recipes straight to your inbox. Butternut Squash “Mac N’ Cheese” Stuffed Shells
This Butternut Squash “cheese” stuffed shells recipe is the perfect alternative to a cheesy mac’ n cheese or stuffed pasta shells sauce. Not to mention it’s SO easy! We cooked up these stuffed shells that are filled with roasted butternut squash, sautéed spinach, sage and nutritional yeast. Read on the full recipe and lotsa pics!
Directions:
- Start by making your roasted butternut squash. Cook the cubes in a 400 degree oven until cooked through and tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. (keep your oven on for when it’s time to put in the pasta).
- Place your squash blender with 1/2 cup soaked cashews (just put them in water overnight), my 5 spice, nutritional yeast, cayenne and olive oil. Blend until a thick paste/sauce forms. This will be for your stuffing.
- Split the paste into half and leave the other 1/2 in the blender and add an 8oz can of tomato sauce or tomato sauce of your choice, the other 1/2 raw cashews and 1/4th cup of almondmilk until a sauce forms, this will be the mac n cheese sauce. Set aside both the paste for stuffing and the sauce.
- Start to sauté your spinach. All you have to do is heat a pan with 1 tsp olive oil and add in spinach until it wilts. Optional to add in sage to fry it up as well. Once done, mix this with the butternut squash paste for the stuffing.
- While the spinach is sautéing, boil your pasta according to the package instructions, drain. You want them al dente.
- Get a baking dish and place your butternut squash sauce on the bottom layer of the dish. Then, gently place the shells in your pan or baking dish and start to stuff them with your paste mixed with the sage and spinach. Top with more sauce and place in the oven just so everything is the same temperate and the flavors can combine, for about 10-15 minutes.
- Top with either pine nuts or cashews, spinach and sage. Serve along side extra sauce if someone wants more! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1/4th cup almondmilk
- 3-4 cups cubed butternut squash
- 1/2 cup soaked cashews (in water overnight, allows for easy and smooth blending and sauce)
- 8oz can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup raw cashews (this is optional! if you want to use all soaked, you can) Lindsey’s 5 spice: 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp chile flakes, 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 2-3 tsp good olive oil
- 1 box of large pasta shells
- 2 cups spinach
- sage for garnish
