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    Home » Recipes » Recipes

    February 12, 2020 53 Comments

    Vegan Truffle Mac and Cheese

    5.4K shares
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    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.

    Vegan Truffle Mac and Cheese! 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. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes

    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.

    Vegan Truffle Mac and Cheese! 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. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes

    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:

    Make the 10 ingredient sauce for a creamy dairy-free sauce.

    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.

    Once cooked the sauce thickens gorgeously.

    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.

    Then just toss the hot pasta into the sauce and be amazed at how creamy this vegan mac and cheese is.

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

    Vegan Truffle Mac and Cheese! 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. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes

    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

    Print Recipe
    4.98 from 34 votes

    Vegan Truffle Mac & Cheese

    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.
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time15 mins
    Total Time20 mins
    Course : Main CoursePasta
    Cuisine : Italian
    Servings: 4
    Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

    Ingredients

    • 2 cups water
    • ½ cup raw cashews
    • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
    • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
    • 1 tablespoon white miso paste
    • 1 tablespoon truffle olive oil
    • ¾ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
    • 3 cups short pasta such as shells or macaroni (gluten-free if preferred)
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    Instructions

    • 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.
    • 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. Serve hot.

    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
    Did You Make This Recipe?Tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram and Hashtag #itdoesnttastelikechicken
    « Vegan Red Velvet Cake
    Easy Vegan Carrot Muffins »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Candi Mastroianni says

      January 17, 2021 at 8:05 pm

      5 stars
      Love, love, love this recipe, & we make it often. I add in sautéed mushrooms and use Sabatino Tartuffi’s truffle zest, in both the sauce and a sprinkle on top of the pasta. Fresh chopped Italian parsley is a great garnish too. I passed this recipe on to my son, a vegan, and it has also become a staple in his recipe repertoire. Thank you so much for this great meal idea!

      Reply
    2. Jim says

      January 15, 2021 at 9:12 pm

      5 stars
      Great recipe. Plus it's versatile. It's easy to changes things around a bit to your taste!

      Reply
    3. Diana says

      January 15, 2021 at 4:07 pm

      Can you use premade cashew milk instead of water and cashews?

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        January 22, 2021 at 11:54 am

        Cashew milk will not be thick or creamy enough for this. You will want to use raw cashews 🙂

        Reply
      • Stephanie says

        February 13, 2021 at 9:21 pm

        5 stars
        Honestly amazing and sooo easy to make! The truffle oil is heavenly! Definitely adding this to our dinner rotation.

        Reply
    4. Holly says

      December 06, 2020 at 4:02 pm

      5 stars
      Made this for dinner for myself, my husband & 13 month old son. We absolutely loved it!! I couldn’t find white miso paste at the store so I ended up using soy sauce instead and it worked wonderfully! This will be a new staple in our house.

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        December 17, 2020 at 9:10 am

        Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it, Holly 🙂

        Reply
    5. Kori says

      December 02, 2020 at 11:24 am

      I don't have miso! Is there a good sub that I could use?! Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        December 04, 2020 at 11:11 am

        Miso gives an aged umami taste, so I recommend picking some up. My regular grocery store carries it, but you can also get it on amazon or in a health food store.

        Reply
    6. Ashley says

      November 19, 2020 at 9:16 pm

      If you don't have truffle oil can you use normal olive oil and would that make it a basic mac and cheese?

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        November 26, 2020 at 12:28 pm

        Yep it would make a white mac and cheese. Or you can just omit the oil. It's just for flavour. 🙂

        Reply
    7. Robin says

      October 14, 2020 at 6:28 pm

      This is by far the best cheese sauce we have found. My husband and I are addicted to it. I do add some turmeric and smoked paprika. Lately I've been putting in a jalapeno. So yum! We haven't even tried it with pasta yet, but have been putting the sauce on just about everything. Thank you so much for the recipe. Thank you too for the seitan chicken recipe. It's also the best we've tried.

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        October 16, 2020 at 9:54 am

        Wonderful! So thrilled you're enjoying my recipes, Robin 🙂

        Reply
    8. Ann says

      October 03, 2020 at 4:45 am

      5 stars
      Hi Sam my truffle oil just arrived & I canny wait to make this. Does your nutrition count Include the pasta? Thanks, you legend you

      Reply
    9. Ann says

      October 03, 2020 at 4:40 am

      Hi Sam, just had my truffle oil arrive so this recipe is on my hut list & I canny wait! Does your nutrition count include the pasta or just the sauce? Thanks you legend you

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        October 09, 2020 at 11:44 am

        The nutrition is for 1 serving of the completed dish (sauce and pasta). Enjoy!

        Reply
        • Ann says

          October 10, 2020 at 7:46 am

          5 stars
          OMFG. That is all.

    10. Saifdameh says

      July 13, 2020 at 11:18 pm

      Hello, thank you for your recipe,
      Can i replace the yeast flakes with something else ?

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        July 17, 2020 at 11:57 am

        Nutritional yeast provides a cheesy flavour so if you omit it I would up other spices. Nothing will taste quite the same tho.

        Reply
    11. Samina Z Kassam says

      May 22, 2020 at 2:31 pm

      Hi Sam!

      I just want to say thank you so much for this awesome recipe. I absolutely love mac and cheese. I used to eat it all the time before I became vegan. I had to have tried at least 4 different vegan mac and cheese recipes and all of them were so disappointing. However, I loved this recipe! The truffle oil and miso paste complemented each other so well and even my sister (non-vegan) loved the sauce. This is the first recipe of yours I've tried and I will definitely be trying more!!!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        May 28, 2020 at 5:08 pm

        Aww that's wonderful, so happy you enjoyed, Samina! If you want to try another mac and cheese, I recommend my vegan mac and cheese powder 🙂

        Reply
    12. Poonam says

      May 12, 2020 at 10:43 am

      Could I use coconut milk here instead of cashew nuts or use a combination?

      Reply
    13. Linda Sotipalalit says

      April 20, 2020 at 3:41 pm

      Would raw almonds work with this recipe?

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        May 06, 2020 at 6:40 pm

        Yes, blanched raw almonds 🙂

        Reply
    14. Starry says

      March 06, 2020 at 7:23 pm

      Could this be made ahead and frozen?

      Reply
    15. Magnolia Thunderthighs says

      March 01, 2020 at 8:51 pm

      5 stars
      My blender is pathetic, so I boiled the cashews first, as recommended. I added all the other ingredients, and put that puppy on liquify while I prepared the pasta. When I stopped the blender I took a quick taste and oh. my. gawd, that sauce was nummy num. I was so excited to make dinner. When I pulled the pitcher from the machine... the glass came up but the base stayed put. Vegan cheese sauce everywhere. Sigh. This has nothing to do with the recipe, I just needed someone to feel my pain. But I'm totally putting this recipe on rotation because the two spoonfuls I had was rather impressive.

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        March 09, 2020 at 9:25 am

        Haha, oh no!! So happy you liked the sauce, sorry about your blender problems!!

        Reply
    16. Theresa says

      February 16, 2020 at 5:30 pm

      The pasta measure......is that 3 cups of dry pasta or cooked pasta?

      Reply
      • Len says

        February 17, 2020 at 7:21 pm

        4 stars
        The mac and cheese was good, will worth making

        Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        February 22, 2020 at 11:52 am

        Dry 🙂

        Reply
      • Marie says

        May 04, 2020 at 12:02 am

        dry pasta - most recipe measurements are always uncooked

        Reply
      • Aw says

        February 26, 2021 at 8:51 pm

        5 stars
        I used a full 16oz box of elbow noodles and it was perfect!

        Reply
    17. Lisa says

      February 14, 2020 at 8:36 pm

      5 stars
      So good! Just made for Valentines Day and my husband loved it, so did I!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        February 22, 2020 at 11:42 am

        Wonderful!!!

        Reply
    18. Jen says

      February 14, 2020 at 8:16 pm

      So yummy- was a perfect Valentine’s dinner with a side of sautéed garlic, mushrooms, and peppers.

      I used half broth to replace water, added a couple slices of sun dried tomato and a pinch of turmeric for colour- also let the vitamix do the full heat up instead of in the pan.

      Can’t wait to make it again!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        February 22, 2020 at 11:42 am

        Awesome! SO happy you loved it, Jen 🙂

        Reply
    19. DiegoGal says

      February 14, 2020 at 1:04 am

      5 stars
      Made it! Simple to prepare and super yummy!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        February 22, 2020 at 11:34 am

        So happy you loved it!!

        Reply
    20. Julie says

      February 12, 2020 at 6:23 pm

      5 stars
      Made this tonight for tea and loved it. I added some broccoli to mine.

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        February 22, 2020 at 11:30 am

        Wonderful!

        Reply
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