Description
Who says mac and cheese has to be bad for you? You’ll never guess this mac and cheese contains pumpkin. It’s all sorts of creamy, cheesey goodness, and the best part is you just dump it all into your slow cooker and walk away!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2.5 cups milk
- 16 oz dry macaroni or small pasta
- 1.5 cups shredded parmesan and romano cheese
- 1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 4 oz cream cheese, cubed
- 1/2 shallot, chopped and browned in butter until translucent
- 1/2 Tablespoon rubbed sage
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
- 2 handfuls baby spinach leaves
To Top
- 6 slices of cooked bacon, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Brown the diced shallot in a bit of butter in a pan on the stove until it’s softened.
- Line your slow cooker with a plastic liner and spray the liner generously with cooking spray. (Trust me, you don’t want to skip this step.)
- Add milk, uncooked macaroni, parmesan, cheddar, pumpkin, evaporated milk, cream cheese, shallot, spinach, and spices to the lined crock-pot.
- Cook on low for 2.5-3.5 hours, gently stirring occasionally. Cook times will vary, so stop cooking when pasta is al dente.
- Top with chopped bacon.
Notes
- Do not allow it to cook any longer, even on warm. It will turn into a mushy, burned mess. (Not that I tried this *cough cough*)
- The pumpkin flavor isn’t really prominent, but if you want more pumpkin taste, just add another half can of puree.
- Meat Lovers: Add in some cooked rotisserie chicken or cooked sausage
- Gluten-Free: Use Gluten-free pasta
- Vegetarian: Leave out the bacon on top.
- Vegan: You can try your favorite substitutes if you really want to, but I bet you could find a better vegan mac and cheese recipe. 🙂
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8