Dinner for 8

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with heavy cream

Name: Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with heavy cream
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 lb elbow macaroni; 2 tbsp unsalted butter; 1 small yellow onion; 1 1/4 lb butternut squash; 1/2 scant tsp each: ground nutmeg; 1 1/2 cups half-and-half; 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock; to taste kosher salt and ground black pepper (optional); 1/3 heaping cup finely grated parmesan cheese (optional); optional garnishes fresh thyme

$4.04for 450 minServes 8

Elbow macaroni combines with a creamy mashed squash sauce, cheddar, and parmesan before baking until hot and lightly browned.

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with heavy cream

Photo: nospoonnecessary.com

What it costs

Pick your city to see which ingredients are on sale

Ingredient	Amount	Cost
	Pasta, 16 oz$0.10/oz typical	16 oz	$1.60Typical price
	Butter, 1 oz$0.40/oz typical	1 oz	$0.40Typical price
	Onions, 0.3 lb$1.29/lb typical	0.3 lb	$0.39Typical price
	Winter squash (butternut, 1.25 lb$1.29/lb typical	1.25 lb	$1.61Typical price
	Heavy cream, 12 oz$0.22/oz typical	12 oz	$2.74Typical price
	Broth, 4.25 oz$0.07/oz typical	4.25 oz	$0.29Typical price
	Parmesan, a little$0.55/oz typical	a little	$0.09Typical price
Total for the servings shown		$8.08

Swaps

Swap onions for red onionsabout $0.20/lb more at typical prices
Swap heavy cream for evaporatedabout $0.08/oz less at typical prices
Swap butter for margarine and vegan butterabout $0.15/oz less at typical prices
Swap pasta for egg noodlesabout $0.04/oz more at typical prices

Pantry staples you likely have

Dried herbs, spices and seasoning blends

Not included in the cost.

50 minstart to table
Mediumdifficulty
8servings as written
$typical cost tier

American Kid-friendly Budget Family Dinners Cold-weather comfort Fall

Typical price

$1.01 per serving$4.04 for 4

City Store

Typical price: Salefork's estimate of an everyday US shelf price for each ingredient. Pick your city to price it from this week's ad.

The amounts listed are small for a full dinner, so this price per serving is likely low. Plan on a side or a bigger portion.

Ingredients

1 lb elbow macaroni
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion
1 1/4 lb butternut squash
1/2 scant tsp each: ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
to taste kosher salt and ground black pepper (optional)
1/3 heaping cup finely grated parmesan cheese (optional)
optional garnishes fresh thyme

Steps

Heat the oven to 375 F and cook the macaroni in salted water until just tender, then drain.
Melt the butter in a 4-quart pot over medium heat, add the onion and squash, and cook for 8 minutes.
Add the half-and-half, stock, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, then simmer for 12 minutes until the squash is tender.
Mash the squash mixture until mostly smooth, then stir in the cheddar and parmesan until melted.
Fold the macaroni into the sauce and spread it in a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Bake for 15 minutes until bubbling and hot throughout.