We love this mushroom pasta made with the most delicious garlic butter mushrooms. Thanks to our no-fail method for cooking mushrooms, this easy pasta recipe comes together in under 30 minutes and tastes amazing!
Watch the Video
How to Make the Best Mushroom Pasta
We love this mushroom pasta made with the most delicious garlic butter mushrooms. Thanks to our no-fail method for cooking mushrooms, this easy pasta recipe comes together in under 30 minutes and tastes amazing!
This mushroom pasta dish was a long time coming! Over the years, we’ve shared many mushroom recipes with you but have never shared our absolute favorite way to enjoy them. This mushroom pasta has ribbons of pappardelle scattered with perfectly cooked garlicky mushrooms and a creamy butter sauce, made without cream. We make this for ourselves on weeknights, but we also love serving it to friends when they come for dinner. Honestly, this might be one of my favorite ways to eat mushrooms.
I’ve shared my favorite way to cook mushrooms before, and I use the same method for this easy pasta. You can use any mushroom for this. In our photos, we used cremini and shiitake mushrooms, but feel free to use what you can access. You can even use foraged wild mushrooms like morel mushrooms or chanterelle and make wild mushroom pasta. It would be fantastic! (If you do, can you invite us over for dinner, too?)
The Best Way to Cook Mushrooms
For this pasta, we want flavorful mushrooms with golden brown edges. Here are four simple tricks for browned, flavorful mushrooms:
- Keep the mushrooms dry. If you notice any dirt on the mushrooms, use a slightly damp paper towel to brush it off. I don’t submerge them in water or rinse them. Mushrooms act like a sponge so water will be absorbed, which causes the final cooked mushrooms to be squeaky instead of flavorful and browned. (If your mushrooms are extremely dirty, you can quickly dunk them into some water, but make sure you pat them extra dry before cooking them.)
- Cut or tear the mushrooms to a similar size. This applies to most things when cooking. If you are using a variety of mushrooms, cut — or if they are more fragile — tear the mushrooms so that they are all a similar size.
- Don’t crowd mushrooms in the pan. Have you heard of this one before? Julia Child and other famous chefs have shared this time and time again. There’s a reason for that! If you pile raw mushrooms up on top of each other in a pan, they will steam. If instead, you spread them out so that they are only just touching one another, they will brown and crisp around the edges.
- Salt mushrooms at the end of cooking. I know this seems odd, but mushrooms are one of the only things I salt towards the end of cooking. Salt brings out moisture, which in the case of mushrooms, prevents them from browning in the pan. I also love sprinkling a little mushroom powder over the mushrooms for even more delicious flavor! Here’s a link to where we talk all about our love of mushroom powder.
To see these tips in action, we have already shared a quick video showing how we cook mushrooms. You can watch it by clicking over to our recipe for How to Cook Mushrooms.
Adding the Pasta
To speed up the cooking process, I like to get my pasta water boiling while cooking the mushrooms. When the water is boiling, the mushrooms will be close to done.
When the pasta has finished cooking, I toss it into the pan with mushrooms and a splash of starchy cooking water. The water helps the garlic and butter in the pan turn into a creamy mushroom sauce. We use the same strategy when making fettuccine Alfredo and even these buttered noodles.
Mushroom Pasta Variations
- Make extra creamy mushroom pasta by adding a splash of cream or half-and-half at the end.
- For a chicken and mushroom pasta, add sliced grilled or baked chicken breasts to the top of the pasta. I especially love using this tomato basil baked chicken recipe with pasta.
- For a shrimp variation, top the pasta with these easy roasted shrimp or for even more garlicky goodness, use our recipe for shrimp scampi!
- To make the mushroom pasta vegan, swap the butter for a little extra olive oil. Nutritional yeast is also an excellent substitute for the parmesan cheese.
More Mushroom Recipes
- Here’s our no-fail method for cooking mushrooms on the stove. It uses the same process as this mushroom pasta recipe.
- If you’d like to roast mushrooms, here’s our easy tutorial for roasting mushrooms.
- I love making these roasted portobello mushrooms in the morning. So satisfying!
- For a fun and easy appetizer, try our easy cheese stuffed mushrooms.
- I also love these sauteed mushrooms and truffle salt crostinis. Make them as an easy appetizer, lunch or enjoy for dinner!
Easy Garlic Mushroom Pasta
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Our easy mushroom pasta is made with mushrooms — a variety of mushrooms work — cooked in olive oil, butter, garlic, herbs, and a bit of lemon for bright, fresh flavor. For a really spectacular pasta, try wild foraged mushrooms like morel mushrooms or chanterelle mushrooms. There’s no cream in this recipe. If you would like to add some, add a splash at the end of cooking (when you add the pasta).
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
8 ounces pasta like spaghetti, pappardelle or linguini
10 ounces mushrooms such as cremini, shiitake or Portobello (about 3 cups chopped or sliced)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon mushroom powder, optional, see our recipe here
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
- Prepare Mushrooms
1Using a damp paper towel, brush all dirt from mushrooms. Cut away and discard any hard stems. Chop into 1/4-inch slices or, if there are larger mushrooms like portobello, cut into 1/4-inch cubes.
- Cook Pasta
1Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1/2 tablespoon of salt and the pasta.
2Cook, stirring once or twice, for 1 minute less than the suggested cooking time on the package. The pasta will finish cooking when making the sauce. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water then drain pasta.
- To Finish
1Heat olive oil in a large, wide skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and spread into one layer. Cook, without moving, until browned on one side, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir then cook another 3 to 5 minutes or until mostly golden brown on all sides.
2To the mushrooms, add the butter, garlic, thyme, mushroom powder, lemon zest, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and the butter absorbs into mushrooms, about 2 minutes.
3Turn the heat to low and add the drained pasta, 1/4 cup parmesan, and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water. Use tongs to toss the pasta, cheese, and mushrooms around the pan for one minute.
4If the pasta looks dry, add a splash more pasta water. If it seems wet, don’t worry, the pasta absorbs some the extra moisture as it cools.
5Taste then adjust seasoning with salt and/or pepper. Stir in the lemon juice. Serve with parmesan and fresh ground black pepper on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Instead of regular salt in this recipe, try truffle or porcini salt: If you can find it (we buy it online or in specialty kitchen shops), swap regular sea salt for truffle or porcini salt. This deepens the mushroom flavor and tastes incredible!
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
You May Also Like...
This was amazingly simple and delicious. I added some firm tofu and loved that too.