How to Make Healthier Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is one of the ultimate comfort foods out there, but it tends to be high in empty carbs and pretty fatty as well. Here’s a way to make it way healthier without sacrificing the taste or heartiness. This recipe still uses cheese but also uses butternut squash and nutritional cheese to give it that tasty orange flavor.

Ingredients

1 pound of brown rice pasta
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, grated
1 tsp liquid amino acids
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups of butternut squash
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 cup grated white cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Start by cooking the pasta by boiling it and and cooking it until it gets tender, which should take about 12 to 14 minutes.
2. While that’s cooking, put a large saucepan over medium heat and add in the oil, onion, amino acids, pepper, thyme, cayenne, and the nutmeg. Stir everything together and then cook it until the onions become translucent.
3. Then add in the squash, chicken stock, almond milk, and the yeast, and let everything come to a boil. Then turn off the heat and puree the sauce until smooth. (This works best with an immersion blender to do it right in the pot, but anyway you can do it is fine.) Once it’s blended stir in cheese.
4. Then you’re ready to drain the pasta and mix the cheese mixture into it.
5. Next you’re ready to serve it up, but you can also garnish the macaroni and cheese with some fresh parsley to spruce it up.