One of my favorite times of the year is the holidays. And what is not better than to ring in the holidays starting off with Fall pumpkin season. There are endless ways to incorporate the mild sweetness of pumpkin into both sweet and savory dishes! As a lover of all things macaroni and cheese, I always try to find new ways on creating this dish. The key is to always have creamy cheese sauce, soft noodles, and a crispy topping. So I got into the kitchen and decided it was time to get experimenting to find a way to bring two of my favorite holiday staples together.

Step 1: Get Your Pumpkin Meat/Puree

For this recipe, you can use either freshly roasted pumpkin or pre canned pumpkin puree. I am all for the latter, trying to save time where I can. I have found that flavor was not compromised using canned over fresh.

If you want to use a fresh pumpkin, roast pumpkin with olive oil, salt, and pepper at 350 F until it is fork tender. Give or take 40-50 minutes depending on the size.

Step 2: Make Your Pasta

The fun part of this recipe is that you can make it your own. You can add your favorite seasonings, or keep it more basic. For me, I love garlic so I wanted that flavor to stand out. You can add red pepper puree if you want more sweetness.

Sauté your garlic with butter for about 30-40 seconds just to get it fragrant. Then combine the pepper flakes, pumpkin purée, heavy cream and add 1/2 block of cream cheese. Stir until the cheese is fully melted.

Mix in paprika, Italian seasoning, salt and your mozzarella! Then add in your pasta and cook until you like the tenderness!

Optional Step 3: Make Your Bread Crumbs

If you wanted to elevate this dish slightly and add some crunch, you can sprinkle the Mac & Cheese with fried bread crumbs! Heat up your oil or butter in a skillet on medium and gently toast your bread crumbs and seasoning until brown for 1-2 minutes.

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