This quick and easy creamy mushroom pasta recipe features white button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, garlic, and fresh thyme, all in a rich, creamy beef broth. This is a mushroom lover’s dream come true and the perfect side for steak, roasted chicken, or grilled fish.
Sometimes I serve this scrumptious dish as the main course with a simple garden salad and garlic cheese bread. Make it a vegetarian-friendly meal by substituting vegetable broth for the beef broth.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients on the recipe card below.
- Butter: unsalted or salted
- Fettuccine pasta: You can substitute tagliatelle, pappardelle, or linguine.
- Mushrooms: Use white button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms (also known as baby bellas), oyster mushrooms, or shiitake mushrooms, but remove the tough stems on shiitakes.
- Beef broth: Preferably low sodium. You can use vegetable broth to make this a vegetarian meal.
- Heavy cream: For a lighter sauce, you can substitute whipping cream.
- Fresh thyme: One of my favorite herbs, with a bright green color. It tastes refreshing, with a slightly minty flavor that complements the mushrooms.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated is the way to go here.
How to Make Mushroom Pasta
This is a summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please refer to the recipe card below.
- Cook the mushrooms in a little bit of butter and olive oil over medium heat until golden brown.
- Reduce the heat and add the garlic, cooking for a minute. Plate the mushrooms and garlic.
- Deglaze the pan with beef broth. Add the cream, fresh thyme, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Simmer for about 12 minutes to reduce.
- Meanwhile, cook the fettuccine according to the package instructions and drain well—reserve ½ cup of pasta water for thinning the sauce.
- Slowly stir the Parmesan cheese into the reduced sauce.
- Add the cooked mushrooms and pasta to the sauce and toss to coat.
Preparation Tips For Success
- I like to rinse my mushrooms to remove the dirt, but I dry them thoroughly and quickly with a paper towel. I work in small batches, so the mushrooms do not stay wet for more than a minute.
- Time the pasta so it finishes when the sauce is ready. Pasta gets sticky and pasty if it sits in the colander too long.
- Try a variety of added veggies, such as broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, spinach, or zucchini.
I love to serve this as a vegetarian dish, but it is equally delicious with stuffed pork tenderloin, roasted chicken, and New York strip steak. For vegetables, my favorites are green beans almondine and creamed spinach.
More Mushroom Recipes
Mushroom Pasta
A simple Creamy Mushroom Pasta dish made with cremini and white button mushrooms, garlic, beef broth, heavy cream, and a few fresh herbs and spices. Serve as a side dish or as the main course on meatless Mondays.
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Servings: 6
Calories: 527kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 ounces fettuccine
- 16 ounces white button cremini, or Portobello mushrooms sliced ½ inch thick
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ⅔ cup low-sodium beef broth
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ⅔ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese or pecorino romano cheese
- Chopped fresh parsley garnish
Instructions
- Melt the butter and heat the olive oil in the skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until golden brown. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic cooking for a minute while stirring constantly. Plate the mushrooms and garlic.
- Add the beef broth, scraping the bottom of the skillet to loosen any brown bits from the mushrooms. Add the cream, fresh thyme, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer for about 12-15 minutes or until reduced by almost half.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the fettuccine pasta slightly al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and drain well.
- Once the sauce has simmered down, turn the heat down as low as it will go. Slowly add the Parmesan cheese and stir until it is melted.
- Add the cooked pasta and mushrooms to the skillet and toss to coat. If the sauce is too thick, use 1 tablespoon at a time of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce.
- Stir over low heat until warmed through. If desired, top with chopped fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve promptly.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop in a skillet over low heat.
- I do not recommend freezing this pasta. The cream will likely separate, and the mushrooms will get mushy.
Nutrition
Calories: 527kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 501mg | Potassium: 469mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1024IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 198mg | Iron: 2mg
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Hadley
In the Mario Movie, Mario has mushroom pasta, so we eat it regularly in our household now! Your recipe sounds really tasty.
Melanie
My lot loves pasta with mushrooms and garlic. This was the best! Thanks for the great recipe, Beth!
Beth Pierce
You are most welcome, Melanie!
Karen
Adding mushrooms was sooooo delicious! This is by far my favorite pasta, really good. Thank you so much for the delicious recipe.
Beth Pierce
My pleasure, Karen!
Helena
This mushroom pasta was pretty good! Love the overall texture!
JQ
This was so good I could’ve cried tears of joy. Thank you for this recipe!
Beth Pierce
You are so sweet! You are most welcome!
Mitzi
What can I substitute for the heavy cream to cut down on the fat ?
Beth Pierce
Nothing thickens like heavy cream. You could use half n half but then you will need to add a cornstarch or flour slurry to thicken it.
Karen Williams
I just came across your site and I’m certainly glad I did. I haven’t had time to actually make this dish, but I can say that if it contains mushrooms, heavy cream, and pasta, we have a winner! Thanks so much for sharing.
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine, Karen!
Thena
Wow- this looks great! My oldest loves mushrooms so I’m going to make this for her as a treat!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Thena! Enjoy!
Tameka H
Sunday dinner! Check! My family loved this recipe!
Neely Moldovan
My husband would LOVE this! He is such a huge mushroom fan.