Vegan Truffle Mac and Cheese

Want a dinner that feels fancy and like comfort food all at the same time? Hello, vegan truffle mac and cheese!! Adding truffle oil to this creamy pasta adds an air of elegance but this recipe secretly super easy to prepare. It takes just 10 ingredients and only 20 minutes to make! The perfect dish for a special occasion without the stress of complicated cooking.

Valentine’s day, anniversaries, celebrations, and date night are all fantastic times to serve vegan truffle mac and cheese. But once you taste it, it’s so delicious that you’re going to want to make it every night.

The simple dairy-free sauce is made using cashews for creaminess, white miso paste for an aged umami taste, and truffle-infused olive oil for the perfect creamy, luscious mac and cheese.

This sauce is so good, it would also be wonderful drizzled over cooked veggies such as cauliflower, broccoli, or baked potatoes.

If you’re not into the truffle flavour you can omit the oil and make a simple creamy pasta. Or for the classic boxed mac & cheese taste, try making my homemade vegan mac & cheese powder.

To make Vegan Truffle Mac & Cheese:

If you have a high powdered blender such as a Vitamix, Blendtec, or Breville you can skip to the next step. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, you might want to boil the cashews first to ensure they are tender enough to blend into a smooth sauce. To do this add the cashews to a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. You can now proceed to make the cheese sauce.

Make the cheese sauce by adding 2 cups of water along with the cashews, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, miso paste, truffle oil, salt, garlic powder, and pepper to your blender until it is completely smooth. At this stage, the sauce will be quite watery. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then cook the pasta according to package directions.
Drain the pasta and quickly rinse the pot to remove any leftover starch from the pasta water. Return the empty pot to the heat and pour in the cheese sauce. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan with a spatula until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

Add the cooked hot pasta to the sauce and toss to coat for the most delicious vegan truffle mac and cheese ever! Serve hot.

I love to add a crack of fresh pepper to mine, but you could also garnish with some freshly chopped parsley, an extra drizzle of truffle oil, or just enjoy as is.

Bon appetegan!

Sam Turnbull

4.38 from 16 votes

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Vegan Truffle Mac & Cheese

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

10 ingredients, 20 minutes to make. This dairy-free pasta tastes super fancy but is actually super easy to make. Perfect for Valentine's day, anniversaries, celebrations, and date night.

Course: Main Course, Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 4

Calories: 455 kcal

Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon white miso paste
• 1 tablespoon truffle olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups short pasta such as shells or macaroni (gluten-free if preferred)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. If you have a high powdered blender such as a Vitamix, Blendtec, or Breville you can skip to step 2. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, you might want to boil the cashews first to ensure they are tender enough to blend into a smooth sauce. To do this add the cashews to a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. You can now proceed to make the cheese sauce.

2. Make the cheese sauce by adding 2 cups of water along with the cashews, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, miso paste, truffle oil, salt, garlic powder, and pepper to your blender until it is completely smooth. At this stage, the sauce will be quite watery. Set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then cook the pasta according to package directions.

4. Drain the pasta and quickly rinse the pot to remove any leftover starch from the pasta water. Return the empty pot to the heat and pour in the cheese sauce. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan with a spatula until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked hot pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

Cashews - you can sub cashews for blanched almonds or macadamia nuts. Sunflower seeds might also work, although it might add a green tinge to the pasta.

Cornstarch - you can sub equal amounts tapioca starch, or arrowroot starch.

Truffle oil- truffle oil may vary in strength so you are welcome to start with less and add more to taste once the sauce is cooked and thickened. If you want to skip the truffle oil you can enjoy a simple creamy pasta.

Miso paste - adds and aged fermented flavour which really makes this taste cheesy. I recommend you pick some up. It stores well for up to a year.

Nutritional yeast - adds a nutty cheesy flaovur, and is essential for this recipe. I also recommend picking some up, it stores well for up to 2 years.

Make ahead - the cheese sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for 2 - 3 days. Simply reheat and toss with hot pasta when ready to serve. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (recipe makes 4 servings) | Calories: 455kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 608mg | Potassium: 346mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 2mg

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