Baked pumpkin mac and cheese with a bubbling golden top, a creamy center, and not a single pot to wash. The dry macaroni goes straight into the baking dish with pumpkin, milk and cheddar, and the oven does the rest. The pumpkin melts into the sauce and turns it silky and bright orange, the same color as the boxed kind. Less than five minutes of dumping and stirring, then 45 minutes and it’s ready.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Pumpkin purée: the ingredient that makes this work. It thickens the sauce the way a butter-and-flour roux would, without the extra pan, and it’s mild enough that the cheddar still leads. Butternut squash purée swaps 1:1. Pumpkin pie filling won’t work; it’s sweetened and spiced.
- Elbow macaroni: cooks right in the sauce and soaks up flavor as it goes. Small shells or ditalini swap in at the same weight. Penne and other larger shapes need 5-10 extra minutes covered.
- Sharp cheddar: the flavor. Mild cheddar tastes flat next to the pumpkin. Colby Jack is the best swap. Shred it from a block; bagged shreds are coated in starch that can make the sauce grainy.
- Low-moisture mozzarella: the stretch and the golden, blistered top. Monterey Jack works. Skip fresh mozzarella, which is too wet. The pre-shredded bagged stuff is great; sometimes you can find it in a block called “pizza cheese” to shred yourself (better cheese pull!).
- Whole milk: keeps the sauce rich and creamy. 2% works; skim leaves it thin.
- Water, salt, and pepper: the water cooks the pasta. The salt looks like a lot, but the macaroni drinks most of it.
How to Make Baked Mac and Cheese
- Heat the oven. Preheat to 400°F with a rack in the middle.
- Whisk the sauce right in the dish. Whisk the pumpkin, milk, water, salt, and pepper in a 9×13-inch baking dish until it’s smooth and evenly orange. Taste it: it should be a little too salty, because the pasta will soak most of that up.
- Add the pasta and half the cheddar. Stir, then press down with a spoon until every piece is under the liquid. Any macaroni poking out stays hard.
- Cover tightly and bake. Crimp the foil around every edge and bake for 35 minutes. This is the step that replaces the pot of boiling water: the trapped steam cooks the pasta from above while the sauce cooks it from below.
- Stir and top. Peel back the foil away from you. It will look like pasta soup. That’s right; the cheese and a short rest will thicken it. Stir once, then scatter the mozzarella and remaining cheddar over the top.
- Bake until golden and bubbling. Bake uncovered for 10-12 minutes, checking at 10, until the cheese is melted with a few browned spots and the sauce bubbles up at the edges.
- Rest 5 minutes. The sauce goes from loose to thick and clingy as it stands.
Tips for Getting It Right
Crunchy pasta is the one way no-boil mac and cheese goes wrong, and it’s almost always pasta sitting above the liquid or foil that let the steam escape.
- Submerge every piece. Press the pasta under the sauce before covering.
- Seal the foil. Crimp it hard around the rim. If your foil is thin, use two layers.
- Season boldly. Unsalted liquid means bland pasta, and there’s no fixing it after baking.
- Shred your own cheese. A block melts smooth; a bag can turn grainy.
- Trust the rest. It looks too loose coming out of the oven. Five minutes rest fixes it.
Variations
- Broccoli mac and cheese: stir in 2 cups frozen broccoli florets when you uncover the dish.
- Chicken mac and cheese: stir in 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken at the same point.
- Smoky mac and cheese: swap half the cheddar for smoked gouda.
What to Serve With It
- Vegetable: Honey Mustard Green Beans
- Salad: Pickled Beet Salad Recipe
- Protein: Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
FAQ
Not much. The sharp cheddar leads, and the pumpkin comes through as a mild, slightly sweet creaminess.
No. Dry pasta left sitting in the liquid softens and turns mushy once baked. Assemble it right before it goes in the oven.
Yes. Use an 8×8-inch dish and keep the same temperature and times.
Some pieces sat above the liquid, or steam escaped under the foil. Stir, re-cover tightly and bake 5 more minutes.
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Add a splash of milk, cover, and microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway, so the sauce turns creamy again.
More pasta recipes you will love
- Baked Feta Pasta with Shrimp
- Baked Feta Pasta
- Halloween Mac and Cheese
- Cottage Cheese Alfredo
- Gluten Free Italian Pasta Salad
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Baked Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 10½ ounces dry elbow macaroni about 2â…” cups
- 1 can 15 oz pumpkin purée (not pie filling)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1¼ cups water
- 7 ounces sharp cheddar shredded (about 1¾ cups)
- 7 ounces low-moisture mozzarella shredded (about 1¾ cups)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/180°C, and spray a 9×13″ casserole dish with oil.
- Whisk the pumpkin, milk, water, salt and pepper in the dish until smooth. Taste it. It should be slightly on the salty side, because the pasta soaks most of it up.1 can, 2 cups whole milk, 1¼ cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Stir in the dry macaroni and half the cheddar, making sure everything is submerged.10½ ounces dry elbow macaroni, 7 ounces sharp cheddar
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
- Uncover and stir once. Top with the mozzarella and the rest of the cheddar.7 ounces low-moisture mozzarella
- Bake uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, until melty with a few golden spots. Check at 10. If you want it extra golden on top, broil it for the last 5 minutes.
- Let it sit for 10 minutes, then dig in and enjoy!