White Truffle Oil – A Chefs Secret Ingredient
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. And for the last few years, that secret ingredient has been showing up in many of our favorite restaurants and pubs.
Now that the secret is out of the bag, we practically drool on our menus when we see our favorite dishes made with Truffle oil……sigh. It even gets my taste buds watering!
But what many people don’t know is that you can buy truffle oil and replicate your favorite dishes in your home anytime you like. My friends at Truffle Hunter have the perfect assortment of the most sought-after truffle oils that can make you a superstar in your own kitchen! And the best part is you can get this Truffle Oil gift set on Amazon. I love shopping on Amazon!
If you just want to get the white truffle oil to try out my recipe and experiment with, you can get the White Truffle Oil on Amazon as well.
Now let’s get ready to make some deliciousness by gathering the ingredients (mise en place) for our White Truffle Cheddar Mac and Cheese.
With the holidays approaching I’m sure you’ll be entertaining as much as I will if not more. And trying to come up with dishes I can prepare in advance that will still wow guests isn’t always easy. My white truffle cheddar mac and cheese will not only wow your guests but can be ready to pop in the oven when they arrive, leaving you time to spend with your guests instead of in the kitchen.
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!
You love comfort food you might also like these recipes:
- Chicken Marsala
- White Cheddar Lobster Mac and Cheese
- Deconstructed Chicken Stew
- Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich
White Truffle Oil Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta I used cavatappi
- 4 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup half and half
- 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 ounces Romano cheese grated
- 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.
- In a medium-sized saucepot over medium heat, melt four tablespoons of butter. Add the flour into the butter and whisk together. Continue to cook and whisk for 2-3 minutes while making sure it doesn't burn. This is your roux.
- Gradually pour the milk into the flour mixture while whisking. This needs to be done slowly to keep the sauce from being lumpy.
- Once all milk is added, add the half and half, paprika, salt, pepper. Whisk to combine.
- Add the cream cheese and whisk until its completely blended in, then add in the grated Romano cheese.
- After the other cheese has been blended completely, add in the shredded cheddar ⅓ at a time. Keep whisking until each addition is blended into the sauce.
- Make sure the cheese is fully incorporated before adding more. Continue this until all cheese has been added. Add 1-2 tablespoons of truffle oil 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.
- Add the cooked pasta and stir to fully coat pasta with cheese sauce.
- Pour noodles into the prepared baking dish. Top with panko breadcrumbs. Drizzle remaining truffle oil over the breadcrumbs.
- Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, until breadcrumbs are golden.
- Remove from oven and allow to sit for about five minutes before serving.
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!