Dinner for 8
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with heavy cream
$4.04for 450 minServes 8
Elbow macaroni combines with a creamy mashed squash sauce, cheddar, and parmesan before baking until hot and lightly browned.
Photo: nospoonnecessary.com
What it costs
Pick your city to see which ingredients are on sale
| Ingredient | Amount | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Pasta$0.10/oz typical | 16 oz | $1.60Typical price |
 | Butter$0.40/oz typical | 1 oz | $0.40Typical price |
 | Onions$1.29/lb typical | 0.3 lb | $0.39Typical price |
| Winter squash (butternut, spaghetti)$1.29/lb typical | 1.25 lb | $1.61Typical price |
| Heavy cream$0.22/oz typical | 12 oz | $2.74Typical price |
 | Broth or stock$0.07/oz typical | 4.25 oz | $0.29Typical price |
| Parmesan$0.55/oz typical | a little | $0.09Typical price |
| Total for the servings shown | $8.08 | ||
Pantry staples you likely have
Dried herbs, spices and seasoning blends
Not included in the cost.
Swaps
- Swap Onions for Red onionsabout $0.20/lb more at typical prices
- Swap Heavy cream for Evaporated or condensed milkabout $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
- 50 minstart to table
- Mediumdifficulty
- 8servings as written
- $typical cost tier
AmericanKid-friendlyBudgetFamilyDinnersCold-weather comfortFall
$1.01 per serving$4.04 for 4
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.
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