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I am not kidding or exaggerating when I tell you I've served tens of thousands of pounds of this stupidly-creamy vegan truffle mac and cheese recipe. For about 8 years in a row, it was the most popular side on our restaurant & food truck's Thanksgiving catering menu. There were some years when it was on the table for more than 1600 families around the tristate area. Now you're about to see for yourself what the hype is about. I think you will find that it's some darned yummy hype, indeed.
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There are a couple of slightly uncommon ingredients in this one, but trust the process here, because there's a method to the madness. One of the things you will notice at first glance is that the recipe doesn't have any salt in it. That's because we are using umeboshi plum vinegar to give saltiness, along with a dairy-like acidity that also makes the truffle flavor taste more intense, without going overboard on that pricy stuff.
If you are ready to upstage your candied yams and make your vegan green bean casserole and tofu torches look a bit like red-headed stepchildren, this mac is the key to your salvation.
This is another of my favorite Adam Sobel recipes--I've made it numerous times and it has always been very successful. Non vegans and vegan alike have enjoyed it, and it's one I rely on when I need a "sure thing" kind of recipe. It's tasty as heck, creamy, and delicious. You'll be so glad you tried this one, and I bet you'll keep it in your permanent rotation, like I do. It's LEGIT.
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🥰Why you'll adore this vegan truffle mac and cheese recipe
✊ Vegan AF: Like all of my vegan sides, this one has no actual dairy cheese. Plus, if you make it with a legit gluten-free macaroni (my fave is Tinkyada), it can be one of the completely gluten-free vegan recipes that blow your guests' minds this holiday season.
🔥 Nut-Free Flavor Bomb: Umeboshi vinegar, asafetida, a tiny bit of onion, and nutritional yeast combine forces for a deep, funky richness that out-cheeses cheese without cashews.
🧀 That Goo Tho: This mac gets a gooey, creamy texture from a couple of surprise ingredients: potato and tapioca. It's kinda awesome.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, aside from being served in massive quantities from my food trucks, this one's been improved with feedback from a team of hundreds of recipe testers.
🤘learn to make insanely flavorful vegan sides
This guide to my most popular vegan side dishes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🧀Vegan truffle mac and cheese ingredients
The Potatoes
While this can technically be made with Yukon Golds, I go for russets every time-not just here, but also for my vegan mashed potatoes. Their higher starch content and neutral flavor make them the real MVP for a sauce this creamy.
Save those Yukon Golds for when you're making Hasselback potatoes or making vegan scalloped potatoes.
Nutritional Yeast
Nutritional yeast (aka nooch) brings that unmistakable cheesy funk that any good vegan mac n' cheese recipe cries out to in the night for. I use it in tons of my cheesy recipes-vegan nacho cheese, vegan parmesan, you name it.
Both flakes and powder form work great here, so don't sweat which one you've got on hand. And don't believe the marketing hype that one brand is way superior/different from the rest. Just get an affordable one.
Asafetida Powder
Asafetida is a pungent Indian spice often used as a stand-in for onions and garlic-especially in sattvic recipes that avoid alliums. I use it in a ton of my vegan Indian recipes, from this mac to vegan tikka masala and aloo gobi. If you don't have asafetida, garlic powder is your best sub in this recipe.
Umeboshi Plum Vinegar
This fermented Japanese vinegar is salty, sour, and deeply savory. I used this stuff in a ton of recipes on my food truck (like those absurdly good vegan breakfast burritos) and at Galactic MegaStallion pop-ups to kick flavor up a few notches. It's almost like nature's MSG. A quality brand like Eden will have a very pretty pink color. That comes from shiso leaves the plums are fermented with.
In this recipe, it's the only source of salt, so if you want to adjust the saltiness, just tweak the amount of plum vinegar. It can be wrapped in lemon or apple cider vinegar with salt to taste.
Truffle Oil
Notice how truffle oil is now found in all kinds of cheap foods, from potato chips to French fries? Well, the majority of cheap truffle oil on shelves is artificially flavored, often using petroleum-based flavors and fragrances. Some brands slip in a microscopic flake of real truffle just so they can legally slap on the label that it's made from real truffle.
The only brand I stand behind is Da Rosario-it's organic, made with actual truffles, and no other wacky garbage. It's not just for mac either. Try a drizzle over parsnip purée or roasted cauliflower steaks to jazz 'em up.
Tapioca Starch
Tapioca starch gives the sauce a naturally subtle stretch that you'd expect from a legit cheese sauce. If you need to swap it, potato starch works great and keeps things natural, though the stretch factor takes a tiny dip.
Cornstarch and arrowroot also work, but they lean a bit more gloopy and less elastic. I still prefer tapioca because it gives the cheese that slightly stretchy, melty pull.
The Noods
Elbow macaroni is the classic vehicle for mac and cheese, but shells and penne are also cool to use.
If you're going gluten-free, I highly recommend the brown rice elbow macaroni from Tinkyada. I have tried almost all of the brands, and if you can't get that one, at least promise me you will swear clear of corn or chickpea-based pastas, because they truly suck.
Porcini Powder
Porcini powder brings its deep fungal essence to the optional breadcrumb topping. You can buy it pre-ground, or blitz whole dried porcinis in a spice grinder or high-powered blender to make your own.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Vegan Bacon Mac N Cheese
Chop up your crispy strips and fold 'em right into the mac after you've mixed the sauce and pasta. Use any of my zillion bacon recipes: carrot bacon, tofu bacon, seitan bacon, or tempeh bacon. Probably don't mess with rice paper bacon, as it will dissolve into the cheese sauce. Broil the assembled dish for a minute or two until the top gets golden, then hit it with a zigzag drizzle of vegan buffalo sauce.
Garlic Truffle Mac N Cheese
Add 4-5 roasted garlic cloves to the blender with the cheese sauce. Or, if you really wanna level up the garlicky taste, stir in ¼ cup of toum to the cheese sauce before mixing it into the mac.
📖 How to make vegan truffle mac and cheese
I get it, you're hover-levels of hungry. Go ahead and smash that scroll button to hit the recipe card. But if you want to actually nail this dish on your first pass, keep reading, and I'll walk you through every steamy, sauce-slicked step like the culinary wingperson you never knew you needed.
Step One
Potato Calling the Kettle Black:
Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook 12-15 minutes until fork-tender.
Step Two
Cheese Works Hard for the Money:
Drain the potatoes well, then transfer to a blender with tofu, nutritional yeast, olive oil, asafetida, onion, umeboshi vinegar, water, and truffle oil. Blend until smooth.
Step Three
Blend of the World:
Add tapioca starch and blend for 20 more seconds until fully combined.
Step Four
Macstreet's Back, Alright:
Boil the macaroni until al dente, then drain and return to the pot.
Step Five
Pour Decisions:
Pour the blended truffle sauce over the pasta and stir until evenly coated.
Step Six
For The Optional Topping:
Mix porcini powder, breadcrumbs, and paprika in a small bowl.
Step Seven
Mad Macs:
Spread mac into a dish, top with crumbs, and bake for 15-18 minutes until the topping is lightly golden.
Step Eight
Elvis Parsley:
Serve hot with chopped parsley and chives.
💡Serving Ideas
This truffle-drenched mac is cool to eat by yourself, surrounded by candles and rose petals in the bathtub. But it's also supremely loved by one and all on a holiday table.
Serve it with thin-sliced vegan ham, vegan corned beef, vegan turkey, or a nightmarishly creepy human baby-shaped tofu turkey that you intentionally made to freak your non-veg guests out.
You could also scoop it up alongside a helping of vegan stuffing. Pair it with balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots, or roasted parsnips, or go the nostalgic route with a spoonful of sweet potato casserole crowned with a buttery pecan crust.
Vegan pumpkin chiffon pie is not optional, so get making the darn thing!
👉Top tips
- Don't Overcook Pasta: Al dente is non-negotiable, especially if you plan to bake the Mac, or reheat it later.
- Make It Ahead: You can totally make the cheese sauce ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just reheat it gently over low heat, giving it a few good stirs so it stays smooth and luscious instead of turning into a weird, broken blob.
- Scale With Intention: This recipe multiplies nicely for a big crowd-but blend the sauce in batches to avoid overloading your blender and making a God-forsaken mess.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
You can skip the truffle oil entirely and still take this mac in about a dozen delicious directions. Stir in a spoonful of nam prik pao (Thai chili jam) to bring sweet heat and umami, or hit it with a little sriracha and minced vegan kimchi. You can also crisp up some pan-fried vegan chicken and mix that in. Truffle's great, but this mac has miles of range.
You can, but it's doing some serious heavy lifting here. Umeboshi vinegar brings both salt and acidity to the sauce, which makes the truffle flavor pop and balances all that. If you need a sub, mix together a bit of rice vinegar and salt.
Start with 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt, then tweak to taste. It won't be quite as funky, but it'll still get the job done and keep the balance tight.
Elbows are classic, but shells, ziti, and penne all go great here. Personally, I always think it's kinda weird when people call something macaroni and cheese if it doesn't contain actual macaroni, but even the ditalini used for making escarole and bean soup makes for a great mac!
There's already some nice protein in this from the tofu, but if you want more, stir in crispy bits of tempeh, vegan chorizo, crumbled vegan Italian sausage, or serve alongside a protein-heavy side like vegan schnitzel.
❄️ Refrigerating:
Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 4 days.
🧊 Freezing:
The cheese sauce (without the cooked pasta) can be frozen separately for 2 months. Thaw overnight.
🔥 Stovetop Reheating:
Add a splash of water and reheat on low, stirring often.
⚡️ Microwave Reheating:
Heat in 1-minute bursts, stirring in between. Just add water if it thickens.
✌️You'll love these vegan holiday sides too:
Vegan Truffle Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
For the Mac N Cheese:
- 2 cups russet potato peeled and quartered
- 14 oz. Extra firm tofu crumbled
- 1 cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon asafetida powder
- ¼ cup minced onion
- ⅓ cup umeboshi plum vinegar
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup truffle oil
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- 1 lb. elbow macaroni uncooked
For the Optional Porcini Breadcrumb Topping:
- 2 teaspoons porcini powder
- ¾ cup bread crumbs
- 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Optional Garnishes:
- 2 teaspoons chives finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 12-15 minutes until fork-tender.
- Drain the potatoes well in a colander. In the same pot the potatoes were cooked in, bring fresh water to a boil.
- Transfer the drained potatoes to a blender along with the tofu, nutritional yeast, olive oil, asafetida, onion, umeboshi vinegar, water, and truffle oil. Blend until completely smooth.
- Add the tapioca starch and blend for an additional 20 seconds until smoothly combined.
- Add the macaroni to the pot of boiling water and cook until al dente according to package directions.
- Drain well and return the pasta to the pot. Pour the truffle cheese sauce over the macaroni and stir until evenly coated.
- For the optional topping, combine the porcini powder, breadcrumbs, and smoked paprika in a small bowl.
- Spread the mac n cheese into a casserole dish and top with the seasoned bread crumbs.
- If desired, bake at 375°F (190°C) for 15-18 minutes until the topping is golden and crisp.
- Serve hot, optionally garnished with chives and parsley.
Notes
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Jennifer Margopulos-Kelenske says
I made this truffle mac and cheese again for my non vegan friends and a couple people who even don't like m&c said they loved it and asked for the recipe! I only had half of the amount of truffle oil left to use and made up for the rest with evoo and it was still delicious. Otherwise I made it as written with the breadcrumb topping. 🤤
Amy A says
I made this for our Thanksgiving feast last year, and I will need to modify for this year. While I love the concept, it was a tad too oily for our family and so this year I will only use the truffle oil and figure out texture/liquid mods related to the 1/4 cup of olive oil. I also found that with the potato, I did not need tapioca starch for mine - I figure that Adam’s family and mine just have a different texture in mind when we think of mac’n’cheese. 🙂
I do love the other items - the asafatida adds a lovely layer of flavor. I keep truffle zest in the house, so I made the breadcrumbs with that and a bit of porcini powder rather than just the porcini powder. It was a fantastic choice!
I highly recommend this recipe, and given the conversations I’ve heard with others, I believe my family is an outlier in the “maybe a little less oil” camp.
Kelly says
Tailgating at home and made the truffle Mac. Blown away!! Tasted like we were cheating. So delish!!!
Paige Davis says
This is another of my favorite Adam Sobel recipes--I've made it numerous times and it has always been very successful. Non vegans and vegan alike have enjoyed it, and it's one I rely on when I need a "sure thing" kind of recipe. It's tasty as heck, creamy, and delicious. You'll be so glad you tried this one, and I bet you'll keep it in your permanent rotation, like I do. It's LEGIT.