This Mushroom Pasta is a delicious dish of sautéed mushrooms mixed with shell pasta in a creamy sauce. The white cream sauce is conveniently made in the same pan as the sautéed mushrooms, garlic and onions, absorbing all of the great flavors as it thickens. An easy recipe to make, this vegetarian meal is full of flavor and has a fantastic creamy consistency.
Table of Contents
About Mushroom Pasta
On some days I just don’t want to cook anything Indian, like lentil, curry and flatbreads. So instead, I make dishes that are not that commonly made in my home.
This flavorful creamy mushroom pasta is one of those meals and I am happy and somewhat surprised, to say that it was a hit.
This is a pasta dish you will be sure to enjoy. I say this from experience as my family members are not pasta lovers and yet loved this dish!
You see, my family has grown up eating mostly traditional Indian cuisine and they don’t always look favorably on trying new foods.
But I love cooking and eating foods from all over the world and so continue to try to subtly bring recipes from other cuisines into our meal routine.
This doesn’t always go well, particularly with pasta, but the wonderful flavors and satisfying texture of this yummy dish made it a winner in my home.
Even my husband who is definitely not a pasta lover enjoyed this dish. I guess it’s just that good!
I’m happy to say that this tasty creamy mushroom pasta is one of the recipes that is helping my family expand their food horizons.
Why this recipe works
To make this dish, you don’t have to make the white sauce separately. The sauce is made during the cooking process.
This allows all the wonderful flavors of the mushrooms, garlic and onions to get incorporated into the milk as it thickens to create a tasty cream sauce.
After preparing the pasta, the remainder of this meal is made in one pot or one pan. This not only adds to the ease of preparation and clean up, but also results in a cohesive meal with perfectly blended flavors.
Towards the end, I topped the dish with cheddar cheese and then baked for the cheese to melt. This adds a nice little crust to the top.
However, if you don’t have an oven, skip this last step and instead just top the mushroom pasta with some grated cheese and serve hot.
Serving Suggestions
I served it with a side of Tomato Soup and some warm toasted brown bread. This filling dish also works well all by itself or with a light side salad.
Variations
I have used yellow bell pepper in this recipe as an additional veggie to the mushroom. Instead of yellow bell pepper you can add green or red bell pepper.
The addition of bell pepper is however, optional. The dish works fine with just the mushrooms, or else you can also add some cooked corn or baby corn or steamed broccoli, carrots and cauliflower to the recipe.
Simply add extra vegetables at the end when you add the pasta and be sure to mix well so everything is coated by the sauce.
Expert Tips
- Pasta: You can replace rigatoni, penne, ziti and farfalle pasta with macaroni or shell pasta.
- Cooking pasta: Cook pasta until they are al dente -meaning have a slight bite to them. You don’t want them to be very soft or mushy.
- Fats: You can add olive oil instead of butter. Any neutral tasting oil also works well.
- Cream: To make the mushroom pasta more rich and creamy, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream.
- Veggies: As I have mentioned above bell pepper can be skipped. Adding seasonal veggies give a good flavorful boost. The veggies can be steamed, sautéed or roasted veggies. Think of veggies like cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, baby corn, green beans.
- Mushrooms: Add cremini mushrooms or fresh shiitake mushrooms in place of button mushrooms.
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Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 cup shell pasta or macaroni
- 200 to 250 grams white button mushrooms
- 1 yellow bell pepper or red bell pepper (medium to large-sized) – optional
- 1 small onion – finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves (small to medium-sized) – finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley or coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 1 teaspoon chopped basil
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1.5 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons Butter (salted or unsalted)
- 2 to 3 tablespoon grated cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese
- salt as required
- black pepper as required
Instructions
Preparation
- Heat enough water with salt until it begins to boil.
- Add the pasta and cook the pasta until they are al dente.
- When done, strain them in a colander or strainer.
- Drain and set them aside.
- Rinse the mushrooms well in water in a strainer or colander. Drain them.
- Trim the stalks and slice them. Set aside. Chop the bell pepper and set aside.
- Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic.
Sautéing mushrooms
- Melt butter in a pan. Add the garlic and saute for about 10 to 12 seconds on a low flame.
- Add the chopped onions and saute till the onions become translucent.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and saute on a low to medium flame till the mushrooms have shrunk in size.
- There should be no moisture in the pan.
- The mushrooms will release their juices initially and after continuous sauteing, the juices will evaporate.
- Keep on stirring at intervals while sautéing mushrooms.
- After the liquids have evaporated and the mushrooms have cooked, add the chopped bell pepper and sauté for 4 to 5 mins on a low flame.
Making the sauce
- Add the flour.
- Stir well and sauté for 3 to 4 mins on a low flame.
- The flour will coat itself to the mushrooms and bell pepper.
- Add milk in a gentle stream to the pan and keep on stirring.
- The flour will combine with the milk and you will see the sauce getting thickened slowly.
Making mushroom pasta
- Cook for about 2 minutes and add the pasta.
- Stir well and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes more.
- Then add the chopped parsley and basil and simmer for a minute
- Season with salt and pepper.
- If the sauce becomes too thick, add some hot water or milk and thin the sauce.
- You can garnish with grated cheese and serve the creamy mushroom pasta right here or proceed as follows, if you have an oven.
Baking instructions (optional)
- Pour the pasta in a baking pan or bowl.
- Top with grated cheese and bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) until the cheese melts.
- Serve the pasta with a vegetable soup and with some warm toasted brown bread or white bread.
- You can have this creamy mushroom pasta without any accompaniment also.
Notes
- Pasta: Rigatoni, penne, ziti and farfalle pasta can be easily replaced with macaroni or shell pasta.
- Fats: You can add olive oil instead of butter.
- Cream: Adding 2 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream will make the mushroom pasta more rich and creamy.
- Veggies: You can skip adding bell pepper in the recipe. Steamed, sautéed or roasted veggies like cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, baby corn, green beans can be added to the sauce before you add the pasta.
- Mushrooms: In place of button mushrooms you can add cremini mushrooms or fresh shiitake mushrooms.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Mushroom Pasta recipe post from the archives first published in December 2013 has been republished and updated on 18 December 2020.
Thanks enjoyed heartily
My husband and I have been trying & recommending your simple & tasty recipes since several years now. This one turned out wonderful too, just like all others! Thank you so much. You’re simply the best! ????
thanks a lot priyanka. feels nice to read your feedback on the recipes you have made. thanks for the rating also on the mushroom pasta recipe. most welcome and wish you all the best.
Hi…my sister refuses to eat flour si can I use fresh crram (the usual amul one) instead? Thank you
yes you can use fresh cream. just mix 2 to 3 tablespoons of the cream once the pasta is done. you can use amul cream. you can add more cream if you want.
Too good & easy
Thanks Tanuja
Hi dasanna, love your recipes. Can u tell me what brand of mozzarelka and cheddar cheese are good. Which one do you use.
Thanks.
here i used go cheese brand. i do not know which one is good as i have used only two brands – go cheese and amul. amul processed cheese and cheddar cheese are fine, but i did not like their mozzarella cheese.
Thanks for your prompt reply.
welcome divya.
Thanks ????
welcome 🙂
can i use only milk cream instead of flour and milk?
yes you can do this way. just increase the amount of cream by a few tablespoons.
I tried ur recipe today and it was 2 gud.. I just shallow fried babycorn n small pieces of capsicum also n it was yummy.. Thanks dassana ur an angel for all of us..
pleased to know this neha and thankyou so much for your feedback and blessings 🙂
Tried making today n the result was delicious
thanks amrin for sharing positive feedback.
Hi Dassana ,
I am going to try this recipe of pasta I just want to know can I add olive in this recipe pls guide me?
shweta, yes you can.
Thanks for helping and telling your recipe to us….
welcome yogita
Hi Dassana,
Tried this recipe today & we all loved it…..especially my 3 year old daughter… 🙂
As always thank you so much…. God bless!
Welcome FouZia. glad to know this. thanks for sharing positive review and for your blessings.
I am in complete awe of you Dassana 🙂 !! Every recipe I try from your site is always a hit. You have an amazing talent of putting the instructions in a subtle way.
I made this pasta today and it came out brilliantly . Thanks a lot once again for this wonderful collection of lovely recipes !!
welcome sara. glad to know that you liked the pasta recipe. thanks for sharing this sweet feedback.
Thk u!
welcome mohini
Thks Dassana, am not vry well versed with use of OTG as bought it recently, so need help everytime i use it thks once again…i did try ur recipe for tuitty fruitty cake turned out soft and spongy.
welcome mohini. thanks for sharing positive feedback. if you are in doubt then feel free to ask query.
Hi Dassana, pls guide me on this pls, hv a morphy richards OTG which has bake mode heating element below, grill mode heating element above, covection mode both element above and below gets on when used so which mode do i use after grating the cheese on my pasta….
hi mohini, you can use the top heating element to melt the cheese on the pasta. for baking cakes, bread and cookies, use both the top and bottom heating elements. generally in grill cooking, top heating element is used.
Hi,
just made this recipe and it came out so so yummy… loved it totally..
since my family is not mushroom- loving people, (infact this was the first time i cooked mushroom) so after the mushrooms were cooked i put them along with onion and garlic in the blender and made a coarse paste… and then followed the recipe.. added some mint and mixed herbs to it and it was one of the best pastas i have made..
thanks for the recipe!! bookmarking your website 🙂
thanks ami. i can relate when there are picky eaters at home and to the extent one has to go to hide the disliked food in the dish 🙂 do try the other recipes as well.
Thanks so much for the recipe! Delish and super easy!
welcome bridie
Hi dassana
I love your recipes. Can you give some tips on how to store the mushrooms? Coz they tend to get sticky.
i usually freeze the mushrooms and use within 2 to 3 days. since they are highly perishable, better to use them fast.
It was delicious, sticked to the recipe!
Thanks a lot,
Anne
welcome anne
Hi Dassana,
I made this pasta recipe for dinner tonight. Used farfalle pasta instead of macaroni/shell as that was the only pasta available in my fridge. Yet the recipe turned out great. My husband always complains that my pasta recipes turn out dry but this sauce was nice and creamy and everything got coated really well and he loved it. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
welcome devaki and thanks for sharing your positive feedback and the inputs. it helps me as well as other readers who wants to try the recipe. keep visiting.
my family just loves all th pasta recipes but i had to stop buying your wonderful product because of the m.s.g. do you think the m.s.g. can be removed from as i am totally allergic to it and feel my family are missing those wonderful delicious recipes
thanks heaps
you can buy organic pasta. i don’t think they have msg. you can also make pasta at home. a bit tedious but you have fresh pasta without any additives. i did not know pasta has msg. i read your comment and will read on google about this.
This creamy pasta is yummy and easy to cook. My kids and husband really loved it. Thanks!
welcome sana
I am a medical student syudying abroad,away from home who has been having some difficulties of eating restaurant and canteen food,your blog just made my life much easier,now I cook in my hostel itself and the good news is that your website has helped me innovate with new recipes which does not make eating at home boring at all.good job,thumbs up for your patience and devotion………..
thanks purvashi. i know how it is when one has to eat out in restaurants and canteens. have been through it at times. good to know about the innovation. after all necessity is the mother of invention 🙂 i have also done the same.
I was craving for a nice Veg. Paneer tikka recipe….I searched for it on google and came across this site……then for the first time I had it made at home….and I tell you it was AMAZING….TRULY WONDERFUL….Heavenly…..all your recipes are just too good and the effort you have taken to present step by step pictures is truly commendable. This is simply the most amazing site I have visited for recipes….awesome….keep up the GOOD….FABULOUS….MIND BLOWING work….;-)
thanks kishan for this motivating comment.
Hi Dassana, I came across this site when I searched for mushroom pasta recipes in google.
Then I kept on browsing the popular posts in your site and liked it very much!
Really simple and pleasant presentation of cooking, lovely detailed pictures too!!
Liked this site very much 🙂
thanks rajitha for this positive feedback. it always good to read such motivating comments.
I really want to try this recipe but where do i get basil from. is it important to use basil?is cheddar cheese easily available in the indian market? I really want make it!!
basil is easily available in most supermarkets in the indian metro cities. you can also buy dry basil in small jars, from the super stores. cheddar cheese is easily available. there is amul as well as britannia amongst the indian brands. if you do not get basil, then you can also italian seasoning or mixed dry herbs. both are available in super markets.
I love pasta with mushrooms, but instead of cheese I often add yoghurt. This adds a certain tangyness which I think is just perfect.
thats a useful tip as well as a suggestion. i think even sour cream can be added.
hi dasanna,
was thinking to try pasta ….without mushrooms….can i try this….vl it taste good….what do u think…..?
mushrooms add a lot of taste and texture in this recipe. you can make without mushrooms too. it will be a creamy plain pasta. add some cheese in the end and mix it well till the cheese melts. it will be more like mac and cheese types. if you want you can add some boiled carrots, peas, corn in the pasta.
I made this pasta dish for dinner today and it was yummy..just perfect for pasta lovers like me..
thanks suhani
must have for my kids.. so creamy..
Pasta!!I love creamy sauce ^^
Hello Mam
Its really easy n rich recipe and one request is to upload Pasta Recipe in red sauce n in green sauce also please……m waiting for itttttttttt 🙂
mehak, i will add these requested pasta recipes soon.