A healthy Mac and Cheese recipe to bring back our childhood’s favorite? This gluten free pasta smothered in some homemade vegan cheese sauce is so creamy, cheesy and delicious. It is made with simple ingredients like butternut squash, raw cashews and nutritional yeast. This healthy mac and cheese is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan.

Healthy Butternut Squash “Cheese” Sauce

If “SAUCE” can be a food group, it will for sure be my favorite group. I love making my own healthified versions of sauces and dips. This Vegan Butternut Squash “Cheese” sauce is one of my staples. It is Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo Friendly and Super easy to make. If you are as obsessed with butternut squash as I am, you definitely need to give this a go.

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe

To begin with, all you need is a few simple ingredients, you can make this healthy mac and cheese in 5 minutes.

First, instead of dairy product, I am using raw cashews.

To prepare them, I usually soak my cashews in filtered water overnight (or 6 hours). Soaking nuts and seeds help unlock and activate the beneficial ingredients for our absorption.

However, it is not always the most convenient thing to have soaked nuts on hands (in fact, I rarely do). So one of my favorite easy trick is to use Cashew Butter. It makes it so creamy. You won’t believe this is dairy-free.

Second, the next star ingredient of this show is Roasted butternut squash.

To prepare them, I rub cubed butternut squash in coconut oil and cinnamon. Then spread them apart on a sheet pan, bake 375 F in the oven for 30 min. I make them almost every week for my meal prep (for more meal prep ideas, check out my story highlights on instagram).

They come in handy to add to my smoothie bowls, use as a side dish, and of course making this vegan Butternut Squash “Cheese” Sauce.

Last but not least, this Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo Friendly and Super easy to make. Just pulse all the ingredients in a food processor until creamy. Viola! I love mixing it with some gluten-free pasta, spread on my toast, or just eat it straight. It is sweet, nutty and just heavenly. Hope you will give this a go. Warning: super addicting.

OOO ALSO I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS

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Yield: 6

Butternut Squash "Cheese" Sauce

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This creamy and cheesy sauce is vegan, dairy free gluten free and also super easy to make. 

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup roasted butternut squash
• 1/2 cup soaked cashew (If you have cashew butter handy, 1/2 cup of it will do the same trick)
• 1 cup liquid of choice (water, nut milk, bone broth)
• 2-3 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 clove garlic (Optional: omit if you can't stand the taste of it)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 wedge lemon
• 1 tsp salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Pulse everything in a food processor until creamy
2. Mix with pasta of your choice, use as toast spread or just eat it straight like soup. Enjoy!
3. Store in a sealed container in the fridge up to 5 days

Notes

1. How to roast butternut squash: Season cubed butternut squash with 1 tbsp coconut oil and cinnamon, rub it in thoroughly. Line them up on a sheet pan then roast 375 F in the oven for 30 minute. 
2. Liquid options: My personal favorite  is bone broth, because it elevates the taste to another level. But if you are vegan, nut milk is also a great choice to add that extra flavor!
3. Tip: Start with a small amount of liquid and add more to you preferred consistency. It does thicken when you store them in the fridge. So I usually like mine a little bit on the liquidy side.