We love this mushroom pasta recipe 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 incredible!
We’ve shared many mushroom recipes with you, but today, I’m finally sharing our absolute favorite: a mushroom pasta with pappardelle, perfectly cooked garlicky mushrooms, and a creamy butter sauce made without cream.
We make this easy pasta recipe for ourselves on weeknights but also love serving it to friends when they come for dinner. Honestly, this might be one of our favorite ways to eat mushrooms.
Key Ingredients
- Pasta: I love pappardelle, but fettuccine, linguine, or even short pasta shapes like campanelle work really well.
- Mushrooms: You can use any mushroom for this pasta. In our photos, we used cremini and shiitake mushrooms. Foraged mushrooms like morels or chanterelles can even be used to make wild mushroom pasta. It would be fantastic! (If you do, can you invite us over for dinner, too?)
- Olive oil and butter: I cook my mushrooms in olive oil and then finish them with butter to make a silky butter sauce.
- Garlic, thyme, and lemon: I add minced garlic, fresh thyme leaves, and lemon zest to the mushrooms when they are cooking. So delicious!
- Mushroom powder: This is optional, but mushroom powder adds an extra pop of umami-packed, savory mushroom flavor. We have a recipe for homemade mushroom powder or you can find it online or in some specialty grocery stores.
- Parmesan cheese: To make the sauce, I toss the cooked pasta with the buttery mushrooms, some pasta water, and parmesan cheese. Then I serve it with extra cheese sprinkled on top.
How to Make Mushroom Pasta
For this pasta, we want flavorful mushrooms with golden brown edges. We use the same cooking method for the mushrooms in this pasta as our easy garlic butter mushrooms.
You’ll heat the olive oil in a wide skillet, spread out the mushrooms, and then cook without moving them until they begin to brown in spots. Give them a stir, then cook until golden on the other side. Then stir in butter, garlic, thyme, mushroom powder, lemon zest, and salt.
We like to boil our pasta water while cooking the mushrooms to speed up the process. When the water is boiling, the mushrooms will be close to done.
When the pasta has finished cooking, we toss it into the pan with the mushrooms and a splash of pasta cooking water. The starchy cooking water helps the garlic and butter in the pan turn into a creamy mushroom sauce. We use the same method of adding pasta water when making fettuccine Alfredo and even our buttered noodles.
Storing Mushroom Pasta
Store mushroom pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, add a splash of water or broth to a pan and gently warm the pasta over low heat. If it’s dry, add a bit of butter and finish with parmesan cheese. (I often save a little starchy pasta water in a small container in the fridge for reheating.)
What to Serve with Mushroom Pasta
I love this simple pasta with mushrooms on its own, but you can always round out the meal with a light salad. Try our Caesar salad, Greek salad, or homemade salad dressings. You can also add some extra protein to this pasta with grilled chicken, juicy skillet chicken, garlic shrimp, or poached salmon.
Easy Garlic Mushroom Pasta
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
I love this easy mushroom pasta recipe. You can use a variety of mushrooms. I often use cremini mushrooms, but for a spectacular pasta, try wild foraged mushrooms like morel or chanterelle mushrooms. There’s no cream in this recipe. If you want to add some, see our tips below the recipe.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
8 ounces pappardelle, fettuccine or linguine
10 ounces (280g) mushrooms, trimmed and sliced (3 cups sliced)
1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon mushroom powder, optional
1/4 cup (25g) shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook, stirring once or twice, for 1 minute less than the suggested cooking time on the package. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
2Using a damp paper towel, brush off dirt from the mushrooms. Cut away and discard any hard stems. Chop into 1/4-inch slices or, if the mushrooms are larger, like portobello, cut into 1/4-inch cubes.
3Use a microplane to zest the lemon finely. You need 1 tablespoon.
4Heat the olive oil in a large, wide skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and spread into one layer. Then cook, without moving, until browned on one side, 3 to 5 minutes.
5Stir, and cook another 3 to 5 minutes, or until mostly golden brown on all sides. Stir in butter, garlic, thyme, mushroom powder, lemon zest, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
6Turn 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.
7If the pasta looks dry, add a splash more pasta water. I usually use the full 1/2 cup of pasta water.
8Taste and adjust the seasoning. Squeeze over half a lemon. Serve with parmesan and fresh ground black pepper on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Make extra creamy mushroom pasta: Stir in 2 tablespoons of cream or creme fraiche before serving.
- Vegan mushroom pasta: Swap the butter for extra olive oil or use plant-based butter. Nutritional yeast is also an excellent substitute for the parmesan cheese.
- Truffle salt: Instead of regular salt, try truffle or porcini salt. It deepens the mushroom flavor and tastes incredible!
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
You May Also Like...
I made this for a dinner where one of my guests loves pasta and mushrooms. It was a hit with everyone and they loved the addition of black truffle salt. Easy to make and a winner!
Hi, I have been reviewing your recipes for a while now and I find they are simple and delicious. I especially enjoy watching Joanne react to the deliciousness of what she makes. Her thrill of the taste really encourages making the recipe. She is the show !!! I enjoy expression of food. My family tells me to be quiet when I eat something delicious because I always go Mmmm, mmmm.over and again and I can hear Joanne doing that. One reason I chose to follow this blog.
So kind of you, Cecilia! Thank you for sharing.
Just so simple fast and amazing. When I saw how much pasta to use I thought it wasn’t enough. However, the dish wound up more filling then expected. I used linguini but I think next time I’ll try roti I. Might be a little easier to get to spoon than pick and spin.
Delicious. I added green peas since I was a bit short on mushrooms. Made my own mushroom powder which will be great to have on hand for other things as well. Who needs cream?
Everything it was promised to be: quick, simple, delicious. Had some fresh parsley so i sprinkled that on top. Def keep mushrooms on hand for this one!
This was amazingly simple and delicious. I added some firm tofu and loved that too.
I made this dish and substituted shallots instead of garlic,( I snuck in a little bit of garlic powder) because my husband cannot tolerate fresh garlic. Could the mushroom sauce be made in advance for dinner party?
Hi Diane, This pasta does actually reheat nicely. I’d make the entire dish, refrigerate, and then reheat slowly in a skillet with a little saved pasta water (just store it in the fridge), and maybe an extra pat of butter.