Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta

This Garlic Mushroom Pasta is creamy, garlicky and ready in just 20 minutes. So quick and easy to make this is perfect for busy weeknights, with just a few simple ingredients you can have a delicious pasta dinner the whole family will love.

Garlic Mushroom Pasta

I don’t know if there is anything more comforting than a creamy pasta dinner. Add cheese, a generous helping of cream, some toasty pine nuts and you have a very tasty dinner indeed.

We love mushrooms at TLFB HQ, we have some sort of mushroom dish every week. Whether it’s a Mushroom Curry for a weekday dinner, Mushroom Bruschetta for lunch or a Mushroom Wellington for Sunday dinner, we can’t get enough of them!

Pasta smothered in perfectly fried garlicky mushrooms with a hint of herbs in a creamy, cheesy sauce is my kind of heaven. This is a cosy, comforting dish that’s so easy to make and ready in just 20 minutes! 

Why This Recipe Works

• It’s super easy to make, with just a few ingredients!
• That creamy mushroom sauce is packed with flavour!
• It’s ready in 20 minutes, perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.
• A great family dinner.
• It’s really tasty, I mean, all that garlic?! Yass!

Ingredients You Will Need

• Mushrooms – I use chestnut mushrooms for this as they have more flavour but white button mushrooms work well too.
• Garlic – Three fat cloves of garlic give this garlic mushroom pasta just the right amount of garlic. If your cloves are small I would go ahead and add four.
• Pasta – I make this with linguine but almost any pasta will work here. Rigatoni, penne, fusilli or spaghetti.
• Herbs – Thyme and parsley are perfect for this, I always use fresh herbs in this dish.
• Cream – I use double (heavy) cream for the sauce, it’s always full-fat cream.
• Butter – mushrooms and butter go hand in hand, so I cook the mushrooms in salted Irish butter.
• Cheese – A good hard Italian cheese added to the cream adds a lovey cheesiness to the sauce, pecorino is my choice here as it’s vegetarian.
• Pine Nuts – Toasted pinenuts add a lovely nuttiness and texture to this dish, you can buy them pre-toasted or toast them yourself it takes just a few minutes.

How To Make Garlic Mushroom Pasta

1. Cook the shallots until they are soft, they won’t take long, 5 minutes should do the job.
2. Cook the mushrooms in butter, I usually do this in two batches. Once all the mushrooms are in the pan add the thyme and garlic.
3. Pour in the double cream then add the cheese and stir well.
4. The sauce should be nice and creamy, I add a couple of tablespoons of water from the cooking pasta to make the sauce nice and silky.
5. Add the cooked pasta to the mushroom sauce and stir well.
6. Finish the dish by adding the toasted pinenuts and the chopped parsley, toss it gently then serve immediately.

Tips For Making The Best Garlic Mushroom Pasta

• Use chestnut mushrooms. These will have the best flavour, look out for fresh firm mushrooms. You can use white button mushrooms if you can’t find chestnut/brown mushrooms. If they are small leave them whole when you cook them.
• Don’t stir the mushrooms. If you want perfectly cooked mushrooms try not to stir them too much and don’t overcrowd the pan. If you stir the mushrooms too much they will get slimy, and nobody likes slimy mushrooms!
• Cook the pasta while the mushrooms are cooking. If you want this ready in 20 minutes start cooking your pasta as soon as you start cooking the mushrooms.
• Add pasta water to the sauce. I always add at least two tablespoons of water from the cooking pasta to the sauce. The starch from the pasta will help thicken the sauce and will help the sauce stick to your pasta.

FAQs

Can I freeze this dish? No, I don’t recommend freezing this dish. There is a strong possibility that the cream could split.

How long will this keep in the fridge? This is really best eaten straight away, however, if you do have any leftovers you can keep them in the refrigerator for one day. Heat the pasta up on the hob until it is piping hot. You may need to add more cream to loosen up the sauce.

Can I make this gluten-free? Just make sure and use your favourite gluten-free pasta to enjoy this as a gluten-free dish.

Need More Tasty Weeknight Dinner Ideas?

• Satay Sweet Potato Curry
• Creamy Mushroom Risotto
• Vegetable Fajitas
• Halloumi Wraps

Have you made this Garlic Mushroom Pasta Recipe? Rate it and leave me a comment below to let me know what you think!

Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta

This Garlic Mushroom Pasta is creamy, garlicky and ready in just 20 minutes. So quick and easy to make this is perfect for busy weeknights, with just a few simple ingredients you can have a delicious pasta dinner the whole family will love.

5 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Pasta

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 353kcal

Author: Michelle Alston

Ingredients

• 750 g chestnut mushrooms (6 cups) wiped clean then sliced, not too thinly
• 70 g butter (for US readers that is 1/2 a stick + 1 tbsp)
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 shallots (60g) sliced thinly
• 1 heaped tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 3 fat cloves of garlic minced
• 150 ml double cream/ heavy cream (2/3 of a cup)
• 40 g pecorino cheese/ hard Italian cheese (just under 1/2 a cup) finely grated + more for serving
• 3 tbsp pinenuts toasted
• 1 heaped tsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper + more for serving
• A small pinch of sea salt
• 250 g linguine (roughly 8.8 ozs or 3 cups ) (dry weight)

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan. Add the sliced shallots and cook for about 5 minutes. They should be translucent.
• Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
• Next, add the butter to the skillet and once the butter has melted add the mushrooms.

  Cook the mushrooms over medium heat, depending on the size of your pan, start with half the mushrooms. Once they are brown and cooked move them to one side of the pan then add the remaining mushrooms and thyme. Cook until all the mushrooms are done.

  Add the garlic and stir the mushrooms briefly. Cook for a minute until the garlic releases its aroma.

  Season with salt and black pepper.
• Pour in the cream then add the cheese, stir and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring very occasionally.

  Add about 30 ml of cooking water from the pasta to the mushroom sauce, stir until it is incorporated into the cream then turn down the heat.
• Drain the pasta, then add it to the mushroom sauce. Add the parsley and pine nuts and stir.

  Check the seasoning.
• Serve immediately with grated pecorino cheese and a grind or two of black pepper. 

Notes

• Mushrooms - I use chestnut/brown mushrooms for this dish, they will give this dish the best flavour. You can use small, white button mushrooms if you can't find chestnut mushrooms.
• Pasta - Most types of pasta will work well with this recipe, I use linguine, spaghetti, penne and rigatoni with great results.
• Cream- For that extra rich sauce I use double/heavy cream, it's always full-fat.
• Cheese -  Any good hard Italian parmesan style cheese works here, just check the label to make sure it's vegetarian.
• Herbs - I always use fresh herbs.
• Freezing and storing - I don't recommend freezing this dish. You can store any leftovers in the refrigerator for one day. Reheat it on the hob until piping hot. You may need to add more cream to loosen up the sauce.
• Can I make this gluten-free? If you want to make this gluten-free, then swap the linguine for your favourite gluten-free pasta.
• Nutritional Information - is approximate and is calculated using an online nutrition tool. It is based on one serving. It does not include any extra cheese added to the finished meal.
• Measurements - I weigh all my ingredients using an electric scale, all measurements are metric. Cup measurements are approximate.

Nutrition

Calories: 353kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.8g | Protein: 5.6g | Fat: 33.8g | Saturated Fat: 18.9g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 152mg | Potassium: 938mg | Fiber: 3.7g | Sugar: 0.6g | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 1mg

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*This recipe was first published on November 16, 2018. It has now been updated with new photos, expert tips, and more nutritional information.