Enjoy the perfect fall dish with this creamy pumpkin mac and cheese! Made with cheddar and Gruyère, this pumpkin pasta features a luxurious, decadent cheese sauce and is finished with a buttery Ritz cracker topping and fresh sage for an extra touch of fall flavor. Comfort food doesn't get better than this.

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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ultra creamy goodness. Sure, mac and cheese is already a creamy delight, but the addition of real pumpkin purée makes for an even more decadent texture.
- Makes a festive Thanksgiving side dish. Everyone loves a classic mac and cheese at the Thanksgiving table, but you can enjoy that any time of year. This fall spin adds an extra fun touch to the holiday.
- Comes with a make-ahead option. Anyone who's hosted Thanksgiving knows make-ahead dishes are true life-savers. We have an option to make this dish two days ahead for easy entertaining.
- Super versatile. Make it a stove-top or baked pasta. Use your favorite blend of cheeses or my recommended cheddar and Gruyère. Keep it vegetarian or add chicken or bacon. You have so much flexibility if you want to get creative, or you can stick to the recipe as is and enjoy a wonderful dish.
- Surprisingly simple. If this is your first time making homemade mac and cheese, don't feel intimidated. We'll walk through the process and show you how truly easy this recipe is.
Related: For more favorite pasta dishes, try my brisket mac and cheese, truffled white baked ziti, crawfish mac and cheese, and creamy morel mushroom pasta!
Ingredients
And now for a couple notes about our pumpkin mac and cheese ingredients. Obviously, the mac stands for elbow macaroni, but don't feel like you have to stick to that pasta shape. Penne, ziti, rigatoni, shells and cavatappi all make good substitutes.
And then there's our cheese. I used equal parts of white cheddar and Gruyère, but you have some flexibility here as well. Yellow cheddar works just fine, and if you can't find Gruyère, you can switch it for the more commonly found Swiss cheese.
You could even go in a totally different direction and use your own blend of cheeses, such as fontina, Gouda, mozzarella, Havarti or muenster. As long as it's a good melting cheese, you're all set.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: We begin by cooking our pasta just shy of the box directions. Then, we drain and reserve (photo 1).
Bonus tip: As the water boils and the pasta cooks, this is the perfect time to peel your other ingredients to make the process as seamless as possible. It’s all about consolidation!
Step 2: In that same very pot (yes, this is a one-pot pumpkin pasta!), we melt some butter and then whisk in some flour (photo 2) until it turns smooth (photo 3). This is our roux. After about three minutes of whisking, we add some garlic and stir constantly to add that wonderful flavor (photo 4).
Step 3: Now we pour in our milk and heavy cream while whisking constantly to create a smooth sauce (photo 5). Once we get that silky texture, we stir in our Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg (photo 6).
Step 4: From here, we bring the cream mixture just to a simmer, so it's nice and warm, and then we add our cheese (photo 7) and stir until it melts into a velvety sauce. All that's left is to stir in our pumpkin (photo 8), and our pumpkin pasta sauce is ready (photo 9).
Step 5: Now we take the cooked macaroni and stir it into the sauce (photo 10), pour it into a baking dish and top with more grated cheese and a mixture of melted butter and crushed Ritz crackers (photo 11). I like to use a 12-inch cast-iron skillet for a rustic look, or we can use a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish.
Note: If you prefer a stove-top pumpkin Mac and cheese, there's no need to pour it into a baking dish. Serve from the stove-top immediately.
Step 6: For our final step, we place our fall pasta dish into the oven and bake until it's hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes. After baking, we give the pasta a few minutes to cool, top with fresh sage and then scoop ourselves a big bowl and enjoy.
Bonus: If you love this pumpkin pasta, make sure you also try my pumpkin baked ziti with chorizo!
Recipe FAQs
A stove-top mac and cheese has much saucier texture. Baked mac and cheese, however, has a crisp topping with more of a custardy texture.
Honestly, I love both, but baked mac and cheese is my favorite of the two. It truly comes down to personal preference.
You sure can with a couple tricks for baked mac and cheese. First, it's extra important to make sure you cook the noodles slightly under the package directions' recommended time and then rinse them with cold water after cooking and let them cool completely before adding to the sauce. Hot noodles better absorb sauce than cold noodles, so this will prevent the dish from drying out. We also want to make sure we let the sauce cool before adding the pasta.
Once we combine everything into our baking dish, we tightly cover it with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for up to two days. Before baking, remove the dish from the refrigerator and let it sit in room temperature for an hour or two and plan for a little extra baking time, about 10-20 minutes. We don't want to put a cold baking dish into a hot oven, and this allows the macaroni to come down to temperature.
For stove-top Mac and cheese, I recommend serving it fresh. The saucy texture won't be quite the same after refrigerating -- still delicious for leftovers, mind you, but it wouldn't be something I'd want to serve for guests. That said, you can significantly speed up the cooking process by preparing the macaroni ahead of time and pre-measuring all the ingredients.
You can enjoy mac and cheese leftovers for up to five days. Just make sure you cover it tightly or transfer to airtight containers and keep in the refrigerator.
Expert Tips
- I recommend freshly grating your own cheese gather than buying grated cheese in a bag. The bagged cheese is coated in a substance that doesn't melt quite as well as freshly grated cheese.
- Do not let the milk mixture boil. This can cause the milk to separate.
- For best results, don't use cold milk and cream straight out of the refrigerator. Room-temperature milk melds more effectively into the roux. I like to warm the milk and heavy cream in the microwave for about a minute, or you can let it sit out for 30 minutes before using.
- Love mac and cheese bites? You can turn this into a fun fall appetizer by spooning the mac and cheese into greased mini muffin tins and baking in a 375-degree oven until they're hot and bubbly, about 12-15 minutes. Give them a few minutes to set in the muffin tins before serving.
Perfect Pairing
This may seem obvious, but you can't go wrong with a classic pumpkin ale here. The malty backbone is lovely with the Gruyère, and those fall spices are a nice match for the fresh sage.
With our creamy sauce and buttery cracker topping, I love a chardonnay with this dish. Chardonnay pairs well with rich sauces because it has a similar buttery mouthfeel, and it's a classic match to that nutty Gruyère.
Of course, we are talking about the ultimate fall dish, so you might want a seasonal sipper. You'll love my chai old fashioned, apple cider margarita or apple cider old fashioned.
For the perfect fall comfort food, I hope you try this pumpkin mac and cheese. This creamy, dreamy fall pasta dish is sure to be a new favorite.
Cheers!
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📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- Large pot
- Strainer
- 12-inch cast-iron skillet or 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried elbow macaroni
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 garlic cloves minced or grated
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Pinch of ground nutmeg preferably freshly grated
- 1 ½ cups shredded Gruyère divided
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar divided
- 1 cup pumpkin purée not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
- ¼ cup melted butter
- Chopped fresh sage
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the macaroni two minutes less than what the package directions dictate. Drain and reserve.
- Melt the butter in the pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Continue to whisk constantly for two to three minutes. In the last 30 seconds, add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly.
- Slowly pour in the milk and heavy cream, whisking constantly to create a smooth mixture. Stir in the Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in 1 cup Gruyere and 1 cup cheddar until melted, and then stir in the pumpkin purée until it becomes one cohesive mixture. Add the cooked macaroni to the pot and stir to coat. If you prefer a stove-top Mac and cheese, serve immediately. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.
- In a small bowl, stir together the crushed Ritz crackers and melted butter.
- Pour the mac and cheese into a greased 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish or 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Top with the remaining ½ cup Gruyere and ½ cup cheddar and then sprinkle the Ritz cracker mixture on the cheese. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let the macaroni sit for five minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- I recommend freshly grating your own cheese gather than buying grated cheese in a bag. The bagged cheese is coated in a substance that doesn't melt quite as well as freshly grated cheese.
- Do not let the milk mixture boil. This can cause the milk to separate.
- For best results, don't use cold milk and cream straight out of the refrigerator. Room-temperature milk melds more effectively into the roux. I like to warm the milk and heavy cream in the microwave for about a minute, or you can let it sit out for 30 minutes before using.
- Love mac and cheese bites? You can turn this into a fun fall appetizer by spooning the mac and cheese into greased mini muffin tins and baking in a 375-degree oven until they're hot and bubbly, about 12-15 minutes. Give them a few minutes to set in the muffin tins before serving.
- Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Natalie says
I love how this looks and sounds. SO buttery, creamy, and delicious. Such a perfect winter dish. I'm going to add this to my menu. I have to give it a try.
Elaine says
You are absolutely right - this is THE perfect fall recipe and one that I always enjoy every year!
Megan Ellam says
The whole family loved it. It was so easy with the step by step instructions. Thanks for sharing.
silvia says
I'm a pumpkin fan and this mac and cheese was amazing. So decadent, creamy, delicious. Even my kids loved it, now it's part of my menu rotation. Thank you!
Chandice Probst says
I can’t even tell you how much I love this! Such a fun and unique way to incorporate pumpkin during the fall rather than just with sweets.
Alex says
This was so easy and delicious! Definitely going to make it again for Thanksgiving!
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
I have some leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge and this recipe is exactly what I was looking for to use it. It's PERFECTLY delicious and a must-make! It's so scrumptious and exactly what I need tonight!
Amy Liu Dong says
I have never tried this in my pumpkin but this looks really delicious and easy. Yum!
Lauren Michael Harris says
This pumpkin mac is the perfect macaroni and cheese for fall - my kids love it!
Matej @ CookWeWill.Com says
Oh very nice! Another great looking Mac & Cheese recipe to try, thanks for that. I bought several pumpkin types for my kids to carve, but they didn't use all of them so now I know what to do with those 🙂
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
You really can't have enough mac and cheese recipes in your life! Y'all will love this one.
Tawnie Kroll says
Loveddd this mac so much! The Ritz we're the perfect finishing touch, thank you!
Eliza says
What a great recipe! You've combined so many of my favorite autumn flavors in one delicious dish - pumpkin, Gruyere cheese, sage... and those buttery Ritz cracker crumbs! This has to be the ultimate comfort food! Thanks for another winner.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
This totally makes my day, Eliza! So, so happy you loved it!
Heather Perine says
I have some leftover pumpkin puree from baking this weekend, and wasn't sure where to use it...but now I do!! I can't wait to make a savory dish like this one. So excited. Looks delish!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
You will love it, and it's the perfect way to use leftover pumpkin!
Gloria says
I am a pumpkin lover, and have cans of it in the house all year long. This is the perfect fall mac and cheese recipe. I know it will be a hit with the family.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I have no doubt! It's wonderful.