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This garlic mushroom pasta recipe is easy to make and incredibly delicious! The garlic butter parmesan sauce is freshened up with a touch of lemon and parsley.
You may also like my Easy Pink Sauce Pasta or this Creamy Spinach Bacon Orzo next.
Why you’ll love it
This dish is made with simple ingredients. Garlic butter mushroom pasta is great for a quick weeknight dinner but also perfect for serving company. Lemon and mushrooms is such a good combo that you don’t see too often. Let me know how you like it!
I rarely cook with pappardelle, but whenever I do decide to use it, I think to myself that I should do it more often. It just feels fancy, but it’s not any more difficult to boil than any other pasta shape. Those ribbons go perfectly with the buttery mushroom sauce.
What you’ll need
- Pasta – I like a longer shape like pappardelle, but serve with whatever pasta you prefer
- Olive oil and butter – for sautéing and the base of the sauce
- Onion and garlic – tasty aromatics. I like using sweet onions.
- Mushrooms – I chose cremini/baby bellas
- Chicken broth – for more savory depth
- Dijon mustard and lemon juice and zest – for brightness and enhancing flavor. You don’t taste them individually.
- Parmesan – use a good-quality block and grate it yourself. It melts better and has the best flavor.
- Parsley – a pop of freshness
Pro tip
I try to eke out as much flavor as possible by making sure the mushrooms and onions get a good sear. Don’t rush this step!
How to make garlic mushroom pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms and onions in the oil and some butter in a skillet, stirring occasionally, until the water is cooked off and they’re nicely seared. Add in the remaining butter, the garlic and Dijon, and cook for a minute.
Pour in the broth, and add the lemon juice and zest. Let it bubble for another minute. Remove from the heat, and stir in the parmesan and parsley. Add a splash of pasta water to the sauce, drain the pasta, then toss it with the sauce. Season with salt & pepper.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I use one of my fav kitchen tools to zest the lemon, my Microplane zester/grater. It’s also great for grating cheese. 😉
- This skillet is the one I use.
- A pair of kitchen tongs makes it simple to toss and serve this pasta.
Substitutions and variations
- Use vegetable broth if you’re vegetarian. Dry white wine also works great for this dish. I typically cook with either sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio. I don’t really have any brand preference.
- If you’ve got other fresh herbs on-hand, feel free to add them in!
- You can definitely try a different kind of mushroom for this recipe (white mushrooms come to mind). Just be sure to brown them well!
What to serve with mushroom pasta
- A slice of fresh crusty bread or a dinner roll is a good idea, or try Garlic Bread.
- I like this Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad for an easy and elegant pairing, or try spring mix with this Homemade Italian Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftovers for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- The pasta can dry out over time, so you might want to add a splash of white wine or broth when reheating. Do so slowly over a low heat.
- I don’t recommend freezing leftovers.
Love mushrooms and pasta? Try these
If you made this easy mushroom pasta recipe, let me know in the comments below! Or tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram.
Garlic Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 ounces uncooked pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or veg broth or white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice + zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water and cook the pasta al dente according to package directions.
- Add the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the onions and mushrooms. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the water has been released from the mushrooms & cooked off and everything gets a good sear and is browned/caramelized (this gives a ton of flavor). It'll take 8-10 minutes or possibly a bit longer.
- Stir in the rest of the butter, plus the garlic and Dijon mustard. Cook for about a minute.
- Add in the broth and lemon juice + zest, and let it bubble for about a minute or so.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese and parsley. Add a splash of the hot pasta water prior to draining the pasta (a couple tablespoons) and then toss the pasta with the sauce. Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve immediately.
Notes
- You could stretch this recipe to feed 4 people (just add more pasta) if you’re serving it with something else. This recipe can be easily doubled, but the mushrooms and onions will likely take longer to properly sear since there will be more in the pan.
- This recipe also appears in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials hardcover cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Great dish! I have to work on carmelizing but the dish was still spectacular 🙂
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it, Karen! 😀
Made this for dinner; we loved! Very yum.
That’s awesome!! 😀
What type of pasta did you use?
It’s pappardelle… I mention it in the blog post. You can use whatever you prefer, however. Hope you enjoy the recipe! 😀
Only one word to describe this recipe:Perfect
Thank you!! 🙂
I made this for a dinner party as a first course (a primo piatto). I doubled the pasta and brownes a variety of mushrooms: oyster, wood ear, cremini, button and shiitake in my cast iron skillet. (I wound up using 2.5x the mushrooms for double the pasta). I also used 3 shallots instead of onions (because I had them and had to use them up but followed the rest of the recipe). I cook with wine so used a dry white (half wine half chicken stick) and it worked well with the lemon juice and zest. Finally I tossed in 1.5 Tbs of chopped fresh, Italian flat leaf parsley. The nutty flavor of Parmigiano Reggiano was the perfect cheese for this and I brought the microplane grater to the table for everyone to grate their own. Pappardelle is one of my favorite pastas and this dish did not disappoint!
Love that!!
Made this with gluten free red lentil pasta, added in garlic scapes, fresh herbs from my garden. This was delicious! Quick and easy with things I generally have on hand. Will be a regular on our dinner menu
That’s great to hear!! 😀
Made this today for two people. It was delicious! Just wish I’d made more! Easy recipe, loved the searing advice, it really made a difference. Being vegetarian, I used Italian hard cheese instead of parmesan and it was just as tasty. Thank you for this recipe, it is now a favourite in our house!
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it!! 😀 Thanks for your review!
This turned out really good. I doubled the recipe and just topped it with cheese at the end instead of mixing it in the sauce.
Awesome!!
My husband and I loved this recipe! I followed your recipe without adding anything different and it was delicious! Thank you for posting it!!
I’m thrilled to hear it!! 😀 Thank you, Eileen!
Two words: restaurant quality.
This was the most delicious, I couldn’t believe I made it!
Awww thank you so much!! 😀
Holy smokes, this recipe is 5☆ restaurant good!! I love alone so just made it for myself. What an awesome dinner!! I’ll be making this again…and again…and again…😉😊
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it, Debra! 😀 Thanks for taking the time to write me a review!