Gluten and Dairy Free Truffled Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Gluten-Free comfort food is one of my specialties and I think Mac & Cheese has to be one of my favorite comfort food meals.  Truffled Macaroni and Cheese is the ultimate in comfort and taste.  I also eat dairy free so all my recipes that would typically have cheese in them, have been created without it while keeping the traditional focus of a cheesy meal.  I’ve done this with my Mac & Cheese while also keeping it soy free.

When I was making my Curried Macaroni and Cheese, I also made this Truffle Macaroni and Cheese just in case the first one didn’t work out. Well both turned out great so we had a Mac & Cheese Party.  Of course we couldn’t eat it all so let me say they make great leftovers. Just make sure to heat thoroughly. However the Curried Mac & Cheese did not freeze then reheat well over time.

While shopping for the ingredients to make the macaroni and cheese I came across white truffle oil and black truffle oil. I’ve really wanted to experiment with these for some time so I thought, why not add mushrooms to a mac and cheese with a touch of this oil. How would that taste? Well it tastes amazing. The flavor of the truffle oil fills your mouth and navel cavities with an intense but subtitle flavor. Now if you are fascinated with truffles too, you’ll want to read David Lebovitz’s posts on Truffle Hunting and Black Truffle Extravaganza.

As I was wandering the market for mushrooms, they really didn’t have many to choose from that day so I choose cremini and oyster. I was hoping to find some shiitake mushrooms (great for your immune system, cardiovascular system, source of iron, B vitamins and fiber) but the two I used worked great. Now if they only had some truffles, then I would have been in hog heaven.

Making macaroni and cheese is a basic recipe with a bechamel sauce, cheese, macaroni and for me an assortment of flavors to combine to take it from plain mac & cheese to a wonderful meal.

Gluten and Dairy Free Truffle Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter- I use Earth Balance natural buttery spread that is dairy and soy free

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 red onion diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 container of Cremini Mushrooms, sliced (baby bella)

1 container of Oyster Mushrooms separated and slice the large ones.  If you find Shitake Mushrooms they work great too sliced (remove stems)

3 cups warm milk- I use Almond Milk unsweetened

2 cups Cheese- Daiya Cheddar plus a little more for the top (you can  order it online)

1/2 cup Cheese- Daiya Mozeralla plus a little more for the top gluten free bread crumbs- I used Southern Homestyle Corn Flake Crumbs (look under Food Favorites)

1 8 oz box of Elbow macaroni- I use Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta (look under Food Favorites)

½ tsp White Truffle Oil

Sea Salt or kosher salt to taste

Directions:

Melt your butter and add in the mushrooms. Once they have cooked and browned a little remove from pan. You may need to add in a little more butter. Add in the onion and cook until soften in the pan. Make sure you have a pan with sides so there is room to mix at the end. Don’t put your heat up too high or your butter will burn. If you are impatient like me, add a little canola oil to the butter so it can take the higher heat without burning. When you see the onion getting soft, add in the garlic and cook a little longer. Now take a nice deep breath. Wow that smells amazing.

OK, now sprinkle in the flour and combine well. You want to let the flour cook a little. If you find you still have lumps use the back of your spoon to break up or a whisk.

Add in your milk slowly and keep everything moving in that pan. You want to whisk it so there are no lumps. Keep stirring over medium heat until it thickens. Mix in all of your cheese and stir until smooth.

Now while you were doing all of this you had that pasta cooking. The elbow pasta I used says it takes 6-9 minutes to cook. I only gave it around 5 minutes. I wanted it just before al dente. Once mixed with the cheese sauce and baking, it will cook a little more and I didn’t want it to fall apart. Mix the pasta in with the cheese sauce and a little salt. Taste it to make sure it’s the right blend, add the mushrooms back into the mix and add in the truffle oil now.  Once well combined pour this mixture into your baking dish.

OK, now for the finishing touches. Once the mac & cheese is in the baking dish, sprinkle it with some of the bread crumbs and a little cheese and it’s time to bake.

Bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes. Sometimes with dairy free cheese it will brown if baked too long. If you have that problem don’t put that last topping of cheese on until right before you take it out of the oven. I didn’t have that problem so mine went on before I put it into the oven.

The basic recipe for Mac & Cheese really won’t change for me since I can’t eat dairy. If you do eat dairy play with different types to give you different flavors.

For me I like to change up the flavors by adding in different ingredients. For instance I would love to add crispy Pancetta to my Mac & Cheese. Or for a really decadent evening Lobster Mac & Cheese. How about Cajun with some Andoullie sausage, green peppers and a little Cajun seasonings? Or Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese. You can guess that recipe.

If you want more ideas check out S’Mac in NYC. They even offer Gluten Free and Vegan options.

This recipe was originally shared in my newsletter last year.  If you want more insider tips and recipes and you like getting them first, sign up for my newsletter- The WHOLE-istic Life.
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