• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to privacy navigation
  • Skip to recipes navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Blog
  • Contact

Brooklyn Farm Girl

Cooking And Gardening in NYC

PopularStewed Tomatoes
let's be friends
join my free recipe club!
  • New? Start Here
  • recipes
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Dessert
      • Dinner
      • Drinks
      • Snacks
    • Type
      • 30 Minute Meals
      • Breads
      • Budget
      • Canning
      • Casseroles
      • Cheesy
      • Cookies
      • Dips
      • Donuts
      • Holidays
      • Husband Favorites
      • Instant Pot
      • Keto
      • Kid Friendly
      • Muffins
      • Pasta
      • Potluck
      • Salads
      • Slow Cooker
      • Smoothies
      • Sneaky Vegetables
      • Soups
      • Sprinkles
    • Meat
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Seafood
      • Turkey
      • Vegetarian
    • Cuisine
      • Chinese
      • Italian
      • Mexican
      • Pennsylvania Dutch
      • Vegetarian
  • Vegetable Index
  • Urban Gardening
    • Let’s Harvest
    • Tutorials
    • Garden Recipes
    • General Updates
    • Storing & Freezing
    • Seed Calendar
    • Compost in Brooklyn
  • About Me
    • About Pamela
    • Our Garden
  • Life & motherhood
    • Journal
    • Motherhood
    • Our Upstate Adventure
    • Cats, Cats, Cats
    • Crafts
  • Videos
  • PopularStewed Tomatoes
Home » recipes » Dinner » Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

40 minutes
pumpkin
Posted:12/9/22
Updated:12/9/22
Jump to Recipe

Homemade pumpkin mac and cheese made with pumpkin puree and shredded cheddar cheese. This easy baked pumpkin mac is the ultimate comfort food with a total cook time of 30 minutes!

baked pumpkin mac and cheese with crispy top.

Few American dishes are better known than traditional macaroni and cheese. It’s an easy recipe we all know and love.

So if you’re excited about pumpkin spice and all things pumpkin in the fall months (or year round), you’ll love this creamy pumpkin mac. Each bite is filled with tender elbow noodles covered in a creamy cheese sauce with pumpkin flavor. It’s rich, savory, and slightly sweet with a touch of spice!

The Best Pumpkin Mac and Cheese Recipe 

Pumpkin mac and cheese is the perfect mac for pumpkin lovers, but most importantly for mac and cheese lovers. The pumpkin cheese sauce contains pumpkin puree, shredded cheddar cheese and a pinch of nutmeg. The top is crispy because who doesn’t love crunchy elbow noodles covered in melted cheese? Yum!

To note because I know not everyone is a pumpkin lover, my husband isn’t a big pumpkin fan, but he happily eats this dish because the pumpkin taste is subtle. So if you want a dinner that will make everyone happy – try this recipe!

pumpkin mac and cheese closeup

Homemade pumpkin puree will make it extra special (and great for saving those pumpkins!), but if you’re looking to save time, a can from the grocery store works too.

can of pumpkin puree.

How to Make Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Make elbow pasta, drain, and place in baking dish.

elbow pasta in baking dish.

In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour and then add milk. Bring to a simmer until thickened. Stir in salt, black pepper, ground nutmeg, and mustard.

Next, add in the pure pumpkin puree and cheese. Stir until melted.

pumpkin cheese sauce in saucepan.

Pour the cheese mixture on top of the pasta in baking dish and mix to fully coat the noodles.

cheesy pumpkin mac and cheese in baking dish.

Bake, remove, serve, and enjoy your creamy mac!

golden brown baked mac and cheese.

Storing/Reheating Leftovers 

Refrigerate: Store leftover pumpkin macaroni in an airtight container and in the refrigerator. If stored properly, homemade pumpkin mac and cheese can last up to three to four days.

Reheat: To reheat, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the pumpkin mac and cheese baking dish into the oven when preheated and bake for 20 minutes. You may take it out sooner or later if you notice it begins to bubble.

pumpkin mac and cheese in baking dish with some scooped out.

What Cheese Goes Well With Pumpkin?

For this pumpkin mac and cheese, I suggest going with classic cheddar cheese (shredded is best) so you don’t lose the classic flavor of a traditional mac and cheese dish. As always, I think thick cut shredded cheese melts the best!

shredded cheese in yellow bowl.

What Pasta Do I Use For Homemade Macaroni and Cheese?

For this recipe, I use a classic elbow macaroni. However, you can use a shell or bowtie pasta if you already have them on hand. You can also use cavatappi, which is a type of macaroni known for having lined dips or ridges along the noodle. Whichever you choose, the flavor is in the sauce!

Can I Add Breadcrumbs on Top?

Yes, before baking you can add panko bread crumbs to the top of your mac and cheese once it’s inside the baking dish and before it goes into the oven. This will give it another element of texture—each bite includes an extra crunch. However, I prefer to keep this dish as is since there is already a lot of grain included in the noodles!

fork going into mac and cheese to eat it.

More Delicious Pumpkin Recipes

If you can’t get enough pumpkin flavor, check out the other pumpkin-based recipes on Brooklyn Farm Girl. There are plenty to choose from!

  • Pumpkin Cookies
  • Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
  • Pumpkin Dump Cake
  • Pumpkin Jalapeno Mac and Cheese
  • Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Pin for later: 

Homemade pumpkin mac and cheese made with pumpkin puree and shredded cheddar cheese. This easy pumpkin mac is the ultimate comfort food with a total cook time of 30 minutes!
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
Free Recipe Club
No ratings yet

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Print
Homemade pumpkin mac and cheese made with pumpkin puree and shredded cheddar cheese. This easy baked pumpkin mac is the ultimate comfort food with a total cook time of 30 minutes!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
serves 6

Ingredients

  • 2 cups elbow macaroni
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Make elbow macaroni according to the package. Drain pasta and pour into a 9×9 baking dish.
  • In a medium size saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Stir in milk, a little at a time and continue to whisk until thickened. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and mustard and stir.
  • Add in pumpkin puree and shredded cheese, stirring until cheese is completely melted.
  • Pour pumpkin cheese sauce on top of pasta in the baking dish, stirring to completely coat the noodles.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is golden brown. Enjoy!

Video:

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 293kcal (15%)
Course:Main Course
Cuisine:American
Keyword:pumpkin mac and cheese
Did you make this?I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @BrooklynFarmGirl and don’t forget to leave a comment & rating below.

Similar Recipes

  • My Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
  • Pumpkin Jalapeno Mac and Cheese
  • Broccoli Mac and Cheese
  • How to Make Pumpkin Puree

Reader Interactions

join the free recipe club

Receive My Favorite Recipes Straight To Your Inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

I love hearing from you! Submit your question or recipe review here. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this? Rate this recipe:




  1. Business to consumer says

    February 20, 2015 at 1:20 am

    Excellent post! We will be linking to this particularly great post on our website.
    Keep up the great writing.

    My web page Business to consumer

    Reply
  2. Desigfx.Com says

    January 19, 2015 at 5:57 am

    I’m impressed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and entertaining, and without a doubt, you’ve
    hit the nail on the head. The problem is something that too few folks are speaking
    intelligently about. Now i’m very happy that I found this in my hunt for something concerning this.

    Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

welcome!

Hi! I'm Pamela, an artist Mom who shares family recipes. My farm is a 1,000 sq ft apartment in NYC. Let's make dinner together.

Read More

join the free
recipe club!

Receive My Favorite Recipes Straight to Your Inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!

TOP POSTS

Half Sour Pickles

The Best Stewed Tomatoes Ever

Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

EASY Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Recipe Index
Vegetable Index
Follow On Facebook
Follow On Instagram
Free Recipe Club

fresh this week view all

Slow Cooker Sausage Barley Soup

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Irish Potato Candy (Pennsylvania Dutch)

Spring Garden Planning for Zone 7B

As Featured On
free recipe club!
Get weekly recipes, videos, and gardening tips to your inbox!
join the club!
EST. 2013
let's be friends
  • Recipe Index
  • Veggie Index
  • Urban Gardening
  • Web Stories
Back To Top
© 2023 - All Rights Reserved
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

join the recipe club!

Receive My Favorite Recipes Straight to Your Inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!

160 shares