Gluten-Free Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Adding pumpkin to everyday dishes like mac & cheese provides good nutrition, warming flavors, and filling fiber. This recipe for Pumpkin Mac & Cheese is the ultimate autumn comfort food.

This recipe for Gluten-Free Pumpkin Mac & Cheese calls for canned 100% pure pumpkin purée, a roux made with extra virgin olive oil and cornstarch, reduced-fat milk, shredded low-fat cheese, and gluten-free Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Penne Pasta. And to top it all off, I add grated Parmesan cheese, roasted pumpkin seeds, and thinly sliced roasted delicata squash.

Every autumn, I stock up on canned pumpkin purée and then I go to town adding it to everything from chili and pancakes to muffins and savory bean enchiladas. Half a cup of pumpkin purée has 50 calories, over 200% of your daily vitamin A requirement, and 3 grams of fiber. It also contains potassium, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E.

I adapted this recipe from Maggie over at Once Upon a Pumpkin. Maggie is on my podcast this week talking all things pumpkin, so if you want to learn more about this super-nourishing, versatile super fruit, be sure to tune in.

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

 

Author: Maggie from Once Upon a Pumpkin

Recipe type: Dinner

Cuisine: Plant-Based

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This recipe is hearty and comforting, and depending on the age of your kids, it makes anywhere from 6 to 8 servings. (The recipe yields 6 cups.) I adapted this recipe from Maggie at Once Upon a Pumpkin.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces gluten-free dry pasta (any shape is fine)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1½ cups low-fat shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds, plus more as desired
• Optional: Roasted delicata squash; roasted butternut squash; or sauteed baby spinach

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain when done.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat. Add the cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, and pumpkin pie spice and whisk constantly until smooth, 1 minute.
3. Slowly whisk the milk into the cornstarch mixture. Raise the heat and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer and stir gently until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the pumpkin until well combined. Stir in the Cheddar cheese until it melts. Add the cooked pasta and stir to combine. Season with the salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve in individual bowls and top with Parmesan, pumpkin seeds, and the additional vegetables as desired.

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