hearty squash mac with sausage & onions
a very cheesy and golden squash mac!
makes a 9x13 baking dish, or at least 6 servings
2 italian sausage links (i used mild but you could use any you like!)
3 yellow onions, sliced into half moons
1 tbsp each butter and flour
seasonings of choice— I use black pepper, an herby salt blend, turmeric, and thyme in my mac
2 cups milk (or a combo of milk and broth, which is my preference)
1 cup (or more) grated cheese, I used a big of “mexican blend” leftover from enchiladas and cheddar
2 cups roasted winter squash
12-16oz noodles (i used medium sized shells, but elbows or rigatoni or penne would be great too)
The order of operations is relatively flexible here, as this mac can be a total choose your own adventure recipe. I will share the steps I did in the order I did em but feel free to deviate, and please share your notes in the comments!
Remove the sausage from the casings and cook on medium heat in a cast iron skillet. You want to chunk em up a bit and get a nice browning on the pieces, but you don’t need to cook them all fully through since we’ll be baking the final dish.
Take the mostly cooked and nicely browned sausage pieces from the skillet and add the onions. Turn down the heat a bit and season with salt & pepper. Caramelize! Or get as close as you can before you lose patience. I cooked my onions for probably 15-20 minutes, deglazing a few times with a seasoned vinegar. Take the pan off the heat and add the sausage back to it, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375 and start the water for the noodles in a big pot! Cook according to package directions until al dente.
Melt the butter in a sauce pot over medium low heat and then add the flour and your seasonings of choice. Whisk well to make your roux and let it get toasty, stirring well for about 5 minutes, before adding the milk. Keep stirring as the milk heats up; once it starts to simmer, add the squash. You can use the whisk to mash the squash in the milk here or give it a blend before adding to the milk. Once the squash is mostly incorporated into the milk, add the cheese and stir well.
Hopefully your noodles are done about the same time your cheese sauce is! Drain the noodles, put them back in the pot, add the sausage and onions, and then add the cheese sauce to that. Mix well until combined and the sausage & onions are distributed throughout. Pour into a baking dish and top with breadcrumbs and some grated parmesan or crispy onions, if you have em!
Bake for at least 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Hit it with the broiler for a few minutes at the end for some extra gold and bubbles!