Dairy-Free Butternut Mac ‘n Cheese

Soak raw cashews in water overnight, making sure that they are completely submerged in water.

Combine chopped butternut squash, sweet onions, and olive oil in an oven-safe pan. Coat completely with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook in a 425ºF oven, covered, for 30–35 minutes. The squash is done cooking once tender and falling apart. Add minced garlic to the pan and stir to combine.

While butternut squash is cooking, cook macaroni noodles according to package instructions. Remember to reserve some of the pasta water after cooking.

To prepare the butternut “cheese” sauce, drain cashews and place them into a food processor. Process until smooth. Add nutritional yeast, paprika, and nutmeg, and blend again. Intermittently add large spoonfuls of the cooked butternut to the food processor and blend. Do this until all the squash is smoothly incorporated. Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to the sauce until desired consistency is reached.

Mix the cooked macaroni noodles and butternut sauce together. Reheat over the stove top as needed and then serve immediately.