Mushroom Garlic Pasta is one of my favorite dishes to make. Comes together in less than 30 minutes, and it’s always a winner. This recipe was inspired by a similar dish I ate back in Italy. It was a beautiful pasta that was covered in olive oil, sautéed mushrooms mixed in, flavored with garlic, and seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper. It was such a simple dish that packed so much flavor, and I just knew I had to recreate it when I got home. This is easy to whip up when you want a quick dinner for yourself, or even for a very special occasion (like a romantic date night).
So I bet you’re wondering why this pasta looks bare, no red sauce of the kind. Well, this type of pasta dish is actually a “sauceless” pasta. However, it’s really not what you think. In America, often we eat a lot of heavily sauced pasta, such as spaghetti bolognese, or pasta alfredo. In Italy, they eat pasta in a light pool of sauce. They either use pasta water, butter, or olive oil. Sometimes it’s a mix! Very simple, but very delicious. It’s the perfect dish for those who want a simple pasta dish, but you don’t have any jarred sauce lying around. I’m pretty sure most of us have butter or olive oil around in our pantries!
What you’ll need:
- Pasta - I personally like using long noodles, such as spaghetti or fettuccini for this recipe, but you can use whatever you like!
- Vegan Butter - Adds richness to the dish
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Get to good stuff for this dish, why? Because a good quality olive oil is fragrant and much more flavorful.
- Cremini or Baby Bella Mushrooms - These mushrooms are perfect for this dish because they are meatier and have a great umami flavor. They definitely compliment this dish very well. If you can’t find Cremini/Baby Bella, you can use portobello, shiitake, or any brown mushrooms. Try not to use the white button mushrooms, as they’re very light in flavor and the sauce will just overpower them.
- Garlic - For flavor and aromatics, duh!
- Truffle Oil - Totally optional, but a good drizzle of this will complete this dish. It adds flavor and aroma of truffles. You definitely do not need to go out and buy a bottle of this if you don’t want to. The pasta will still taste great with or without it.
- Salt and pepper - To taste
- Parsley - It brightens up the flavors of the dish.
Top Tips:
- Mise en place (meez ahn plahs) - This is French term that basically means to have all your ingredients measured, cut, peeled, etc. before you start cooking. By doing this, it’ll make the cooking process go by smoother and quicker. This goes without saying, but you’ll be surprised that a lot of home cooks don’t do this.
- Generously salt your pasta water. You want the water to taste almost like the sea. Why? Adding salt to the water will help flavor and give a better texture to the pasta.
- Save the pasta water. Before you drain out all the water, save about a ¼ cup. This is essential, the starchy water will thicken the sauce and bind it to the pasta. Not only that, but it also makes this dish less greasy. So save that pasta water!
- Stir frequently when you add the pasta water. Once you add in the pasta and pasta water to the sauce, you want to stir, and toss rapidly. This will help emulsify the oils from the sauce with the starchy pasta water. Creating a beautiful coating of sauce.
- Don’t burn your garlic. We want a gentle flavor of garlic, so cook it until it is lightly golden.
If you tried this recipe, let me know what you think in the comments below. You can also share it with me on Instagram, just tag @flouredframe. I would love to see your recreations! Happy cooking!
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📖 Recipe
Mushroom Garlic Pasta
Equipment
- Large pot
- Large saute pan
- Chopping Board
- Sharp knife
- Fine mesh sieve
Ingredients
- 224 grams Spaghetti noodles
- 42 grams Vegan butter, divided
- 60 grams Extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 Garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
- 227 grams Baby bella or cremini mushrooms, (cleaned and thinly sliced, see notes)
- ½ teaspoon Chili flakes (add more if you like a bit of heat)
- Truffle oil or more extra virgin olive oil (to drizzle)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley (to top)
Instructions
- Before you start cooking, make sure you have all your ingredients prepped and ready. And bring a large pot of water to boil.
- Once your water is at a rolling boiling, add about a tablespoon worth of salt to the water. Stir to dissolve. Cook spaghetti according to box instructions. Carefully scoop out a ¼ cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Drain the water from the pasta and set it aside.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add the garlic. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, or until lightly golden. Don’t let the garlic get too brown or crispy, or it’ll make the dish bitter.
- Next, add in the mushrooms and stir frequently until they release excess liquid. Continue to cook until most of the liquid has been cooked off. Season it with salt and pepper.
- In the same pan, add in the rest of the butter, extra virgin olive oil, and chili flakes. Allow the butter and oil to heat up, about 1-2 minutes.
- Increase the heat to high and transfer the cooked pasta to the saute pan, along with the reserved pasta water. Stirring and tossing rapidly, until a creamy emulsified sauce forms and coats the noodles. Season with a bit more salt and pepper. Remove from the heat, drizzle a bit of olive oil or truffle oil, stir to combine. Top with some fresh parsley, and serve right away.
Lori says
Made this for the first time last night - it was delicious! It was one of the tastiest dishes I've ever made. Will definitely be making it again.
Floured Frame says
This makes me so happy! It's one of my favorite pasta dishes, so I'm glad you liked this recipe. 🙂