Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta
Rich, velvety, and deeply savory — this pasta uses pasta water and parmesan to create a cream sauce without the cream.
Main Dish · Prep 10 min · Cook 20 min · Serves 2 · Easy · By Tina · Published
Ingredients
- 250 g pasta, rigatoni or pappardelle
- 400 g mixed mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 30 g butter
- 80 g parmesan, finely grated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- black pepper, lots of it
- salt, to taste
This is the recipe I make when I need to impress someone but I am also exhausted. It never fails.
Here is the thing most people get wrong with mushroom pasta: they crowd the pan. Mushrooms need space and high heat to get golden and caramelized. If you pile them in, they steam and turn grey and sad. Nobody wants sad mushrooms.
The sauce is a cheat — no actual cream. It is just butter, garlic, pasta water, and a mountain of parmesan. When you toss it all together, the starchy pasta water and cheese emulsify into this silky, creamy coating that clings to every noodle. It is basically cacio e pepe's mushroom-loving cousin.
Pro Tips
- Cook mushrooms in batches if your pan is not huge. They need contact with the hot surface.
- SAVE YOUR PASTA WATER. I cannot stress this enough. That starchy liquid is the secret ingredient.
- Take the pan off heat before adding parmesan. If it is too hot, you get clumpy cheese instead of smooth sauce.
- Use a mix of mushrooms if you can — cremini, shiitake, and oyster make a beautiful combination.
Serving
Serve immediately with extra parmesan and a crack of black pepper. A simple arugula salad on the side cuts through the richness perfectly.
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