This dish takes macaroni and cheese to a whole other level with truffle oil, sliced mushrooms, chives, and non-dairy cheese sauce made from almonds! If you love mushrooms, you’re going to love this dish, because who doesn’t love mac and cheese?!

I first created this delicious meal for a customer of mine, Gigi. She loves mushrooms and is a fan of pasta, as well. When I know what people like, I try to make them dishes based around those ingredients. As soon as I tasted it, I knew not only would it be perfect for Gigi, but I had to add it to the blog too. It was simply too tasty not to!

The sauce in this dish is similar to the cheez sauce for my Mock-A-Roni n’ Cheez w/ Facon Bacon, which was a casserole I’d previously created for another one of my customers, and friends, Jen. Due to dietary restrictions, Jen couldn’t eat pasta of any kind, so I substituted cauliflower. For my truffle cheez sauce, I used the same ingredients as I did in my sauce for Jen, only I used slightly different amounts and added the beloved truffle oil.

I wouldn’t say making this dish is hard. You don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but you do need to think ahead of time and make sure to soak your almonds beforehand.

After the almonds have soaked, you must remove their peels. This task shouldn’t be hard. My almonds usually slide right out. If it is difficult, cover them with water again and pop them in the microwave for a minute. Once hot, the almonds should easily come out of their skins. This job is a bit tedious but easy. You can do it sitting down or recruit a helper. My daughter loves doing this for me. She finds it satisfying to feel the almonds pop out of the peels. LOL! You can skip this step and leave the skins on the almonds. However, this results in a less creamy sauce.

Once your almonds are ready to use, all the sauce ingredients need to be blended until smooth. I use a Vitamix. I’ve never tried blending almonds in a standard blender, so I don’t know if it can be done. I’ve successfully made smooth sauces from cashews without a high-speed blender. However, cashews are a bit softer than almonds. This does not mean it can’t be done, and I just don’t want to tell you it can when I’m unsure of it myself.

If you do attempt this recipe using a standard and not a high-speed blender, please leave me a comment to let me know how it goes! I would be sure to first soak the almonds overnight and expect it to take longer blending. Sometimes blending nuts takes patience, but the end result is always worth it!

OK, your almonds are soaked, and your cheez sauce is blended. By now, you may or may not have boiled the macaroni. I always suggest simply using the package instructions on pasta. Many of my readers are gluten-free, and all the choices for gluten-free kinds of pasta out there have different cooking times.

The only real cooking (aside from boiling the pasta, of course) is to sauté diced onions and sliced mushrooms in a large skillet. Once the onions are translucent, and the mushrooms are soft, you will stir in the pasta, truffle cheez sauce, and chopped chives. When everything is hot, taste and add a little salt. Now the dish is ready to be served. I always finish off each portion with a topper of chopped fresh chives.

Typically I have omnivorous friends taste-test my recipes. H owever , this is one we’ve always gobbled up right away, being left without any leftovers to share. It has thumbs up from us at home, and of course, the awesome Gigi. If you try it as well, please let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, or take a picture and tag me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.

Print Truffle & Chive Vegan Mac & Cheez Macaroni and cheese is taken to a whole other level with truffle oil, sliced mushrooms, chives, and non-dairy cheese sauce made from almonds! Servings 4 Author Tiffani Wells Equipment *high speed blender Ingredients For the truffle cheez sauce… 1 cup raw almonds *soaked for 4 or more hours

1 cup unsweetened/unflavored non-dairy milk I use almond or cashew

3/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp roasted red bell peppers

1/4 cup white miso paste For soy-free, substitute a non-soy based vegan cream cheese — I use Daiya

2 tsp truffle oil I use black truffle oil

1 tsp lemon juice

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp mustard powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper Everything else… 12 oz gluten-free macaroni or regular, wheat macaroni if gluten isn't an issue

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced small

12 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced I use white mushrooms but baby bellas would be good too!

1/4 cup chives, chopped plus more for topping

drizzle olive oil or oil of choice

sea salt, to taste Instructions Cook macaroni acording to package directions. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Remove peels from almonds. They should slide right off, but if you find it difficult, cover them with water in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about one minute. They should then come out easily.

Add the almonds along with all remaining sauce ingredients to your blender and blend on high until the sauce is smooth.

Heat a large skillet to medium heat and drizzle with a little oil. Add the mushrooms and yellow onion to the hot skillet and sauté until the onions are transluscent and the mushrooms are soft.

Stir the macaroni, truffle cheez sauce, and chives into the skillet with the onions and mushrooms. If needed, turn down heat to prevent the sauce from scorching. Once everything is heated through, serve into bowls or on plates and top each portion with a dusting of fresh chives. Notes *I’ve never tried blending almonds in a standard blender. Cashews I have blended successfully without a high-speed blender, but they’re a bit softer than almonds. If you decide to try, make sure to first soak your almonds overnight. Also, please leave a comment below to let me know how it goes! *You can speed up your soaking time by first boiling the water you’ll be soaking the almonds in. Once the water boils, add the almonds, turn off the burner, and cover the pot. If using a high-speed blender, the almonds should be ready in 1 hour.

5 / 5 ( 1 vote )

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