Summer Squash Zucchini Mac and Cheese
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Summer Squash Zucchini Mac and Cheese is extra creamy and hard to resist with lots of cheesy sauce that everyone loves.
We like to serve this with Sticky Garlic Chicken Nuggets.
Summer Squash Zucchini Mac and Cheese
If there’s one thing I love, it’s mac n cheese. I mean, you just can’t go wrong with it in my opinion. Most kids love mac n cheese too and it’s a great recipe to sneak a few vegetables in for them. I have a trick for sneaking it in this dish. I shredded both the summer squash and zucchini. This helps it to cook faster as well as helps hid it from the kiddos.
I have so many versions of mac and cheese. I have butternut squash mac and cheese that’s a favorite. Then I have Mac and cheese with no roux and no flour. Eight Mac and cheese with cheetos is a child favorite – my favorite too!
Ingredients for squash mac n cheese
The full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions is at the bottom of this post. You can save a tree and save the recipe to your personal and private recipe box right here on Call Me PMc. This way you’ll never misplace it.
- Elbow macaroni. Any short cut pasta will work.
- Shallot. You can also use a milkd onion or green onion.
- Garlic
- Yellow squash.
- zuchinni
- Butter
- Flour. You can use all-purpose or self-rising flour.
- Milk. You can use whole milk, 1%, 2%, or skim. I haven’t tried this recipe with nut milk.
- Cheddar cheese, grated. You can use any cheese, your favorite, or what you have on hand.
- Cream cheese. I recommend full fat
cream cheese . - Cheese crackers, optional. Crushed for the top.
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
Frequently asked questions
Summer squash defines a large group of seasonal guards with tender flesh and edible skin. This group includes all types of zuchinni, crooked neck and straight neck yellow squash, zephyr squash, and pattypan squash.
No, peeling summer squash isn’t necessary. The peel is tender and cooks with the flesh. However, if you prefer, you can peel it. Use a vegetable peeler and peel it like you would a carrot or potato.
Here’s a visual guide and information on summer squash and Winter and summer squash.
Serve quash mac n cheese just like you would traditional macaroni and cheese. We like it with homemade chicken tenders or copycat Chickfila chicken strips, molasses pork tenderloin, and pork tenderloin sandwiches.
Summer Squash Zucchini Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 12 ounces elbow macaroni
- 1 tablespoon shallot minced
- 1 clove garlic clove minced
- 2 cups summer squash grated
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cup whole milk see above for substitutions
- 2 cups cheddar cheese grated
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup cheese crackers crushed, optional
- salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions to just under al dente. Preheat the oven to 375℉
- In a large pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add the squash, garlic and shallot. Whisk and cook until softened. Add the flour and stir. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
- Slowly whisk in the milk. Cook, whisking often, until the milk begins to thicken. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheese and cream cheese. Whisk until it's melted and smooth.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain and reserve the liquid.
- Add the pasta to the cheese mixture and stir. If it's too thick, add pasta water a little at a time until it's the consistency you want.
- Add crushed cheese crackers to the top. (This is optional. You can add more cheese to the top if you like.) Bake 10 to 15 minutes until set and the crackers are toasted.
- Remove and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are important to you, I recommend calculating them yourself.
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