This is, hands down, the best truffle mac and cheese recipe on the planet! This is perfect for holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, but is also a fabulous and gourmet side dish any day of the year.
I have never claimed to be a gourmet chef, or an expert on food. But one thing I do claim? Greg and I have thebest truffle mac and cheese recipe. I don’t mean to brag (okay, maybe I do), but nothing I’ve tried out there comes close. We have made this every year since we got married and it is always a hit with our family and friends.
Greg and I went to Smith and Wollensky (which no longer exists… boo) for Houston Restaurant Week years back and ordered some truffle mac and cheese. We obsessed over how good it was and set out to make our own. So we developed our own recipe. It’s a combination of three different ones we found, taking the best. We have best truffle mac and cheese recipe for sure. I think what sets ours apart from other recipes is using cavatappi noodles, the panko breadcrumbs, and the hand-grated aged white cheddar. Obviously, the truffle oil takes this over the top.
Aww! It’s newlywed Meg & Greg with one of our first trial runs of this recipe! Aren’t we precious? To this day, we haven’t changed a thing with this recipe because it’s that good. We have requests for it for every major holiday. It is truly is perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter dinners. It doesn’t disappoint.
And you know it’s about to get good when you start out with butter, onions, rosemary, thyme, basil, half and half, heavy whipping cream, cheddar, truffle oil and wine. Just sayin’. Now let’s just get to the good stuff – the recipe. Just as an FYI, we have made this recipe with both black and white truffle oil and it comes out tasting the same. Only difference is you need to use more white truffle oil to get it to the desired flavor.
Perfect for holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, but is also a fabulous and gourmet side dish any day of the year.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Ingredients
1 lb cavatappi pasta (If you cannot find it, you can use any small noodle)
1 and 1/4 sticks of butter
3/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup flour
16 oz. block white aged cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 cup milk (any works with this recipe - we've used skim, 2%, and whole)
1/2 cup half & half
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, thyme and rosemary (1/4 cup total, not of each herb)
cracked black pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup (or more) Japanese panko breadcrumbs
Splash white wine (about 1/4 cup)
If you have black truffle oil: 1 Tbsp and 1 tsp black truffle oil (this is to your preference – start with 1 Tbsp and if that’s enough for you, stop there. Black truffle oil is more expensive and also more intense. I always add more to taste if the mood strikes me.)
If you have white truffle oil: 2-3 Tbsp.
Instructions
Boil cavatappi per package instructions, set aside.
Add butter to pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic until they turn slightly brown. Add the flour and whisk together for 3 minutes to make a blonde roux.
Whisk in the milk, half and half, heavy whipping cream, and a splash of white wine and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent the roux from burning. You may have to keep adding in additional milk if you think it’s looking a little too “flour-y”. Just eyeball it.
Cook until the roux has dissolved completely and you can no longer taste the flour.
Add the fresh herbs, the truffle oil, the cheddar, and half of the parmesan until dissolved.
Season with cracked black pepper (to taste). Incorporate the cooked cavatappi into the sauce.
Put ingredients into a baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs and remaining parmesan cheese on top evenly.
Place under a broiler for a few minutes until top becomes golden brown.
I hope y’all give the best truffle mac and cheese recipe a try for your next family get-together! Or just because. Let’s face it, you don’t need a reason to make truffle mac and cheese.
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A creamy Brie or Camembert creates a lush backdrop for black truffle's earthy depth, while a firm, salty Pecorino is the perfect counterpoint to the milder, subtly sweet summer truffle. Additionally, the nutty, buttery flavor of an aged Gouda works well with the robust profile of white truffles.
Sharp cheddar is the overwhelming popular choice, but for extra-creamy results, we think medium cheddar is even better. Other delicious options include Gruyère, smoked Gouda, and Monterey Jack.
Gordon Ramsay's mac and cheese is a simplified recipe. Just boil pasta in milk and then, add butter, cheese, salt, and pepper to it. Merge all the elements and Gordon Ramsay's mac and cheese will be ready in no time.
You can have more creative liberties when using truffle products than fresh truffles. For instance, we do not recommend pairing fresh truffles with spicy or highly acidic foods because it will take away the flavor.
Avoid pairing truffles with ingredients that are too spicy or acidic–like citrus or tomato sauce–as these are likely to overpower the truffle's flavor.
Truffle cheese is any type of cheese that has been flavored with truffles, a culinary fungus that grows underground and is highly prized by chefs and foodies alike. Truffles have an earthy, pungent, nutty flavor that is truly unforgettable. Truffle cheese is flavored with truffle shavings, truffle oil, or both.
Pound for pound, truffle is one of the most expensive foods you can buy. The reason behind such high costs is the scarcity of the produce, truffles are seasonal, extremely difficult to grow, and take many years to cultivate. They also have a short shelf life.
It's important to remember that truffle cheese will always be the star of the show, so any accompaniments should serve to enhance the cheese rather than overshadow it. We would recommend a side of neutral-flavoured crackers or bread so that the aromatic taste of the truffle cheddar is not compromised.
Although the truffles themselves are fungi rather than a plant explicitly, they themselves are considered vegan. However, some methods of finding naturally occurring truffles include the use of pigs or dogs for their sense of smell. In these cases, vegans may object to eating them.
As delicious as feta is in a salad or sprinkled over soup, this dry and crumbly cheese just isn't ideal for mac and cheese. Feta has a high moisture level and doesn't melt properly, so it would clump rather than give you a smooth sauce.
The remaining ingredients are simple: butter and flour (which makes the sauce thicken), milk, spices, salt, and pepper. For the milk, I prefer whole milk since it makes a creamier sauce, but I've used reduced fat milk plenty of times without complaint.
Great mac n' cheese needs one or more cheeses that melt well, and one or more cheeses that bring the flavor. The best melters include monterey jack, fontina, baby swiss, asiago, provolone, mozzarella, and alpine-style. Cheeses for flavor: cheddar, havarti, smoked gouda, gorgonzola, feta and any other of your favorites.
Ramsay's recipe calls for Romano cheese with Pepperberry, Asiago cheese, thick slices of country bread, and kimchi. Some standard butter, olive oil, and salt are also in the mix. I went to my local grocery store, Foodtown, to see if I could find the slightly upscale ingredients. I had to purchase a few alternatives.
Gruyere is a classic addition because it melts much like Cheddar, but has a lovely nutty flavor. Other classics include Gouda, Muenster, Parmesan, fontina, Havarti and Monterey Jack. Brie works well too, just make sure you remove the rind before mixing it in.
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Introduction: My name is Cheryll Lueilwitz, I am a sparkling, clean, super, lucky, joyous, outstanding, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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