Roasted Veggies and Macaroni

Easy Macaroni & Veggies

Amanda Nicole SmithDinner, Sauce, Vegan Leave a Comment

An easy macaroni dish with a decadent creamy vegetable sauce made from roasted sweet potatoes, butternut squash, coconut milk, and a few spices and herbs.

sweet-potato-butternut-squash-sauce

This dish will certainly be including in our Thanksgiving spread. In the spirit of Thanksgiving I want to first give thanks to all the farmers who grow their food with fertile soil, clean water and no chemicals. I seriously cannot thank them enough for bringing us the greatest quality produce all year long! Thank you times a billion!

The sweet potato brings a warm sweet flavor with an ultra creamy texture, if you use more sweet potato than butternut squash it could almost be a dessert mac.

The butternut squash lightens up the entire sauce in flavor and in texture. The garlic, parsley, basil, black pepper and salt cut the sweet giving you a fresh spicy, savory flavor.

Lastly the non-dairy milk makes it into a dreamy creamy sauce. The first time I used hemp milk and it came out very nutty and was more of a dessert flavor, I liked it but I prefer coconut milk. You could also use vegetable broth for an even lighter sauce.

Mac & Veggies

My favorite kind of weekday dinner and thanksgiving side is one where I don’t have to monitor the entire process. Where I can just roughly cut vegetables, throw them in the oven and set a timer. The noodles may take a little tending to but it’s simple enough. With many of our schedules, simplicity is a necessity and that’s what I’m aiming for with this recipe.

The vegetables roughly chopped take about 30-40 minutes to dry roast completely. Specifically I used a small convection oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. However my big oven took about 40 minutes at the same temp. Of course the size you cut your vegetables is also a factor. I try to cut them a little less than an inch thick.

The noodles only take about 20 minutes to make, so no hurry. Start the oven and vegetables first. The vegetables also have to sit and cool for a few minutes before blending as well, so give the whole sauce making about 45 minutes.

vegan-macaroni-and-veggies

Think of this recipe as a starter to an unlimited world of sauces. You could roast many different kinds of vegetables and make a sauce just the same. For instance replace butternut squash with carrots, acorn squash, black radish, watermelon radish, turnips, pumpkin, kohlrabi, just naming a few… With the radishes and turnips you’ll get a much spicier sauce; pumpkin and carrots would lend their unique flavors to the sauce, maybe finished with a little pumpkin spice. Yum!
Roasted Veggies and Macaroni

Hope you all have a beautiful Thanksgiving day with lots to give thanks to!

Easy Macaroni & Veggies

A creamy macaroni sauce made from roasted vegetables.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Servings: 8
Author: Amanda Nicole Smith

INGREDIENTS

  • 16 oz. macaroni elbows
  • 2 cups butternut squash; 1 small
  • 1 cup sweet potato; 1 small
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 garlic clove; small
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp dried parsley; or 1 sprig fresh
  • salt and pepper to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 425F.
  • Cut the stem off butternut squash, peel off skin, and cut in half long ways.
  • Cut the butternut squash short ways a little less than an inch thick.
  • Cut the sweet potato short ways the same thickness.
  • Roast them both on a baking sheet for 30-40 minutes.
  • Cook macaroni.
  • Let the roasted vegetables cool for a few minutes.
  • Blend all of the sauce ingredients together and pour over the macaroni.

NOTES

Store for up to 3 days.
Reheat by simmering an 1/8 water to a pot, add the noodles, stir, cover and wait about 2-3 minutes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating