When it comes to comfort food, White Cheddar Truffle Mac and Cheese is at the top of my list. A creamy white cheddar sauce with a touch of earthy truffle oil makes my Truffled Mac and Cheese an amazingly delicious dish.
For years chefs kept a closely guarded secret on how they achieved the flavor profiles of certain signature dishes that they served to their guests. One of the secret ingredients that makes a simple dish extraordinary is White Truffle Oil.
But what many people don’t know is that you can buy truffle oil and replicate your favorite restaurant dishes in your own home.
Ingredients to make Truffle Mac and Cheese
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Truffled Mac and Cheese. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Other than the truffle oil, simple pantry ingredients are used to make this dish. I used white truffle oil but you can also use black truffle oil.
- cooked pasta
- white cheddar cheese
- romano or parmesan cheese
- cream cheese
- butter
- milk
- half and half (or light cream)
- bread crumbs
- red peppers
- parsley
- salt
- black pepper
- paprika
- all-purpose flour (or cup for cup gluten-free flour)
Make sure to look for real truffle oil, not a synthetic blend. There is a huge difference in taste.
How to make White Cheddar Truffle Mac and Cheese
Before you get started with the cheese sauce, cook the pasta.
Bring a large pot of water over high heat to a boil. Add the pasta and cook per directions on the container for al dente pasta. Set aside until needed.
*There is no need to add olive oil to the pasta.
- add four tablespoons of unsalted butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat to melt the butter.
- when the butter is melted, add the flour to the pan and whisk together. Allow the mixture to cook over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes whisking during the process. This is your roux, don’t let it burn.
- Heat the milk until almost boiling, then gradually pour the milk into the roux while whisking. This needs to be done slowly to keep the sauce from being lumpy.
- when the milk has been incorporated into the roux, add the half and half, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Whisk to combine.
- Add the cream cheese to the cheese sauce
- Whisk until it’s completely blended
*heavy cream or light cream can be used instead of half and half.
- add in the grated Romano and white cheddar cheeses.
- Whisk until the cheese has been fully incorporated into the cheese sauce.
- add 1-2 tablespoons of truffle oil to the cheese sauce. Use more or less depending on how prominent you want the truffle oil flavor to be.
- Whisk until fully incorporated.
- Add the red pepper and half of the parsley.
- Whisk the ingredients in to complete the cheese sauce.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Add the cheese sauce to the cooked pasta and mix together. Old habits die hard, and I always use a wooden spoon to mix ingredients like these.
- pour the mac and cheese into a prepared baking dish.
- top the truffle mac and cheese with panko breadcrumbs.
- drizzle the remaining truffle oil over the breadcrumbs.
- place the baking dish on the center rack of the 375-degree preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
Remove the truffled mac and cheese from oven and allow to sit for about five minutes before serving.
Trust me when I say they’ll know something delicious is going on just from the delightful aroma coming from your kitchen… OMG I love truffle oil…..sigh.
But the proof is in the taste and one fork full of this delicious mac and cheese will have them asking for the recipe! This dish would be perfect for dinner parties or to turn a weeknight dinner into a special occasion.
Recipe FAQ’s
Look at the product’s ingredient list for a mention of real truffles, and watch out for any chemical ingredients. Avoid products that have labels such as “natural truffle aroma” or “truffle flavor.” The highest quality truffle oils have some truffle pieces at the bottom of the bottle and have a distinct truffle flavor.
Sadly the majority of truffle oil isn’t actually made with truffles. The main ingredient is often a chemical designed in a laboratory to mimic the aroma of truffles (synthetic 2,4-dithiapentane). The result is an overly pungent oil that falls flat on any dish.
I love the flavor of white cheddar with the truffle oil. But you can add your favorite cheeses to the sauce. Swiss or Gruyere are nice additions, and you can add goat cheese for a bit of a tang to the flavor.
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White Cheddar Truffle Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta I used cavatappi
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup half and half or light cream
- 12 ounces white cheddar cheese – extra sharp shredded
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 ounces Romano cheese grated or grated parmesan cheese
- 2-3 tbsp white truffle oil
- ½ tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp red bell pepper finely diced
- 2 tbsp Italian parsley chopped
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 9×12 baking dish, set aside.
- Cook pasta to al dente, according to package instructions. Set aside until needed.
- Add four tablespoons of unsalted butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat to melt the butter.
- When the butter is melted, add the flour to the pan and whisk together. Allow the mixture to cook over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes whisking during the process. This is your roux, don’t let it burn.
- Heat the milk until almost boiling, then gradually pour the milk into the roux while whisking. This needs to be done slowly to keep the sauce from being lumpy.
- When the milk has been incorporated into the roux, add the half and half, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Whisk to combine.
- Add the cream cheese to the cheese sauce. Whisk until it’s completely blended
- Add in the grated Romano and ⅓ of the shredded white cheddar cheese to the sauce.Whisk until the cheese has been fully incorporated into the cheese sauce
- Add the remaining cheddar ⅓ at a time and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of truffle oil to the cheese sauce. Use more or less depending on how prominent you want the truffle oil flavor.Whisk until fully incorporated.
- Add the red pepper and half of the parsley to the sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir to fully coat pasta with cheese sauce.
- Pour noodles into the prepared baking dish. Top with panko breadcrumbs.
- Drizzle the remaining truffle oil over the breadcrumbs.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and allow to sit for about five minutes before serving.Top with the rest of the chopped parsley.
Sass
This tasted good but it would have been amazing with about a quarter to half of the red bell pepper. That flavor was so strong it far surpassed any other flavor in the dish, which was a shame. It was good otherwise. Great instructions for the roux, and slowly incorporating the cheese for a nice smooth sauce. But this was a red bell pepper mac, way more than a truffle mac, and I used 2 full TBS of oil in the sauce, drizzled another TBS on top and even added a bit of truffle salt to the breadcrumbs. I’ll try it again sometime with way less died peppers.
Chris
Can this be made the night before and baked the next day? And is the 12 ounces of cheddar before it is shredded or after shredding? I cant wait to try this! Thanks!
Chef Dennis Littley
you can make the sauce and cook the pasta the night before, but don’t mix them together until you’re ready to bake. You may need to thin out the cheese sauce a little if it sits overnight. If you make it ahead of time, the mac will absorb the sauce, making the pasta too soft and leaving the end product dry. As for 14 ounces I started with a block of cheddar, but either type will still be the same weight. Let me know how it turns out
Ashley C
Can you add broccoli? Would you add extra cheese and spices if so?
Chef Dennis Littley
sure, but the strong flavor from the broccoli is going fight with the truffle flavor. I would just serve the broccoli as a side dish
Anna
Are the red peppers purpose is to add spicyness? I’m confused on which peppers to add. I’m thinking red bell peppers or the small spicy peppers.
Thanks,
Anna
Chef Dennis Littley
they’re just red bell peppers. They’re more for color and a little added flavor
Anna
Thank you for the clarification!
Connie
Thanku for posting this.. I love the brand “evol” frozen Mac and cheese with truffle oil so delicious.., but spendy for a serving.. so now I will try and make my own using ur recipe and make a whole casserole size to freeze or share with my family ❤️.. looks awesome!
Chef Dennis Littley
It really is a delicious mac and cheese. I hope you enjoy it Connie!
Bonnie Sue Cole
Hi I know how everyone is getting confused about the half and half. Your recipe calls for half and half but in the instructions is says to pour the heavy cream in. Maybe you can change those two to match, some people might not know those two items are interchangeable. Thanks Bonnie Sue
Chef Dennis Littley
thanks for letting me know!
Jen
Never says when to add the half and half
Chef Dennis Littley
sorry about that. Add it after the milk has been incorporated, with the seasonings.
Wendy
step 6 was a bit confusing tho I made it past that but I ended up with a cup of half n half??? When I as that supposed to be added?
Chef Dennis Littley
Hi Wendy
I am sorry for the confusion, somehow the instruction you’re talking about was out of order and should have come a little later. The instructions are correct now.
Brian Lieske
Looks like a really great recipe. I am going to try this one tonight. Truffle oil goes so well with pasta and cheese.
Linda
I will try it soon.Thanks for sharing.
Chef Dennis Littley
my pleasure Linda!
Candace @ Cabot
This is the ultimate Mac & Cheese! I’m going to make mine with Cabot Clothbound. I might even throw in a little lobster at the very end. I live in Maine…it’s the right thing to do.
Chef Dennis Littley
Now your just teasing me (almost wrote cheesing me) Candace with the Clothbound Cheddar….sigh
I actually did use Cabot Extra Sharp White Cheddar in this dish and the added lobster is a great idea!
Thanks for stopping by and you know I love my Cabot Cheese!
Jane
Hi Dennis! I’m very eager to make this recipe from Canada, I luckily have the same truffle oil but I am curious about the Cabot cheese. I can’t find any info on the white cheddar’s age and am hoping to find something similar (All cheese is beautiful, but don’t want to use something to dissimilar and tamper with the flavour of the dish) thank you!
Chef Dennis Littley
in the US Cabot is my favorite cheese but you’ve got some great cheddars in Canada. Use your favorite cheddar white or yellow and I’m sure it will be delicious!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
I LOVE truffle oil so much! and this mac and cheese looks fabulous, I would definitely devour it
Chef Dennis Littley
I really was delicious, its the first time I’ve used Truffle oil in mac and cheese and it really took it to the next level! Thanks so much for stopping by Kayle!