We really love pumpkin season and one of our favorite fall recipes is this Pumpkin Mac and Cheese. It’s so creamy, rich and delicious with just the right amount of pumpkin goodness. This dish also comes together in under 30 minutes, which we’re huge fans of, so it makes a perfect weeknight dinner!
How to Make Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
This is the ultimate in cozy recipes. The pumpkin cheese sauce is super gooey and flavorful. It’s all about the sauce for this one! It’s pretty easy to make once you have all your ingredients organized.
Process
- Combine milk and pumpkin purée. Stir together.
- Bring a large pot water to boil and generously salt. Boil pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour.
- Whisk together. Cook together and stir in thyme.
- Whisk pumpkin-milk mixture into flour mixture. Simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat and stir cheese into pumpkin béchamel sauce until smooth.
- Add pasta to pumpkin cheese sauce.
- Fold together until fully incorporated.
- Top each serving with toasted panko and serve immediately.
Tools You Will Need
- knife
- cutting board
- dry measuring cups
- liquid measuring cup
- measuring spoons
- colander
- whisk
- wooden spoon
- pasta pot
- saucepan
Best Types of Pasta to Use for Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
We use fusilli for this pumpkin thyme mac and cheese because we love how the pasta holds onto the sauce so well. You can use another shaped pasta for this dish if you’re not a fan of fusilli or you don’t have it on hand.
Other great pasta shapes to use for this dish are standard elbow macaroni, cavatappi, small or medium shells, and bow tie.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions
Make Ahead
The pasta can be boiled up to 5 days ahead of time. When ready to use, stir into hot cheese sauce and place over low heat until pasta warms through.
Freezing
While we think this dish is better when made fresh, you can freeze this dish for up to 3 months, in an airtight container. We recommend keeping the pasta and cheese sauce separate when freezing.
When ready to use, add frozen pasta to boiling water for 1 minute or until it has thawed and just heated through. Drain and set aside. Slightly thaw cheese sauce and pour into a saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. In a small bowl whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 1/2 tablespoons milk. Once cheese sauce is simmering, whisk cornstarch slurring into sauce and continue to simmer until thickened. Season with salt and pepper and stir pasta into sauce.
Can This Pumpkin Mac and Cheese Be Baked?
Yes! Lightly grease a 8″x 8″ baking dish and add mac and cheese. Sprinkle top with more shredded cheese, thyme and breadcrumbs. Bake dish for 10 minutes at 400˚F, until cheese on top has melted and slightly browned.
Variations
- You can add a couple small pinches of ground cinnamon, clove and nutmeg into the milk and pumpkin puree, if you want a ‘pumpkin spice’ flavor added to the mac and cheese.
- As we mentioned earlier, almost any shaped pasta will work for this dish. Fusilli is our favorite because of how well the spirals hold onto the sauce.
- We love the combination of pumpkin and thyme, but you can swap the thyme out for some minced sage, which is also delicious. Thinly sliced chives also work as a great alternative in this recipe!
We love this super creamy and cozy recipe for pumpkin mac and cheese. It’s also so simple to make too, which makes it a perfect weeknight meal or a quick and easy side dish to add to a larger meal.
More Delicious Pumpkin Recipes You Will Love
More Delicious Mac and Cheese Recipes You Will Love
Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 12 ounces fusilli pasta can substitute other shaped pasta
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced thyme
- 4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 ounces shredded gouda
- 1/2 cup toasted panko
- salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Stir together milk and pumpkin puree.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil add a generous amount of salt (2½ – 3 tablespoons) and then the pasta. Boil pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta and set aside.
- Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle flour over melted butter and whisk together. Allow mixture to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in thyme.
- Whisk pumpkin-milk mixture into flour mixture and continue to whisk until fully incorporated. Allow mixture to simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat and stir cheese into the béchamel sauce, in small handfuls, and stir until cheese just melts before adding more cheese.
- Reduce heat to low and gently stir pasta into the sauce, ½ cup at a time until all of the pasta has been added and is fully coasted in sauce. Adjust seasonings.
- Serve Pumpkin Mac and Cheese into bowls and top with fresh thyme and toasted panko.
NOTES
- Freeze Ahead: While we think this dish is better when made fresh, you can freeze this dish for up to 3 months, in an airtight container. We recommend keeping the pasta and cheese sauce separate when freezing.
When ready to use, add frozen pasta to boiling water for 1 minute or until it has thawed and just heated through. Drain and set aside. Slightly thaw cheese sauce and pour into a saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. In a small bowl whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 1/2 tablespoons milk. Once cheese sauce is simmering, whisk cornstarch slurring into sauce and continue to simmer until thickened. Season with salt and pepper and stir pasta into sauce.
- To Make Toasted Panko: Pour panko into a small skillet and place over medium-low heat. Cook panko until lightly toasted, 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning and evenly toast.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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I had a dream about this recipe last night. I’ve never even seen or heard of this before nor am I a prolific home chef.
I was on a cooking show in my dream and used almost every single exact ingredient smoked Gouda, fusilli pasta, pumpkin purée (except I made it from punpkin). Never got to eat it or serve it to judges. I’ll have to try it now
So creamy and delicious!! I substituted 4 oz of goat cheese for the cheddar and I loved it that was too! Thank you for sharing, perfect for these chilly fall nights.
I made this today and it was incredible! I air fried some chicken thighs, chopped them up, and added on top. What a great meal!!! Love your recipes and brag about your blog often.
Thank you so much for the kind words! So happy you enjoyed this recipe and others from our blog! The air fried chicken thighs sound so good!
I teach healthy cooking classes for youths. We used whole wheat pasta, we roasted the pumpkin, and then pureed it. I have a budget so just used only cheddar, and parm, and it was still fantastic! Kids were coming up for seconds, and thirds…they absolutely enjoyed it. Thank you, l always use this site for inspiration…heaven knows teaching 16 classes a week, you gotta get it from somewhere! Thank you again…
I’m so happy to hear that this was a recipe you used in your class and that is was thoroughly enjoyed!! I love that you also made your own pumpkin purée! Sounds like a very fun class :)
With pumpkin? Sounds interesting! I’ll try it soon, thanks!
Nice Blog !! A Very Yummy Wonderful Recipe !!! WOW Nice Photos to See. I’ll Definitely Try it. Thank You for Sharing that Lovely Food.
The only thing I would change is to add 2 cups of pumpkin which is a 15oz can. I haven’t tried making it ahead of time, but others who have commented on here seem to agree that it heats back up well, so I think you’re all good. This gets added to the long list of new favorite foods that I’ve tried from your blog
A very delicious dish! We tried this yesterday and it turned out very Gouda. Will definitely make again. Adding Sriracha gave it a nice kick!
Made this for dinner for my husband and I. The only thing I would change is add 2 cups of pumpkin which is a 15oz can. Also I would add pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon, ground clove and ground nutmeg as you really didn’t even taste those spices. Also I added bacon so I did not add salt to the dish as the bacon had enough salt to substitute.
I look forward to trying this recipe. Sounds delicious. Is that a 15 oz can of pumpkin you used?
tried it, loved it, you guys rock!
I REALLY want to make this for my contribution to Thanksgiving and wow everyone. Is there a way I could make it ahead of time and keep warm (say on warm in a crockpot)? Would need to be made around 11:00 and last for when our family eats around 2:00.
Hi Lauren,
I haven’t tried making it ahead of time, but from others who have commented on here seem to agree that it heats back up well, so I think you’re all good!
Made this last night – amazing! Big hit with the boyfriend. Only thing is there’s only 2 of us, and I have a lot left over. Saw your baking comment. Would it do this dish injustice to add a protein of some sort to make a casserole-type dish with the leftovers? Would love your suggestions…
I think turning the leftovers into a protein filled casserole is a great idea! You could always add some bacon/pancetta or even a nice Spanish chorizo…or my boyfriend’s favorite…cut up hot dogs…seriously. :) good luck!
I literally squealed in excitement upon seeing this recipe. Some of my favorite things include anything pumpkin, mac & cheese, and smoked gouda, so it’s safe to say I’ll definitely be making this recipe soon!
Made this tonight and it turned out FANTASTIC! This gets added to the long list of new favorite foods that I’ve tried from your blog and have fallen in love with. What a great twist on the classic mac&cheese recipe and one I would have never thought to try without your recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Pumpkin works so well in mac n cheese!
This Mac and cheese is amazing, I can’t tell you how many people have been impressed with this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
I made this yesterday and it was amazing. The best macaroni and cheese I’ve ever had. It was like autumn gave me a big hug! Haha. Thank you so much for the recipe. :)
We made this last week. It was amazing and it reheats well! My non leftover eating boyfriend chowed down the next day. He added bacon to his the next day and was pretty happy. Thanks! We will make again!
My four year old requested pumpkin mac and cheese for dinner Halloween night, but i am not a big fan of ‘smoked’ cheeses..would regular gouda work? or do you have another cheese suggestion?
Regular Gouda will work just fine! I’m also a big gruyere cheese person and it melts wonderfully. Good luck!