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Creamy Mushroom Pasta Recipe

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5 from 2 reviews

This creamy mushroom pasta is a quick and easy weeknight dinner that tastes like it came from your favorite local restaurant! Balsamic vinegar and garlic boost the umami flavor of the mushrooms to create a fully satisfying vegetarian meal. Sometimes creamy mushroom linguine can be a little too rich but this recipe relies on dried herbs instead of extra cream to make a sauce that’s flavorful and not too heavy.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 8 oz. linguine, cooked al dente
  • 8 oz. baby Bella mushrooms
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • Kosher salt
  • fresh cracked pepper
  • grated Parmesan, for serving
  • fresh chopped parsley, for serving

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta in a pot of salted water according to package directions until al dente. Toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  2. Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat.
  3. Rinse and quarter mushrooms and add them to the hot pan. Sprinkle them with a couple pinches of salt.
  4. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
  5. Add butter to the pan and reduce heat to medium.
  6. Once butter is melted add garlic, thyme, and sage along with a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
  7. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for about a minute, delgazing the pan and scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom.
  8. Stir in heavy cream. Toss linguine in the mushroom sauce.
  9. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with Parmesan and fresh parsley!

Equipment

Notes

  • Make extra! This balsamic mushroom pasta recipe makes just four servings, but it can easily be doubled (or even tripled) if you’re looking to feed more people—or just want some leftovers for easy meals during the week!
  • Use all the mushrooms! If eight ounces looks like a lot of mushrooms on your counter, don’t worry. Mushrooms are 90 percent water, and they shrink significantly when cooking.
  • If some of your mushrooms are smaller, just halve them instead of quartering them. You want to make sure that the mushroom pieces are about the same size so that they cook evenly!
  • Don’t crowd the mushrooms! Remember to give your mushrooms some room in the pan. If they’re too close, they steam (90 percent water, remember) more than they brown and brown = flavor. If you need to, cook the mushrooms in batches and then add them all back in with the butter.
  • If you aren’t worried about keeping this dish vegetarian, feel free to add grilled chicken, cooked shrimp, or sliced steak for some extra protein!