Look no further for your next pasta dish, this easy creamy mushroom pasta recipe is guaranteed to impress. A flavorful pasta dish that uses minimal basic ingredients to create a recipe easy enough for a weeknight dinner and fancy enough for a special occasion.
A reader commented, "This is a real keeper. Just had this for dinner and my wife and I think it is awesome. Followed the recipe but did add some red pepper flakes. ★★★★★
In This Post
If you love mushrooms and jump for joy at the thought of a quick dinner recipes, you'll flip for this creamy mushroom pasta dish. It's savory, insanely creamy, and has wonderful flavor from the fresh herbs and garlic. Usually a cold weather staple but this mushroom pasta can be enjoyed year round.
If there's one stand-out meal you make this season–one that will have everyone demanding you make it on repeat–it's this. See my list of quick pasta recipes and easy weeknight dinner recipes for even more inspiration.
Here's Why You'll Love It
- Just 30 minutes start to finish!
- Insanely flavorful creamy mushroom sauce
- Satisfying and comforting without feeling like you're being weighed down
- Irresistibly creamy mushroom sauce
- Easy enough for the week, fancy enough for a crowd
- Can be easily gluten free using certified gluten free flour and pasta
Ingredients You Need & Possible Substitutions
- Pasta: This recipe is pretty forgiving when it comes to the pasta. I've used a variety of shapes of pasta for this recipe– for kids I use short pasta to make it easier or long-style like fettuccine or linguini otherwise. If you need this to be gluten free, you can easily swap with your favorite brand.
- Butter & Olive Oil: These are the base of the sauce, each providing flavor and paired with the flour, help create the "roux".
- Mushrooms: There's no judgement on the type of mushrooms you use in this recipe, any time of mushrooms will work. I typically grab button, baby bella or cremini mushrooms since that's what I usually have sitting in the refrigerator.
- Garlic: Lots of garlic for tons of flavor.
- Spices: We want LOTS of flavor in this mushroom pasta recipe and with the help of salt, pepper, fresh thyme, Italian seasoning and fresh parsley, we've got it!
- Flour: We are just using regular all-purpose flour. The flour is strictly there to create the roux. If you're not familiar with a roux, pronounced "roo", it's a way to thicken things like gravy, sauce, macaroni and cheese or soup – just like in my creamy macaroni and cheese recipe and cheesy scalloped potatoes.
- Chicken Broth: Or white wine. Using wine will give you the most flavor, but you can also use chicken or vegetable broth. If you're using wine, it's best to use a regular wine, not a wine that's advertised for cooking. No need to grab an expensive wine, the $8 bottle will do, or even a single serve like Wander + Ivy.
- Heavy Cream: Using heavy cream gives the cheese sauce that extra thickness and creaminess that we want.
- Pasta Water: Reserving the cooked pasta water is the trick to making this creamy from the starch in the pasta.
- Parmesan Cheese: Always needed with pasta.
- Lemon: Adding a touch of lemon helps add brightness to the pasta dish.
Possible Variations & Serving Options
Serve the pasta with a side of homemade garlic bread or crusty no-knead bread (even cheesy bread would be delicious!), parmesan roasted zucchini, oven roasted asparagus, or parmesan brussels sprouts. You can even top it with air fryer chicken breasts or thighs.
Overview: How To Make Creamy Mushroom Pasta
Step 1: Begin with cooking down the mushrooms with butter, olive oil, garlic, spices, and herbs.
Step 2: Make the roux by whisking in flour. Then, whisk in the chicken broth (or wine), heavy cream, and reserved pasta water.
Step 3: Stir in the lemon juice and zest, and parmesan cheese.
If you tried this Creamy Mushroom Pasta or other recipes on my website, leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Creamy Mushroom Pasta
Description
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta, fettuccine or linguine
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 16 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dry white wine, or chicken broth
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- optional garnish: parmesan cheese, lemon zest, chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in heavily salted water until al dente, typically about 1 minute less than recommended on the box. If cooking the pasta ahead of time– drain (reserving ¼ cup pasta water), add to a large bowl and stir in 1 Tablespoon of unsalted butter to prevent them from sticking. Set aside. The remaining steps can be done while the pasta cooks. I usually add in the pasta during step 3, right before I add the flour.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and let it cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and sauté until soft and the juices are released, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the thyme, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Whisk in the flour and cook until it's completely absorbed, about 1 minute. Whisk in the wine (or chicken broth) and bring to a simmer, about 3-5 minutes. Then, stir in the heavy cream and and parmesan cheese and let it simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the drained pasta to the mushroom sauce and stir to combine, making sure the pasta is completely coated. Slowly stir in the reserved pasta water, 1 Tablespoon at a time until the sauce is creamy. Stir in the fresh parsley, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with parmesan cheese, lemon zest and fresh parsley. Leftovers stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The mushrooms can be sliced in advance, up to 5 days. I don't recommend freezing this recipe as the mushroom sauce will not have the same consistency.
- Pasta: This recipe is pretty forgiving when it comes to the pasta. I've used a variety of shapes of pasta for this recipe, but always go back to a long-style like fettuccine or linguini. If you need this to be gluten free, you can easily swap with your favorite brand. Make sure you heavily salt the water for the pasta, around 1 Tablespoon (a must for all pasta!)
- Mushrooms: There's no judgement on the type of mushrooms you use in this recipe, any time of mushrooms will work. I typically grab button, baby bella or cremini mushrooms since that's what I usually have sitting in the refrigerator.
- Flour: We are just using regular all-purpose flour. The flour is strictly there to create the roux. If you're not familiar with a roux, pronounced "roo", it's a way to thicken things like gravy, sauce, macaroni and cheese or soup – just like in my creamy macaroni and cheese recipe. If needed, you can use certified gluten free flour like King Arthur Measure for Measure.
- Wine: Using dry white wine will give you the most flavor, but you can also use chicken or vegetable broth. If you're using wing, it's best to use a regular wine, not a wine that's advertised for cooking. No need to grab an expensive wine, the $8 bottle will do, or even a single serve like Wander + Ivy.
Ed Gambone says
This is a real keeper. Just had this for dinner and my wife and I think it is awesome. Followed the recipe but did add some red pepper flakes.
Christina says
I'm so glad that you and your wife loved it Ed! Thanks for leaving a review!
Victoria says
Love the recipe! Was super good but was confused where the zested lemon fit in… I was going to add the juice with the cream but was afraid the acid would curdle it. Did I miss a step?
Jay says
Wondering the same about the lemon!
Joey says
Please finish this recipe by explaining where the lemon juice/zest comes into play. Thanks!
Julie says
Great recipe, but all the ads made it nearly impossible to make in real time. I had to export the recipe to a recipe app to complete it. Way too many adds and in weird places, like in the middle of the ingredients list.
Christina says
Hi Julie, thank you for the feedback! I just made changes to the ads that display in the recipe.