Vegetarian Thanksgiving? Yes, could be. Side dish? Yes, it could be as well! Or, is it just my obsession with pumpkins? Yes, it could be also! I don’t like any kind of wasting of my pumpkins, LOL.
Hi It’s again me, Julia and I got inspired by the pumpkins themselves to make this smashing good macaroni and cheese and I decided to serve it in the cavity of small pumpkins itself. Don’t you find these so adorable and cute?!?! I am sure you do, so let me tell you how you can prepare this adorable setting at home.

Easy vegetarian mac & cheese
I am so excited to show you this beautiful, decorative setting, which will leave memorable moments in your kitchen and dining room. Every year, I try to come out with something new and something different. And this time, I just couldn’t leave my kid’s favorite meal a part.
I always had to prepare macaroni and cheese along the turkey dish, macaroni and cheese couldn’t be missed. These easy and kinda working day dish made its own space to the center of the table for Thanksgiving. My husband and I would be having traditional butternut squash and sweet potatoes, green beans and I shouldn’t forget my famous cranberry sauce with Porto wine, You can find a recipe for this cranberry sauce here, but for my kids, it’s always mac and cheese.

Thanksgiving side dish
Macaroni and cheese are very easy to make. I am sure every one of us here know how to prepare it, even do the KD box count. Yes, you just simply can prepare it from KD box, if you don’t have time to prepare the mac and cheese from scratch.
So for this festive pumpkin mac and cheese you will need macaroni, grated cheese of your choice, butter, some flour, nutmeg and some seasoning. Very easy to make. You can also add a bit of bread crumbs on the top, before you put it in the oven. It makes it extra crunchy. And if you choose these seasoned breadcrumbs, it will give a better flavor. I choose Italian seasoned breadcrumbs with Romano cheese, and it gives a perfect kick to this mac and cheese mix.

More recipes for Thanksgiving
- MAC & CHEESE
- PUMPKIN PIE SPICE CHEESECAKE BARS
- Pumpkin spice cheesecake tart
- THE BEST PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE
- Let’s have an”easy” & “delicious” (AKA my) THANKSGIVING 🦃

Pumpkin filled mac & cheese
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ teaspoon pepper
- 1 dash ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter cubed
- 5 cups macaroni pasta
- 4 cups warm milk
- 4 ½ cups mixed cheese mozzarella, cheddar, romano, parmesan, shredded
- Paprika
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin purée
Instructions
- Cook macaroni pasta, according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually whisk in warm milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Cook and stir 1-2 minutes longer or until thickened and add pumpkin purée. Stir in cheese until melted. Drain macaroni; add to cheese sauce and stir to coat. If desired, sprinkle with paprika. Preheat oven to 375 F/ 180 C. Carve the little pumpkins, remove seeds.
- Place the pumpkins in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until it softens. Once the pumpkins are baked, portion the mac and cheese inside the cavity of the pumpkins and sprinkle with seasoned breadcrumbs. Place it back to the oven and bake for 10 minute.
- Always make sure, that you are using edible pumpkins for this recipe. Keep in mind, that not all pumpkins are edible, and they could be used only for decorative purposes.

So here is you have the recipe and I hope you will enjoy it. I am sure, that your kids will love eating the mac and cheese from small, cute pumpkins. And your family will appreciate this beautiful decor of pumpkins.
mistimaan
Loved your recipe
juliarecipes
Thank you, I love the idea, so sharing is caring 😊
Megala
Wow ! Like these cute stuffed pumpkins !!
juliarecipes
Thank you Megala, I found it so cute as well, so I shared😊😍