Why do I do this?
Just as I’m getting used to eating vegetables plain — which, let’s be honest, is often how they should be — I go and smother them in CHEESE SAUCE.
But at least this is grown-up cheese sauce. Not vodka cheese sauce (although that does sound tempting). This is a butternut cheese sauce: a cheese sauce made in part from another vegetable, so technically I’m eating vegetables on vegetables.
Brilliant, right?
Potatoes were my absolute favorite food growing up. Ask me then and I would have said scalloped, baked, or mashed potatoes — even my mom’s cheesy potato chip–topped casserole. POTATOES made me happy.
Fast food was rare in my house, so the idea of a Happy Meal was exotic to me and my brothers. We got fast food maybe a handful of times a year — a treat that felt like pure torture when you craved it. For a while I was obsessed with Wendy’s baked potatoes. After dance class I’d beg my mom for a broccoli-cheese potato, then remove all the broccoli because, well, broccoli. I just wanted the cheesy potato. I was ruthless.
I eventually realized the problem: the broccoli should have been roasted. Roasting changes everything — it would have made me eat it back then, and it definitely makes these roasted veggies sing now.
Now, about the sauce: it’s cheesy and melty, built on a base of butternut squash plus actual cheese. I’ve used this technique before in my butternut mac and cheese recipes. Many butternut cheese sauces online are vegan, using nutritional yeast — which I love — but for this recipe I wanted freshly grated sharp cheddar folded into pureed squash. The cornstarch helps keep the cheese from getting grainy and ensures a smooth, rich sauce.
I hadn’t cooked much squash lately — I tend to obsess over ingredients for a bit, then forget about them — but the stores are still full of squash, so now’s the time to use it.
When Eddie is away, I often lean into meatless dinners. A few years ago those meals were mostly wine and cheese, but these days I cook for more people and want something satisfying and comforting without being heavy. These stuffed potatoes delivered: roasted potatoes filled with roasted cauliflower and broccoli, finished with a creamy butternut-cheddar sauce and a sprinkle of scallions. It felt like elevated comfort food — far better than the drive-thru baked potato that my twelve-year-old self lusted after.
Roasted Cauliflower Broccoli Stuffed Potatoes with Cheesy Butternut Sauce
Yield:
6
potatoes, is easily multiplied
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Ingredients
- 6 yukon gold or butter potatoes
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
cheesy butternut sauce
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425°F. Poke holes in the potatoes with a fork, brush with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet.
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On another baking sheet, toss cauliflower and broccoli with the remaining olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
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Roast potatoes and vegetables for about 20–25 minutes. Check the vegetables and continue roasting the potatoes for another 15–20 minutes until fork tender.
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Remove the potatoes and cut down the center. Spoon some cheese sauce into each potato, top with roasted cauliflower and broccoli, add more sauce, and sprinkle with scallions and freshly cracked pepper or red pepper flakes. Serve immediately.
cheesy butternut sauce
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Heat a large skillet over medium and add the squash cubes with 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until fork tender. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a blender with the garlic; blend until very smooth.
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Warm the milk in a saucepan until bubbles form around the edges, then whisk in the pureed squash. Toss the grated cheese with cornstarch to coat. Reduce heat to low and add cheese in small handfuls, stirring until completely melted before adding more. If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few teaspoons of milk.
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Bacon next time. For sure.