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Creamy Pumpkin Mac and Cheese (The Spooky 35-Minute Halloween Dinner)

Prep: 10 min · Cook: 25 min · Total: 35 min · Serves: 6 (1 1/2 cups each)

This creamy pumpkin mac and cheese is the Halloween dinner that disappears before the trick-or-treaters ring the bell. Elbow macaroni gets folded into a silky pumpkin-cheddar sauce — rich, orange, and dangerously smooth — then baked under a golden crispy topping. It’s cozy, it’s fast (35 minutes flat), and that jack-o’-lantern color makes it the perfect Halloween-week main dish. Kids inhale it; adults go back for thirds. Serve it alongside Mummy Hot Dogs and Bat Wing Chicken Wings for a full haunted spread, then finish with Monster Halloween Cookies, Halloween Candy Bark, or Jack-o’-Lantern Stuffed Peppers for dessert.

What You Need

• Elbow macaroni, 12 oz (340 g)
• Pumpkin puree, 1 1/2 cups (340 g) — not pumpkin pie filling
• Unsalted butter, 3 tbsp (42 g)
• Garlic, 3 cloves, minced
• All-purpose flour, 3 tbsp (24 g)
• Whole milk, 2 1/2 cups (590 ml)
• Heavy cream, 1/2 cup (120 ml)
• Sharp cheddar cheese, 2 cups shredded (200 g)
• Low-moisture mozzarella, 1 cup shredded (100 g)
• Cream cheese, 4 oz (113 g), softened
• Dijon mustard, 1 tsp
• Smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp
• Ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp
• Fine sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• Panko breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup (30 g), + olive oil 1 tbsp (for the golden topping)

How To Make It

1. Boil the pasta: Cook the elbow macaroni in well-salted boiling water until just al dente — 1 minute shy of the package time. Drain and set aside.
2. Make the roux: In a large oven-safe pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute until nutty-smelling.
3. Build the sauce: Slowly whisk in the milk and heavy cream until smooth. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and simmer 3–4 minutes, stirring, until it thickens enough to coat a spoon.
4. Melt the cheese: Remove from heat. Stir in the cream cheese until melted, then the cheddar and mozzarella a handful at a time. Stir in the Dijon, smoked paprika, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
5. Combine and top: Fold the macaroni into the sauce. Toss the panko with the olive oil and a pinch of salt; scatter over the top.
6. Bake and serve: Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 10–12 minutes until golden and bubbling. Rest 5 minutes and serve.

Tips & Variations

• Pumpkin puree, not pie filling: canned pumpkin pie filling has sugar and spices already — it will ruin the sauce. Use plain 100% pumpkin puree.
• Shred your own cheese: pre-shredded bags have anti-caking starch that makes sauces grainy. A block of cheddar shredded by hand melts silky.
• Spooky plating: serve in carved mini pumpkins (hollowed, oiled inside, filled right before serving) for the ultimate Halloween dinner photo.
• Protein boost: fold in shredded rotisserie chicken or crispy bacon for a heartier main.
• Make-ahead: assemble through step 5, cover, and refrigerate up to 24 hours; bake 5 minutes longer from cold.
• Reheat: splash in a little milk and warm gently — the sauce comes right back.
• Estimated nutrition per serving: ~640 cal | protein 24 g | carbs 62 g | fat 32 g.

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