underneath the layer of crispy pasta.
I thought this was one of the most flavorful mac-and-cheese recipes I’ve ever made.
I’ve made baked mac-and-cheese recipes by celebrity chefs Ina Garten and Martha Stewart in the past, but I much preferred this recipe. I thought the onions packed a ton of flavor, though I do believe they could have been almost too flavorful.
The sautéed onions were the most prominent flavor in the dish, overshadowing both the butternut squash and cheddar cheese with their rich, buttery taste. If I made the recipe again, I’d use fewer onions so the other ingredients could stand out more.
The texture, however, was a highlight. The thick, cheesy sauce made the dish feel especially creamy and indulgent, while the toasted breadcrumbs on top provided a satisfying crunch.
The recipe said it made 12 servings, but that estimate seemed generous based on the portion I served myself. I’d expect the dish to feed closer to eight people with similarly sized portions.
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