This is a mushroom pasta that’s nice and juicy, in no way dry and dull even though it’s not made with a tomato or cream sauce like this Creamy Mushroom Pasta. It’s buttery and garlicky, and it’s 6 ingredient magic at its best.
Plus my little trick to make extra buttery mushrooms using LESS butter!
Mushroom Pasta
Anyone who has sautéed mushrooms will know that the minute mushrooms hit the skillet, the bottom layer of mushrooms soaks up the oil, leaving the top layer dry.
So I used to think that the best way to sauté mushrooms was with loads and loads of butter or olive oil. As you sauté the mushrooms, they start to leech water, creating moisture. But still! That first layer of mushrooms lucky enough to hit the skillet first stole all the butter, leaving the remaining 80% of mushrooms butter free!
In a bid to even out the butteriness of mushrooms, my solution is to reduce the amount of butter melted in the skillet, add a bit of olive oil (so you can heat the butter more without it burning and get the mushrooms browned faster). Then AFTER the mushrooms are golden (i.e. water leeched so they are no longer butter-sponges), add a small knob of butter.
Boom! A big skillet of mushrooms that look and taste WAY more buttery than if all the butter is melted at the beginning! See??
What you need for mushroom pasta
Here’s what you need for this mushroom pasta. You can use any type of long strand or even short stand pasta you want (like orecchiette, penne, ziti, macaroni). Also, the parmesan is not just for serving. Tossing the pasta with parmesan before serving is a little trick I like to use for an extra flavour boost!
How to make mushroom spaghetti
Here’s how to make this mushroom pasta:
The two key steps here are:
Butter added later – Hold back some of the butter until AFTER the mushrooms are golden – for extra buttery mushrooms with less butter!
Pasta cooking water – Use some of the pasta cooking water to toss with the spaghetti and mushrooms. The starch in the water will emulsify (thicken) with the butter in the mushrooms, creating a slick juicy transparent “sauce” that clings to the pasta strands. Classic Italian cooking technique used for all pastas.
If you do this key step of tossing the pasta with some of the pasta cooking water, people will think you’ve made a mushroom pasta sauce. That’s how juicy and “saucy” it seems!
I know I keep going on and on about how juicy and slick this pasta is! It’s because this is hard to capture in photos and I feel like people see pastas like this one without a large pot of sauce and assume it’s dry and boring. When in actual fact, this is about as far from that as it can be!
If you’d like to add some extra greens into your meal, try this with a classic (super quick) Rocket/Arugula Salad with Balsamic Dressing. Otherwise, a juicy tomato salad, fresh crunchy cucumber salad, or have a browse through my Vegetable Sides and pick something using vegetables you have!
– Nagi x
PS If you want to indulge in a special Italian pasta meal, add a side of Garlic Bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread, and finish with Tiramisu. Sheer perfection!
Watch how to make it
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Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
CHOOSE pasta
- 200g / 7 oz short pasta like orecchiette, penne, macaroni (Note 1)
- 160g/6 oz long pasta – spaghetti, fettucine (Note 1)
Garlic Butter Mushrooms for pasta
- 400g / 14 oz mushrooms , sliced 1/2 cm / 1/5" thick (Note 2)
- 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter , separated
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (or 1/4 cup store bought grated)
To serve
- Parsley , finely chopped
- Parmesan cheese , grated
Instructions
Pasta
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta into the pot when you start cooking the mushrooms.
- Cook pasta per packet instructions minus 1 minute. RESERVE 1 mugful of pasta cooking liquid, then drain pasta.
Mushrooms
- Melt half butter and all oil in a large skillet over heat.
- Add mushrooms and cook until water has leeched then evaporated, and the mushrooms start to turn golden around edges – around 5 minutes.
- Halfway through cooking, add salt & pepper.
- Add garlic and remaining butter, cook for 2 minutes until mushrooms and garlic are golden.
- Add pasta, about 3/4 cup of reserved pasta water and parmesan. Toss gently or until water reduces and thickens into a saucy glaze that coats the pasta. If the pasta dries out, add more pasta water.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Remove from stove and serve immediately, garnished with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published October 2016. Updated with sparking new photos and video!
🍄MUSHROOM LOVE 🍄
LIFE OF DOZER
I have a 4WD car. It’s pretty big. Dozer is bigger. 😂
And from the original publication date:
There is no such thing as a peaceful lunch in this household. Always eyes on you.
Made this tonight using Swiss brown and I added thyme. Was DE-LISH-OUS!! Will definitely make this again. Thank you Nagi. I’ve only recently discovered you and loving your recipes. Used your Mexican feast recipes on the weekend and was amazing!! Thanks and keep them coming!! (Especially vegetarian please!). Xx
Hi Nagi and Dozer,
Another massive hit thank you. I added a teaspoon of chilly flakes for an extra zoom. Simply delicious.
Made this for lunch today, so delicious and easy to make. I will definitely make this again!
Nagi you are always my go to when looking for recipes, I’m yet to be remotely disappointed by one. Fabulous dinner, we loved it! Thank you
That’s great to hear Caroline, thanks so much ❤️
Can I use normal butter or does it have to be unsalted – thanks
Hi LC, you can use salted butter, just omit the salt from the recipe 🙂 N x
I made this last night and was easy and delicious. My family iasked when I was going to make it again.
I’m so happy everyone loved it Maria! N x
Made it this time with thyme due to lack of parsley in the crisper and it was delicious. Served with a side of roasted cauliflower and a Spanish Garnacha. Superb.
Made this recipe last night for dinner and it was AMAZING! I was a bit skeptical since it didn’t call for cream, but since I didn’t have any on hand, this was exactly what I was looking for. I always love reading Nagi’s recipe notes and added the thyme as suggested, and even added some white wine right before adding the parmesan cheese. My husband was in shock at how delicious it came out–truly like a dish at a fancy Italian restaurant!
WAHOO!!! That’s awesome to hear Maya! N x
I’m a college student with cooking experience in the negatives… and even I managed to make it taste great! This recipe is super easy to follow and is overall very cheap to make. I totally recommend adding a splash of white wine and some spinach leaves for an extra kick 😀
Sounds like you nailed it Ellie!
Nagi, this recipe is already delicious as it is, but we use Truffle Oil in place of the Olive Oil and find it even more delicious. Thank you!
Woah! Sounds decadent Steve!
Looks yum! I might make it with bacon so my husband doesn’t ask “WHERE’S THE MEAT?!” x
I love it Mia 😂
My kids love this mushroom pasta dish…I love it too!!! We’ve been eating too much meat lately, trying to add more veggie dishes into our diet. It’s so easy to make and tastes delicious!!! Thank you for the great recipe!!!
Wahoo, that’s great Razz!
I added a couple of tablespoons of fresh basil right before serving and it really brightened the dish! This has become a regular dish around my house lately.
Sounds amazing Ian – N x
What a tasty and easy recipe – added some porcini mushrooms as well. Just finished eating and wish there was more!
Wahoo, sounds perfect Stephen!
Hello!
This is a great recipe!
Do you know if it freezes well? We like to meal prep larger quantities for future meals.
Thanks again, Nagi! Ever since I found your website, I’ve been hooked!
You’re truly a life saver!
Hi Nagi! Not sure if someone’s asked this before but do you reckon this would work with a mix of Asian mushrooms (shiitake and oyster)?? Thanks!
Yes most definitely!!
Dear Nagi, Love all your recipes. You have become my ‘go to’ site these days. Re your comments about cooking the mushrooms, until last month I would have agreed with you BUT revisited my Julia Child bible (40 yrs old) and followed her recipe for sautéed mushrooms. No escaped water, all evenly oiled and browned. Treat as if browning meat 1) dry mushrooms 2) very hot butter wait until foam subsided 3) don’t overcrowded – just like meat batch if necessary. Perfect! Give it a shot.
Will have to give it a go Bronwyn! – N x
Made this tonight for my vegetarian daughter and meat eating husband and it was incredible! Only difference is we sautéed zucchini with the mushrooms and it was a great balance of flavours! A new meal for our repertoire! Thank you!
Sounds perfect Wendy!
This was so tasty! Added extra mushrooms. Dialed back a bit on the butter – only by a tablespoon though 😉 love the combo of olive oil and butter. Serve with a chicken breast and viola dinner !
Sounds great Agill!
While mine looks nowhere near as luscious as yours (I didn’t have enough mushrooms!), this tastes amazing! Definitely going into my weekly rotation!
I’m so glad you loved it Katie, mushrooms are one of those deceptive vegetables that always shrink down!