Fragrant garlic, earthy mushrooms, silky ribbons of pappardelle; there isn’t a better combination of ingredients for an easy, quick, (and inexpensive) meal that will fill bellies, stick to ribs, and delight tastebuds. This creamy garlic mushroom pasta is perfect for those crazy weeknights when you just need an easy button and a glass of wine.
Editor’s Note: Originally Published November 28, 2018. Updated with full process shots, detailed YouTube Video, and expanded info.
This creamy garlic mushroom pasta may not follow a classic “Italian” recipe, however, it is a classic in our home and that’s good enough reason for us to share with you!
And besides, we are using classic Italian ingredients, like salty sheep’s milk Pecorino Romano, fresh garlic, and extra virgin olive oil.
If you’ve come to this page because you’ve got a hankering for some stick-to-your-ribs pasta, make sure to check out our short rib ragu, authentic pasta bolognese, and this creamy Italian sausage pasta.
All three dishes are made with pappardelle pasta (the same pasta used for this recipe).
Table of Contents
Creamy garlic mushroom pasta step by step instructions
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Clean any dirt off the mushrooms with a paper towel and slice like shown. Also, chop or slice the garlic and chop the parsley. Cook pasta to 1 minute less than package directions (Photo #1).
- Saute the garlic in the olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute (Photo #2).
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and turn heat to medium-high. Let the mushrooms release their water (Photo #3).
- Keep sauteing for a few more minutes to get them nice and brown (Photo #4).
- The mushrooms are now nice and brown. Before draining the pasta make sure to reserve 2 cups of pasta water. I ladle the 2 cups into a large coffee mug for this step (Photo #5).
- Next, add the salt, pepper, and 1 cup of pasta water. Cook for 1 minute, then turn heat to low and add the cream and cheese and stir it all together (Photo #6).
- The sauce will be smooth and creamy like shown in the picture (Photo #7).
- Add the pasta to the sauce and thoroughly incorporate everything (Photo #8). Taste the sauce and if it needs more salt or pepper add it now. Add the parsley and stir it all together. If before plating the sauce thickens up too much on the pasta, use a little bit of the extra pasta water to thin it out.
So friends, seeing how easy this creamy mushroom pasta is to make, and knowing that it can be on your table quicker than your to-go order, go grab your ingredients and start cooking.
Oh, and pour yourself that glass of wine. A drier Riesling or a Chardonnay would pair perfectly and would certainly help to bring out the flavors in the dish.
What type of mushrooms to use?
Use whatever mushrooms you have available in your local grocery store.
We used white button mushrooms because they are the most widely available, and least expensive and we wanted to account for ingredient availability and cost with this particular recipe.
That’s not to say that other mushrooms wouldn’t be fantastic. Cremini, shiitake, large portobellos cut up into strips, chanterelle, and oyster mushrooms would all be great choices.
But again, for this dish, use what is easy, available, and budget-friendly.
How to correctly cook mushrooms?
Mushrooms are like sponges and have the ability to retain a lot of liquid.
Cooking them is quite simple as long as the heat is high enough in the pan to evaporate the water they release.
If they are sauteed too low they can boil out. When working with a lot of mushrooms like in this dish, the water can be a slight issue.
White mushrooms release a lot more water than the others mentioned above.
We suggest draining the water from the pan and turning the heat to high to get them nice and brown.
Mushrooms require no oil or butter to saute as they will release water and still brown after it all evaporates. The only olive oil these are cooked in is what was leftover from sautéing the garlic.
Cream or half and half?
We recommend using heavy cream because the sauce will never break. This can happen when using half and half. and the sauce will never break.
Interestingly enough, there are some pasta dishes that while extremely creamy in nature have no cream at all, such as the classic Roman pasta, Cacio e Pepe, which relies upon the combination of the pecorino and the starchy pasta water to form a velvety, creamy consistency.
For the purposes of this dish though, we use heavy cream.
Pecorino Romano substitute
Full disclosure – I love Pecorino Romano cheese. It is my favorite cheese. Use it if you can find it!
It is the cheese used in the classic Roman pastas, and I put it on almost everything, from Spaghetti Amatriciana to a hearty bowl of Pasta Fagioli.
Parmesan cheese also works for this dish.
Pecorino really is quite salty and we’ve accounted for that in the recipe by using only 1 tsp of salt. So make sure to test the sauce at the end if you opt to use a less salty cheese like parmesan or a different cheese.
More delicious mushroom recipes
- Pasta alla Norcina – Sausage, diced mushrooms, cream, and white wine with a touch of nutmeg.
- Beef Stroganoff – Seared steak and mushrooms in a tangy cream sauce with buttery egg noodles.
- Spicy creamy mushroom pasta – Calabrian chili paste, tomato, cream, pasta, and sauteed mushrooms.
- Mushroom risotto – Arborio rice, mushrooms, shallots, and Parmigiano Reggiano.
- Easy sauteed mushrooms – Garlic, parsley, olive oil, and a pinch of hot red pepper flakes.
- Mushroom brandy cream sauce pasta – Creamy brandy sauce with seared mushrooms over linguine.
If you’ve enjoyed this Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta Recipe or any recipe on this site, give it a 5-star rating and tell us about it in the comments below.
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Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound white button mushrooms sliced
- 1 pound pappardelle pasta
- 1 cup Pecorino Romano grated
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups pasta water
- 10 cloves garlic sliced or chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup parsley minced
Instructions
- Bring salted water (2 tablespoons kosher salt per gallon of water) to boil and cook pasta to 1 minute less than package instructions.
- In large pan saute garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 1 minute on medium heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan and turn heat to medium-high. Let mushrooms release their water and continue to saute to brown.
- Before draining the pasta reserve 2 cups of the pasta water. Add 1 cup of the pasta water, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp of pepper to the browned mushrooms and cook for 1 minute.
- Turn heat to low and add 1 cup of cream and 1 cup of cheese. Mix thoroughly to make the sauce.
- Add the pasta to the sauce pan and let it all cook to coat for 1-2 minutes while stirring. Taste test and adjust salt and pepper if required. Finally, add the parsley, mix it all together and serve with more grated Pecorino Romano cheese. If the sauce is too thick use a little bit more pasta water to thin it out. Enjoy!
Notes
- Only 1 teaspoon of kosher salt was used because of the salty Pecorino Romano cheese, but adjust according to personal taste.
- It’s good to have extra pasta water on hand for thinning because cream sauces have a tendency to dry up quickly right before serving.
- Most thick pasta shapes work well for this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published on November 28, 2018. It was completely updated on October 27, 2020.
Every recipe that I’ve made has been simple, easy, and delicious. I substitute the pasta for some gluten-free varieties and I have an allergy-friendly, cheap, and tasty meal for myself. I think I make a variation of this recipe at least once a month. I highly recommend it!
Hi Savannah, thanks for the comment! We’re so happy you’re enjoying the recipes!
This was really great! Pappardelle is my new favorite pasta! I used half romano and half goat cheese and it was wonderful!
Hi Esten, thank you, and happy you liked this recipe!
Made this a couple of weeks ago for my vegetarian daughter and Hubble. I followed the recipe exactly and it was so so delicious! (hate it when folks give a crummy rating to a recipe they changed so much it isn’t the same recipe!). Going to try it again using (rehydrated) dried mixed wild mushrooms. Do you think it will be as delicious as the original recipe? So far, any of your recipes that I’ve tried are all five star!
Hi Cindy. Glad you enjoyed it. I do encourage people to change things up, but I agree with you, if the recipes aren’t followed they shouldn’t be rated at all. They are essentially rating their own creation.
And we made this delicious dinner tonight . I was shopping all day and What I was gonna cook for dinner… But all of a sudden I thought I have mushrooms and heavy cream why not try your simple and fast recipe…I just happened to print out your recipe that say. So I gave it a try and it turned out delicious… that is the second Recipe I’ve made of yours… the first was the eggplant meatballs. Both recipes were heavenly… Can’t wait to try the next recipe… You cook so similarly to how I cook that I feel so comfortable watching you and learning even more… I hope word gets out that you need your own cooking show… Can’t wait to see that happen… my husbands grandparents are from Sicily and we costly they don’t use a lot of garlic maybe it’s an Italian American thing… But we love it we always add more then what it calls for and you always say “add how much you want” Good luck in your bright future ahead!
Hi Sharon. Really glad you enjoyed the recipe. I always try to make people feel comfortable with experimenting with more of what they like to fit their personal tastes. The techniques are what’s important. Print recipes on this blog are a bit more precise. Video is more of the medium I can better communicate my message of “making the recipe your own”. I doubt I will get a traditional cooking show on TV. But that doesn’t matter since anyone can now skip that process by making their own cooking show on YouTube or other platforms. That’s what I’ve done. I’m grateful for you and so many others watching me there!
Love this dish. I add blackened chicken to mine. I make it once a week and sent it to many of my friends. Soo simple and friendly on the whallet.
Hi Darren. I love the blackened chicken idea. Thanks for the feedback.
Thank you, Jim! My whole family loves this recipe. Had to use linguine because it’s readily and economically available in Oregon, but it didnt hurt my family at all! It’s delicious.
All your recipes are very clear. I found your Youtube channel by searching “pizziaola” because my mom made that with inexpensive beef and I miss it. She missed a lot of her favorites after moving from Brooklyn to Portland in 1950, but when my Nana visited we always had lots of Itialian food. I wanted my grown sons to know what it’s like to have good, home cooked Italian food and your site has helped me do that!
Happy New Year!
Fran Chandler
P.S. Do Southern Italians, which I’m just guessing is your background, like my Godfather’s ,always have lentils on New Year’s Day to ensure good fortune?
Hi Fran. Glad you enjoyed this one and linguine (my favorite pasta) is a great pasta for almost any dish. Great to hear that you’re enjoying the videos and that they are bringing you back. My mother’s side is southern Italian (Sicilian, Basilacata) and lentils were always cooked in our family. Tradition is to serve them on New Year’s day, but I don’t remember having them specifically on that day. Though we had them so much I can’t remember lol. Thanks for the comment and I hope you enjoy many more of our recipes!
This is fairly important info, and for many of us. More people need to know this. Yet, I have not once, not a single time, seen this mentioned anywhere. I’m sure it’s there somewhere, but this is the first time anyone has spelled it out.
I ruined dishes several times before I finally learned that tempering trick, and because of those previous failures I do it now on anything dairy. Very interesting to learn that heavy cream is resistant to such things. It’s the fat content I’d assume.
I think I speak for lots of us when I say…many thanks for your videos. They are different from the thousands of amateur(ish) videos, but also different from the very extensively produced, lit, recorded, set-dressed, and edited ones too. Looking forward to seeing, and trying, many more of your recipes.
Thanks, Julius. One day, I might have a studio and extensively produced videos, but not yet.
I have watched a few of his videos on Youtube. Never once did I see him “temper” any dairy products before adding them to a hot dish. We are taught that avoiding that step will cause the protein to coagulate and screw up what you are making. Yet, he doesn’t do this, and I’ve seen no problems. Has he successfully disproven this supposedly essential step which most everyone who cooks for a living (or a lot at home) insist you don’t skip?
He also mentioned that if half and half is used it could “break”. He didn’t explain this to those newcomers who might have no idea what that means. From the little I’ve learned, unless I misunderstood, that’s the same thing as separating, yes? I assume that breaking/separating and coagulating are two different dairy-related problems?
Hi Julius. You don’t really have to temper with heavy cream. Just lower the heat a bit before adding it in or remove the pan from the heat for a second if you’re worried. I make my videos to show exactly how to do things. Textbooks and written recipes are great, but imo there is nothing better than when someone shows and doesn’t just tell. With milk or half and half, I recommend tempering.
Hi Jim, I just found your website last night and the simple garlic, mushroom, cream and cheese recipe. We were hungry and in a hurry and this was so simple but full of flavor. I’ve been cooking for years but reading through your recipes am learning a lot I didn’t know which is fantastic. Like adding pasta water to keep it nice and creamy as the pasta absorbs. We didn’t add the parsley only because we were lazy and I used the mushrooms I had, which were baby bellas, shitake, oyster, and some big but I chopped it up and added it. We had black truffle so added that at the very end. What I learned is that I should have kept adding more pasta water as the pasta was absorbing the liquid. I realized if I had kept cooking it longer the pasta would have become perfectly cooked. My bad! But! We totally enjoyed it. Making the Pasta alla Norcine tonight! I love the dishes you offer…so many. We love Italy, been there four time…4 to 5 weeks every time. Just got back this last October and worried because of the state of the world we might not be able to visit anymore. So sad everyone is at odds with each other. There is so much to enjoy, cooking, the amazing beauty, love is so wonderful to have and give. Your great to share your life and talent with all of us! Thank you so very much!!! Don’t stop…your authentic!!
Hi Sherrie. Really glad you enjoyed the recipe. I’m sure you’ve had some amazing food with those long trips to Italy. Hope the pasta alla Norcina is a hit too! That one actually uses, when in season, black truffles. So if you have some left, that would be a perfect use.
love your channel
gives me confidence to try some new
Nick G
Hi Nicholas, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the videos. My goal is to make a video for every recipe on this website. Thanks again!