This pumpkin mac and cheese recipe is the ultimate fall dinner! Pumpkin puree makes the cheese sauce extra creamy and delicious.

If you haven’t tried it yet, adding pumpkin puree to mac and cheese is truly delicious. I remember being surprised the first time I tried it, but it makes the sauce silkier, creamier, and just a little bit richer.

You can use homemade pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin puree. I often turn to this recipe when I have leftover pumpkin from baking a batch of pumpkin scones or making pumpkin spice lattes.

Key Ingredients

• Pasta: Choose pasta with nooks and crannies that hold onto the sauce. Elbow macaroni or shells are perfect.
• Pumpkin: Use pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix, which has added spices). Libby’s and Whole Foods 365 are great store-bought options, or try our pumpkin puree recipe.
• Butter and Flour: These form a simple roux that thickens the cheese sauce once you add the milk.
• Milk: Whole or reduced-fat milk both work beautifully.
• Cheese: Sharp cheddar melts really well and has a classic flavor. For the creamiest sauce, grate the cheese yourself rather than using pre-shredded cheese.
• Extras: A bit of Dijon mustard, black pepper, and nutmeg improves the flavor of the sauce, making the pumpkin mac and cheese incredible.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

My Tips for Making Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Tip 1: Start with a roux. Start the sauce by cooking the flour in melted butter until it smells nutty and turns a light golden color. This step creates the base that thickens the milk and gives your cheese sauce a rich flavor. We use the same method when making classic baked mac and cheese and this creamy mac and cheese.

Tip 2: Make the pumpkin cheese sauce. After whisking in the milk, the mixture will thicken. Stir in your seasonings, pumpkin puree, and most of the cheese. I highly recommend tasting the sauce before adding the pasta. If it seems flat, add a pinch more salt and pepper. The flavor of pumpkin will be there, but it will be subtle. I love it!

Tip 3: Decide how you’ll serve it. For a creamier, looser mac and cheese, serve it straight from the stovetop. For a golden, bubbly topping, transfer to a baking dish, sprinkle on extra cheese, and bake. I love it served both ways!

Serving Suggestions

I love richer dishes like this one with something fresh on the side. A crisp green salad with honey mustard dressing, or roasted vegetables like roasted green beans or Brussels sprouts, work really well. I also love this tahini kale and white bean salad!

For a heartier meal, you can serve it as a side to pork chops, roast chicken, garlic herb roasted turkey breast, or sausages, like beer brats. You can add toppings, too! Consider crumbled bacon or sausage. And of course, a side of garlic bread or focaccia is always welcome.

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Our easy cheese pinwheels made with puff pastry, two cheeses, and roasted red peppers are such a delicious appetizer! These cute little pinwheels fly off the plate!

These puff pastry pinwheels are high on my list of best hors d’oeuvres. They are simple, pretty on the plate, taste incredible, and are perfect for making in advance! In our recipe below, we spread puff pastry with Boursin cheese, add lots of parmesan, and top with roasted red pepper for sweetness and color.

I love them so much, and based on how quickly these disappear at parties, I can tell you my friends and family love them, too. Serve these alongside other popular appetizers, like red pepper hummus, classic shrimp cocktail, and tomato bruschetta.

Key Ingredients

• Puff Pastry: Use 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed. A standard box usually contains 2 sheets. I used Pepperidge Farm in the photos, but any brand will work! I thaw my puff pastry sheet in the fridge overnight. You can also thaw it on the counter. It should be ready in about 1 hour. I also use puff pastry to make quick and easy chocolate croissants, which would be the perfect way to use that leftover sheet.
• Cheese: I use two cheeses in these. First, something creamy like garlic and herb Boursin cheese (it’s so delicious). Goat cheese or even herbed cream cheese are good substitutes. Then, I sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the filling. Pecorino cheese or even a sharp cheddar work, too.
• Roasted Red Peppers: People eat with their eyes, and rolling up chopped roasted red peppers makes these pinwheels so pretty and appetizing. I grab a few peppers from a jar of store-bought roasted peppers. You can use fresh diced red peppers if you don’t have them. In fact, can roll up just about anything. Think bacon, ham, caramelized onions, or different vegetables.
• Fresh Herbs: These are optional, but I love adding something fresh and green to the pinwheel filling. Fresh parsley or basil are excellent.
• Egg: So that the pinwheels bake up to be golden brown and pretty, we brush a little egg wash over them right before sliding them into the oven. It’s simple and made with beaten egg and water.

How to Make Cheese Pinwheels

Once your puff pastry is thawed, this recipe goes very quickly. Unfold the sheet, roll lightly to flatten any creases, and then add the filing. You’ll spread the soft Boursin cheese over the whole sheet and then top with parmesan, chopped roasted peppers, and herbs.

Roll the sheet up like a jelly roll, then slice it into your pinwheels. Place them onto a baking sheet, brush on some egg wash, and bake. They’ll take less than 20 minutes! Serve them hot or at room temperature.

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This lobster mac and cheese is outrageously delicious! The rich lobster cheese sauce is the star of the show, packed with lobster flavor and perfect for any special occasion, from date night to the holidays.

We don’t skimp on flavor in this lobster mac and cheese. Unlike other recipes that simply add lobster meat to a standard mac and cheese, we take it a step further. We create a deeply flavorful lobster cheese sauce using the lobster bodies, similar to how lobster bisque is made.

This results in an intensely flavorful mac and cheese, so much so that adding lobster meat is entirely optional! The sauce itself delivers incredible lobster flavor. You can absolutely add cooked lobster meat if you wish, but you might prefer to save it for other delicious dishes like lobster rolls.

Key Ingredients

• Lobster: We will start with 2 live lobsters, then cook them so that you have perfectly cooked lobster meat and lobster bodies ready to make our cheese sauce. If you prefer, you can ask your local fishmonger to cook your lobster, but don’t forget to ask for the lobster bodies back (the main shells with the head and tiny legs attached), as this makes our lobster cheese sauce so delicious. Remember, adding lobster meat to the mac and cheese is up to you. The bodies in our sauce add plenty of rich lobster flavor, so you may prefer to use the meat for another lobster recipe instead.
• Aromatics: Since this is a classy dish, we bring in a few more ingredients than our basic macaroni and cheese. We use onion, carrot, garlic, fresh thyme, bay leaf, and tomato paste in our sauce. When they are all soft and sweet, they are blended into the cheese sauce, adding lots of flavor.
• Butter and Flour: These help thicken our sauce.
• White Wine: A dry white wine like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or unoaked Chardonnay adds complexity. For a non-alcoholic option, substitute vegetable broth.
• Milk: For the creamiest sauce, use whole milk.
• Cheese: A high-quality white cheddar, such as Beecher’s or English cheddar, is my favorite for this mac and cheese. Gruyère would also be lovely!
• Pasta: Use your favorite short pasta shape. Since this is a special recipe, it can take a fancier shape like cavatappi or torchiette.

How to Make Lobster Mac and Cheese

Step one for lobster mac and cheese is to prepare your lobsters. I know working with live lobsters might sound overwhelming, but I walk you through everything you need to know in our recipe. You can also learn more about working with live lobsters in our lobster roll recipe!

Our method for dispatching the lobster is quick and effective. Place the lobster on a cutting board and find the faint cross on its shell where the head and body connect. Quickly and firmly insert a large, sharp knife into this cross, pushing down through the head and between the eyes. This severs the spinal cord, killing the lobster instantly.

From there, you can separate the bodies from the tail, claws, and legs. We want to keep the bodies uncooked, so we can use them to make our lobster cheese sauce. Then, we will cook the lobster meat in boiling salted water. Once cooked, you can pull the meat from the shells and save it for adding to our lobster mac and cheese or save it for another dish. It keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days.

The trick to the best lobster mac and cheese is to cook the lobster bodies with butter, aromatics, and milk for about 30 minutes. In this time, the bodies perfume the mixture with rich lobster flavor (more than any meat ever could). After 30 minutes, you’ll discard the bodies and blend your sauce with some cheese.

Finally, toss the sauce with cooked pasta, add optional lobster meat, and bake in a casserole dish until bubbly. It’s incredible!

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The whole family will love this creamy vegan mac and cheese recipe. We use plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, and the perfect blend of spices. You can make this as a stovetop or baked mac and cheese!

Our family loves mac and cheese! We’ve shared our traditional dairy-based mac and cheese before, but I’m incredibly excited to finally share our absolute favorite vegan mac and cheese! We went through countless variations, and this recipe is the one that won everyone over. It’s creamy, cheesy, and so satisfying you won’t even miss the dairy.

I was inspired to create this vegan version because we’re trying to eat more plant-based meals, and my son loves mac and cheese. And honestly, it’s become a new family favorite (as have many of our vegan recipes)! This recipe has two options: enjoy it as a comforting stovetop mac and cheese, or bake it until bubbly and golden brown. I love serving it with a simple green salad or trying it with my lentil-based vegan meatballs.

Key Ingredients

• Pasta: Use what you love. I always go for something that will hold on to the sauce really well, like shells or elbows!
• Vegan Butter and Flour: The combination of butter and flour thickens the sauce. Some recipes start with a base of cashew cream, and while we’ve tried that variation, making a roux and building our vegan cheese sauce from there was our favorite way to make vegan mac and cheese.
• Plant-Based Milk: I typically use unsweetened soy milk, but non-dairy milk will work. Unsweetened is best.
• Nutritional Yeast: This makes our mac and cheese taste so cheesy. Nutritional yeast is quite common in vegan recipes. If you are unfamiliar, it’s full of vitamins and minerals and adds a cheesy flavor to dishes. It’s perfect in this mac and cheese. We also use it when making our delicious vegan queso.
• Dijon mustard: We also use Dijon mustard when making our dairy-based baked mac and cheese. It rounds out the sauce’s flavor and makes it taste even better.
• Spices: I love adding onion powder, garlic powder, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to make the sauce taste incredible.

How to Make Vegan Mac and Cheese

To make my favorite vegan mac and cheese, you’ll first make the creamy sauce. We start with a roux made from melted butter (plant-based) and flour.

Once the flour and butter smell toasty, you can pour in non-dairy milk. As it heats up, the milk thickens and turns into the base of our cheese sauce. To make it taste cheesy, we whisk in lots of nutritional yeast, mustard, and spices.

When the sauce is smooth, you can stir in cooked pasta. Remember choose pasta shapes that hold onto the sauce really well. I like these medium shells because lots of that cheesy sauce gets trapped inside them.

You can serve it as a stovetop recipe or pour it all into a baking dish, top it with some breadcrumbs, and bake until the sauce is bubbling and the top gets a little color.

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This stuffed zucchini recipe has three cheeses, roasted red peppers, and basil. These are easy, taste incredible, and perfectly cheesy!

This recipe came from the summer we decided to grow zucchini in our garden. We were inundated with them! We needed lots of ways to use zucchini, and these made it to the top of our favorites list. They are easy, quick, and taste amazing.

The ingredient list for this recipe is inspired by our super popular veggie lasagna, which is made with zucchini, cheese, and a sauce made with tomatoes and roasted red peppers.

Key Ingredients

• Zucchini: For this recipe, I look for medium, firm zucchini. You’ll cut them in half and then scoop out some of the middle, so you want them large enough to fit the cheese stuffing. Yellow summer squash is also excellent.
• Roasted Red Pepper: I love the sweet flavor of roasted red peppers and often keep a jar of them in the fridge. If you would like to roast your own, look at our roasted red pepper hummus recipe, which shows how to roast bell peppers.
• Cheese: I use three cheeses in this recipe. Ricotta makes the filling creamy, parmesan adds a sharp, cheesy flavor, and mozzarella melts and turns golden brown. Cottage cheese is an excellent substitute for the ricotta. If you are making this vegetarian, use a vegetarian-friendly parmesan cheese or substitute it with another sharp cheese like white cheddar.
• Basil: We add basil leaves to the for fresh summer flavor before serving. If you only have dried basil, mix 1 teaspoon into the ricotta filling instead.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Tip 1: How to make zucchini boats. All you need to do is slice the zucchini in half lengthwise. Then use a spoon to scoop out a channel down the middle. You don’t need to remove much, just enough to make some room for the ricotta and pepper filling. The channel created by scooping out some of the zucchini makes them look like canoes.

Tip 2: Bake zucchini without the stuffing first. Rub the zucchini halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place them cut-side down on a baking sheet and roast until tender (about 15 minutes). This is where some other recipes fall short. Zucchini has a lot of moisture, so roasting them unstuffed first lets some extra moisture cook off.

Tip 3: Stuff the zucchini. I love to stuff the zucchini with a mixture of ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and chopped roasted red peppers, top it with mozzarella cheese, and slide it back into the oven to finish cooking.

For a heartier variation, add some cooked quinoa, rice, or cooked ground turkey or chicken to the stuffing.

More Zucchini Recipes

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How to make grilled salmon topped with grilled nectarines and goat cheese. Jump to the Grilled Salmon Recipe with Nectarines and Goat Cheese or read on to see our tips for making it.

The salmon is simply grilled — only with salt, pepper and olive oil. That’s okay, though, because we toss nectarines in maple syrup mixed with a pinch of red pepper flakes and grill them. Everything comes together on a bed of couscous with fresh basil and a dollop of goat cheese on top.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Grilling salmon on a cedar plank is genius. If you haven’t tried it, let me tell you, you need to. Jump to the Sweet Citrus Cedar Plank Salmon Recipe.

How to Cook Salmon and Nectarines on the Grill

You can grill salmon one of two ways — outside or indoors using a cast iron grill pan.

If you are outside, prepare the grill for cooking over medium-hot charcoal or moderate heat for gas grills. For an indoor cast iron grill pan it should be lightly oiled, well-seasoned and over medium-high heat.

To prepare the salmon, rub with a little olive oil then season with salt and pepper. Grill the salmon, 5 to 6 minutes on each side (depending on thickness).

While the salmon grills, thrown on some nectarines or peaches. To grill them, remove the pit then cut into wedges. Toss with a little olive oil then add some maple syrup and a pinch of red pepper flakes — this makes them a little sweet with a spicy kick.

Throw them onto the grill and cook until you begin to see grill marks and they are warmed through — about 2 minutes on each side.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: How to make perfectly marinated and grilled swordfish kabobs with lemon, pepper and thyme. Jump to the Lemon Pepper Grilled Swordfish Kabobs Recipe.

Recipe updated, originally posted September 2011. Since posting this in 2011, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne

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Get ready to be blown away by this Blue Cheese Burger! It’s thick, juicy, and filled with flavor. If you love blue cheese dressing, this recipe is for you! That unique tangy flavor is the perfect addition to the juiciest patty ever.

I love creating new and different burgers at home! They turn out even more delicious than what you can get at your local burger joint. If you’re looking to switch things up, try these recipes next: smash burgers, mushroom Swiss burgers, or Oklahoma fried onion burgers!

What You Need to Make Blue Cheese Burgers

Here is everything you’ll need to make this amazing blue cheese burger recipe. Grab some basic ingredients like ground beef, blue cheese, bacon, buns and your favorite fixings. Serve them up with some In-N-Out Animal-Style Fries for a complete meal! You can find the exact measurements below in the recipe card.

• Blue Cheese: The star of the show! Blue cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles add a distinct, yet delicious tangy flavor.
• Ground Beef: Use 80/20 ground beef to give these burgers maximum flavor!
• Salt and Pepper: To enhance and bring out all of the flavors.
• Buns: You can use regular hamburger buns, brioche buns, ciabatta or whole wheat buns. 
• Butter: For toasting the buns and making them deliciously buttery.
• Butter Lettuce: Adds extra texture and freshness.
• Red Onion: I like red onions best on burgers because they are milder and less pungent than white or yellow onions, plus they add a pop of color.
• Tomatoes: Choose meaty large-sized tomatoes for burgers and slice them into rings.
• Bacon: Salty and savory, crispy cooked bacon is so good on almost any burger!

How to Make Blue Cheese Burgers

These blue cheese burgers are super easy to make! Start by mixing the blue cheese topping, then cook the meat and assemble. Follow the simple step-by-step instructions and you’ll have juicy burgers in no time!

1. Make the Blue Cheese Mixture: In a small bowl, mix together the blue cheese dressing and the blue cheese crumbles, don’t break the crumbles down too much. Cover and place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the burger.
2. Prep: Divide the ground beef into 4 equal balls and shape into patties. Heat a griddle or cast iron skillet up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Cook the Patties: Place two patties on the hot griddle or skillet and season with salt and pepper. You can cook all of the patties at the same time if they all fit on the griddle.
4. Prep the Buns: Cook the burgers 2-3 minutes on each side. Once the patties are cooked, butter and toast the buns on the same skillet.
5. Assemble: Assemble from the bottom up; starting with a toasted bun spread the mayo, then lettuce, onion, tomato, bacon, hamburger patty, a generous helping of the blue cheese mixture, and the top bun.

What to Serve With Your Burger

Blue cheese burgers are great on their own or just with a pickle and some chips on the side. However, if you really want to enhance your burger experience, try making some of these easy sides!

Appetizers

Crispy Onion Rings (Baked or Fried!)

30 minutes

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My family loves this homemade cheese pizza recipe! Made with two types of cheese, it’s been on repeat in our home for years. This extra cheesy pizza is perfect for any pizza lover and occasion.

Are you ready to make the best homemade cheese pizza we have ever made? This recipe has become our family’s go-to homemade pizza. It’s super simple and so good!

We have lots of pizza recipes on Inspired Taste. Check out our Margherita pizza, this easy flatbread pizza, or if you are looking for homemade dough, this pizza dough.

Key Ingredients

• Dough: I love using my homemade pizza dough recipe, but any store-bought dough will work.
• Sauce: Your favorite store-bought pizza sauce is perfect! In a pinch, I’ve even used spaghetti sauce. This homemade pizza sauce is great, too.
• Cheese: I use shredded mozzarella (not fresh mozzarella) for that classic pizza melt. A sprinkle of shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano adds a nice salty kick!
• Toppings: Fresh chives and dried oregano are my go-to toppings for this cheese pizza. Chives add a subtle onion-garlic flavor, while oregano gives it that classic pizzeria taste.

How to Make Cheese Pizza

Here’s how to make my family’s favorite cheese pizza! First, we use a good pizza dough and leave it on the counter to warm up a bit before patting it into a thin disc. Then, I’m pretty generous with my sauce (I love this pizza sauce).

Now grab a bowl and toss together shredded mozzarella, parmesan cheese, chives, and oregano. Then, generously scatter the mixture all over the pizza. Last but not least, bake it!

I bake my pizzas in a very hot oven and use a pizza steel. Since not everyone has one, I’ve included all my tips in the recipe below. By the way, I love this pizza topped with a spoonful of giardiniera (which is an herby pickled vegetable relish-so good!).

Perfect Cheese Pizza

• PREP
  30 mins
  
• COOK
  10 mins
  
• TOTAL
  40 mins
  

Our best recipe for cheese pizza! We use our favorite homemade pizza dough, a garlicky pizza sauce, two types of cheese, and herbs.

Makes 1 large pizza

You Will Need

1 batch homemade pizza dough or use store-bought dough

4 to 6 tablespoons pizza sauce, try homemade pizza sauce

1 cup (57g) shredded mozzarella, not fresh mozzarella

1/2 cup (28g) shredded parmesan

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

All-purpose flour, for forming dough disc

Semolina flour, for dusting pan

Directions

1At least 30 minutes before you plan to bake your pizza, preheat the oven to 450° Fahrenheit (232°C). If you have one, place a pizza steel or pizza stone into the oven before preheating. Personally, we use a higher temperature, see the tips section for our thoughts on what temperature is best for baking pizza at home.

2If your pizza dough is cold, allow it to warm at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.

3When ready to bake your pizza, prepare a pizza peel or pizza pan by dusting it with semolina flour.

4In a medium bowl, mix the shredded mozzarella, parmesan, chives, and oregano together.

5Dust a clean work surface with all-purpose flour, and then form your pizza dough into a round, large enough to fit your pizza peel or pan. To stretch the dough, avoid rolling it out, as this can flatten the bubbles that have formed. Instead, use your fingers to make dimples in the dough, starting from the center and working outwards. Carefully stretch and push the dough to fit your pizza pan or peel. Use a light touch to maintain as many air pockets in the dough as possible.

6Transfer the dough round to your pizza peel or pan, and reform it if it shrinks back a bit.

7Spread pizza sauce over the pizza, leaving a thin edge untouched for the crust. Scatter the cheese mixture over the sauce.

8Bake until the crust is set and golden brown and the cheese has melted with golden spots all over, 6 to 15 minutes, depending on oven temperature. Remove from the oven, cut, and serve.

Adam and Joanne’s Tips

• Oven temperature: We recommend 450° Fahrenheit (232°C) in the recipe, but if you are comfortable with it, increasing the temperature to 550° Fahrenheit (288°C) will provide even better results. If you have a vented hood above your oven, turn it on high. When our oven is heated to such a high temperature, the fire alarm occasionally goes off due to the hot air that escapes when we open our oven door. It’s not a problem, other than the noise, and in our experience, it is remedied with a few fans of a dish towel near the alarm, but it is something to consider. If 550° Fahrenheit (288°C) is too high for you, feel free to use a lower temperature. However, keep in mind that this pizza bakes best between 425° Fahrenheit and 550° Fahrenheit (218°C to 288°C). The lower the temperature, the longer it will take to bake and the less bubbly it will be.
• The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.

Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1/4 of the recipe
/
Calories
330
/
Total Fat
9.1g
/
Saturated Fat
5.1g
/
Cholesterol
27.2mg
/
Sodium
934.4mg
/
Carbohydrate
45.5g
/
Dietary Fiber
2.5g
/
Total Sugars
1.7g
/
Protein
15.8g

AUTHOR:

Joanne Gallagher

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