Pumpkin & Rosemary Baked Macaroni and Cheese
a stovetop-to-oven recipe
Servings 4 servings
Calories 1048kcal
Ingredients
- 16 ounces macaroni noodles
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- ½ cup pumpkin
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon rosemary chopped
- 3 cups milk 2%
- 16 ounces cheddar cheese shredded
Breadcrumb Topping
- 5 pieces bread whole wheat preferred
- 1 tablespoon rosemary chopped
Instructions
- Cook the noodles to al dente. Do not overcook. Drain once cooked and set aside.
- For the breadcrumbs, toast the bread and finely chop into crumbs; a food processor works well here.
- Melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the garlic.
- Whisk in the flour, which will form a thick paste. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the pumpkin, rosemary, and cayenne.
- Whisk in the milk, adding slowly as if you are making gravy.
- Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Once mostly melted, turn off the heat.
- Stir in the noodles. Top with the remaining cheese and then the breadcrumbs and remaining rosemary.
- Cover and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Notes
You can use other noodles besides macaroni, like shells or bowtie. But I would stick with noodles that have a similar shape/density. So, avoid things like spaghetti as this will make serving a little harder (not as easy to spoon out of the pan).
Wheat bread is preferred for the breadcrumbs, but you can use any old bread you may have on hand. I just like the hardiness of wheat.
Nutrition
Calories: 1048kcal | Carbohydrates: 106g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 845mg | Potassium: 721mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 2741IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 1092mg | Iron: 2mg