Deprecated: trim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/davecampbell/foodwatcher.com/wp-content/plugins/feedwordpress/feedwordpress.php on line 2022

Truffle Mac and Cheese

This truffle mac and cheese pairs a rich white cheddar with just the right hint of truffle oil. It’s an…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This truffle mac and cheese pairs a rich white cheddar with just the right hint of truffle oil. It’s an indulgent dish that makes a splash!

Truffle mac and cheese

Here’s a decadent dish that will win hearts and minds: Truffle Mac and Cheese! This cozy pan mixes a rich, creamy white cheddar sauce with just the right hint of earthy truffle oil. The truffle adds an irresistible nuance (not overpowering as some truffle dishes can be!). This recipe is ideal for a dinner party where you’re looking to impress. For us black truffle lovers, we couldn’t get enough of it!

Ingredients in truffle mac and cheese

This truffle mac and cheese has massive flavor with a relatively short ingredient list! The heavy hitters are the sharp cheddar cheese, which brings in salty, robust flavor, and the truffle oil that adds an earthy flair. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Pasta: Any short shape works! You can branch out of the typical macaroni: we like shells, fusilli, penne, etc
  • Butter
  • Flour
  • Milk
  • Onion powder and garlic powder
  • White cheddar cheese
  • Natural truffle oil
  • Panko or bread crumbs (optional)
Truffle oil

Important: find natural truffle oil

Many chefs have turned up their noses at truffle oil in recent years, because many available to consumers are synthetic. They mimic flavors found in real truffles and are often extremely strong. But good news: there are finally some all natural truffle oils on the market!

  • Many truffle oils in grocery stores are synthetic. Look on the back of the bottle at the ingredient list. If real black truffles are not listed, it is not natural truffle oil.
  • Natural truffle oil is made with pieces of actual truffles and is not synthetic. The flavor is much gentler and tastes “real.”
  • What if all you can find is synthetic truffle oil? We don’t recommend using it. But if you must, use half (or less!) than the amount of natural oil specified in this recipe.

Another way to add truffle flavor

Another way to add truffle flavor to this truffle mac and cheese? Canned truffles and mushrooms. Alex and I found a product in our grocery store made by the brand Urbani: it’s a small can of mushrooms that are flavored with real truffles. The flavor is intense and irresistible.

We use this when we want to add big flavor and have pieces of actual mushrooms! It’s great in this mac and cheese or on a pizza. Try these Canned Truffles & Mushrooms.

Truffle Mac and Cheese

Tips for making a roux

The technique you need for homemade truffle mac and cheese is making a roux. A “roux” (pronounced “Roo“) is flour and butter cooked together and used to thicken sauces. It’s usually made from equal parts of flour and butter. This is what makes the gooey sauce: cheese by its would be too sticky. Here are a few tips for making a roux:

  • Measure out your ingredients in advance (mise en place). The cooking process goes fast, so you don’t want to be distracted by measuring. The French call it mise en place, which means “everything in its place.”
  • Don’t leave the stove, and watch closely. The flour and butter can burn easily! Stand by the stove and start adding milk right when the flour turns golden brown.
  • Add the milk gradually. Pour in the milk and constantly whisk, adding it little by little, until it forms a smooth sauce. Add the spices and cook about 4 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Add the cheese and you’re go to go!

Tip: how to reheat truffle mac and cheese!

Lastly: let’s talk about storing this truffle mac and cheese recipe! You can refrigerate leftovers, but know this: the truffle flavor does fade over time. If you’re planning to reheat it, here’s what to do:

  • Place it in a skillet and add a splash of milk. Use a ratio of about 1 cup noodles to 1 tablespoon milk.
  • Heat over medium heat and stir until the sauce becomes creamy again!
  • Add a few drops of truffle oil and a pinch of salt to revive the flavors. Taste and adjust flavors as desired.
Truffle Mac and Cheese

More mac and cheese recipes

Love a great mac and cheese? Us too. Here are our top mac and cheese recipes to try at home:

This truffle mac and cheese recipe is…

Vegetarian. For gluten-free, use gluten-free noodles.

Print
Truffle mac and cheese

Truffle Mac and Cheese


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 8
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 1 pound short pasta (shells, macaroni, fusilli, or penne)
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 ¾ cups milk
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 12 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2 teaspoons natural truffle oil (avoid synthetic truffle oil or use 1 teaspoon)
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup panko or Italian breadcrumbs, optional

Instructions

  1. Boil the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until just al dente (cook until just tender but still a bit firm). Drain the pasta and add to the cheese sauce once it is ready (if the pasta finishes first, toss it with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking).
  2. Make the cheese sauce: In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the butter over medium heat; when it melts, stir in the flour. Heat the mixture for several minutes, stirring constantly. Immediately when the color starts to turn light brown, reduce the heat to low. Start to add the milk very slowly, whisking constantly until the mixture is completely smooth, then adding more milk. Add the onion powder and garlic powder and continue cooking on medium low heat for 4 minutes until slightly thickened. Turn the heat to low then add the grated cheddar cheese (in a few handfuls at a time) and keep stirring until it is melted and a smooth, thick sauce forms. Stir in the truffle oil and remove from the heat.
  3. Finish the dish: Add the cooked and drained pasta to cheese sauce. Season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and stir to combine.
  4. Broil: If desired, top with panko or Italian breadcrumbs and broil broil it for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly browned, turning the pan to even out the browning as necessary. Serve immediately. (Leftovers save refrigerated, but the truffle flavor does diminish over time. To reheat, heat on the stovetop with a splash of milk, and add a drop of truffle oil and/or salt to revive the flavors.)
  • Category: Main dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: Truffle mac and cheese

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Truffle Pizza

Are you a truffle lover? This truffle pizza features savory mushrooms and gooey cheese, finished off with a truffle oil that infuses the entire pie. If I see truffle anything on a menu, I immediately order it. It’s become a bit of a joke between Alex and me, because I’m so predictable. Of course Sonja’s ordering the truffle fries. Or the truffle pizza. Or the truffle risotto. Hey, no shame over here! Truffle is my favorite flavor in the world. I can’t help it! It’s earthy, it’s intoxicating, and it makes anything taste nuanced and intriguing. Also it reminds me of our travels to Italy, so of course that gives me all the feels. This truffle pizza is all about channeling that love: savory mushrooms, gooey cheese, and finished off with a truffle oil that infuses the entire pie. First, let’s talk truffles! So, what are truffles and why are they so great? And no, they’re not little balls of chocolate (that’s a whole different type of truffle). Truffles are mushrooms — technically speaking, fungi! They grow underground on the roots of trees. Truffles have been called the “diamond of the kitchen” and are highly prized in many cuisines. Truffles […]

A Couple Cooks – Healthy, Whole Food, Vegetarian Recipes

Are you a truffle lover? This truffle pizza features savory mushrooms and gooey cheese, finished off with a truffle oil that infuses the entire pie.

Truffle pizza

If I see truffle anything on a menu, I immediately order it. It’s become a bit of a joke between Alex and me, because I’m so predictable. Of course Sonja’s ordering the truffle fries. Or the truffle pizza. Or the truffle risotto. Hey, no shame over here! Truffle is my favorite flavor in the world. I can’t help it! It’s earthy, it’s intoxicating, and it makes anything taste nuanced and intriguing. Also it reminds me of our travels to Italy, so of course that gives me all the feels. This truffle pizza is all about channeling that love: savory mushrooms, gooey cheese, and finished off with a truffle oil that infuses the entire pie.

Truffle pizza

First, let’s talk truffles!

So, what are truffles and why are they so great? And no, they’re not little balls of chocolate (that’s a whole different type of truffle). Truffles are mushrooms — technically speaking, fungi! They grow underground on the roots of trees. Truffles have been called the “diamond of the kitchen” and are highly prized in many cuisines.

Truffles are also very expensive and hard to find, because they’re hard to farm and difficult to harvest. Hunters actually take specially trained dogs and pigs out to hunt for truffles: they find their scent underground. (Pretty cool, really!) Because truffles are so hard to find, truffle oil is a great way to enjoy the flavor of truffles. It packages the flavor of truffles right into an oil!

Truffle oil

What type of truffle oil to buy?

Unfortunately, many truffle oils on the market are synthetic, using lab-made compounds that mimic flavors found in real truffles. This is why you’ll hear chefs sometimes turn their noses up at truffle oil. However, there are now some versions of all natural truffle oil on the market. This type of truffle oil is made with pieces of actual truffles and is not synthetic. We’d recommend using all natural truffle oil for this pizza.

What’s the best truffle oil to buy for this truffle pizza? Our favorite brand to use is Urbani’s white truffle oil (we’re not affiliated). It’s made in Italy, all natural and with real truffle pieces inside: not synthetic at all! We’ve been cooking with it and it has a fantastic, subtle truffle aroma.

For More: Truffle Oil: Where to Buy and How to Use It

Truffle pizza

How to make truffle pizza

Once you know all about truffle oil (see above if you scrolled past!), you can get on with the pizza business of this truffle pizza. This pizza is a white pizza, meaning that you don’t have to bother with pizza sauce. Though our easy pizza sauce is pretty darn amazing if you need one! You’ll simply brush the dough with olive oil, then place the cheese on top.

On this truffle pizza, we wanted to go heavy on the mushrooms to complement the truffle flavor. You’ll slice up baby bella mushrooms and saute them with a bit of garlic and fresh chives as the topping for the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

The most difficult part about making a truffle pizza is making and shaping homemade pizza dough! To make it easier, feel free to use store-bought dough. But if you’d like to make your own…we have the best recipe on the internet.

Truffle pizza

Pizza dough recipes

For making the pizza dough for this truffle pizza, we have two pizza dough recipes we recommend:

  • Best Pizza Dough This is our standard pizza dough that we’ve used for years! We make it using stand mixer, but you can also knead it by hand.
  • Easy Thin Crust is similar but makes a thinner dough that you roll out — it would also work well here!

Now if you’re making homemade pizza dough, you’ll need the following tools…

Pizza making tools

It’s helpful to have a few pizza making tools handy when you’re making homemade pizza! These two tools have been indispensable in our homemade pizza making game:

  • Pizza stone: A pizza stone is what makes Italian pizza crust crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Here’s the best pizza stone we’ve found. And if you’re wondering, a bit more on pizza stone care.
  • Pizza peel: What’s a pizza peel? It’s a paddle used to slide the pizza onto the hot pizza stone in the oven. We recommend this Standard pizza peel or this Conveyor pizza peel.

This truffle pizza recipe is…

Vegetarian.

Print
Truffle pizza

Truffle Pizza


1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8 slices

Description

Are you a truffle lover? This truffle pizza features savory mushrooms and gooey cheese, finished off with a truffle oil that infuses the entire pie.


Ingredients

  • 1 ball Best Pizza Dough (or Food Processor Dough or Thin Crust Dough)
  • 6 baby bella mushrooms
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 handful chives
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting the pizza peel
  • Truffle oil, for drizzling
  • Chunky sea salt (optional), for garnish

Instructions

  1. Make the pizza dough: Follow the Best Pizza Dough or Thin Crust Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
  2. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
  3. Prepare the toppings: Slice the mushrooms. Mince the garlic. Chop the chives; set aside a handful of chopped chives for the garnish.
  4. In a saute pan or skillet, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil to medium high heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, chives, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden brown.
  5. Bake the pizza: When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see this video for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
  6. Brush a thin layer of olive oil onto the crust. Then top with the mozzarella cheese in an even layer, then the Parmesan cheese and the cooked mushrooms.
  7. Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
  8. Top with the truffle oil to taste*, then top with the reserved chopped chives and a bit of kosher salt or chunky sea salt, crushed with your fingers as you add it. Slice into pieces and serve immediately.

  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: Truffle pizza

Looking for more pizza recipes?

Outside of this truffle pizza recipe, here are some of our favorite pizza recipes:

A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, Vegetarian Recipes