GFLunch & Dinner
Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese with Italian Chicken Sausage
My personal favorite from this week. A creamy butternut squash and cottage cheese sauce with crumbled chicken sausage.
Makes 6 servings
485Calories
32gProtein
66gCarbs
11gFat
4gFiber
Macros estimated per serving.
Ingredients
- 1 bag Trader Joe's Organic Brown Rice & Quinoa Fusilli Pasta
- 1½ cups chopped butternut squash
- Olive oil spray
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 5 Italian chicken sausages, casings removed (I used TJ's Italian Chicken Sausage)
- ¾ cup fat-free cottage cheese (I used Good Culture)
- ½ cup fat-free milk (I used Fairlife ultra-filtered)
- 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ~½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup reserved pasta water, plus more as needed
- 1 cup shredded light mozzarella
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan
- Fresh sage, for serving
Instructions
- Roast the squash. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spread the butternut squash on a baking sheet, lightly spray with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast for about 35–40 minutes, stirring halfway through, until very soft. Start checking around 25 minutes, as your oven may cook it faster. Let cool slightly.
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions (about 11 minutes usually works perfectly for me). Reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
- Cook the sausage. Remove the sausage from its casings and add it to a skillet over medium heat. Break it into crumbles and cook thoroughly.
- Blend the sauce. Add the slightly cooled squash, cottage cheese, milk, Dijon mustard, cinnamon, onion powder, and garlic to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Combine. In a 9x13-inch baking dish, combine the pasta, sausage, and butternut squash sauce. Stir in ½ cup reserved pasta water, adding more as needed until everything is evenly coated and creamy. I added another sprinkle of salt and pepper here.
- Add the cheese and bake. Sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the top. Bake at 425°F for 15–25 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Broil and serve. Broil for 2–4 minutes, watching closely, until the top is golden and crispy. Top with fresh sage and divide into six servings.
My pasta note: I use this Trader Joe's pasta a lot! I honestly can't tell it's gluten-free, it's my favorite.
Originally shared in my Substack post Lunch & Dinner Meal Prep Recipes (Week of Oct 19) on October 22, 2026.