Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti

A promotional image of a close up photo of spaghetti with mushrooms in a creamy sauce with the words 'Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti' in bold print. - 3

A close up photo of a pan of spaghetti with mushrooms in a creamy sauce with the words 'Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti' in bold print. - 4

A promotional image of creamy mushroom spaghetti cooking at different stages. - 5

A promotional image of a white plate of spaghetti with mushrooms in a creamy sauce with the words 'Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti' in bold print. - 6

a plate of piled high with Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti topped with mushrooms and chopped herbs - 7

a close up image of a plate of Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti topped with mushrooms and parsley - 8

This easy, delicious Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti recipe is sautéed mushrooms & pasta in a garlic cream sauce that’s a perfect weeknight dinner!

a plate of piled high with Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti topped with mushrooms and chopped herbs - 9

Looking for a delicious, filling dish the whole family can agree on? Look no further than this comforting, Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti. This delectable dish is sure to get your family’s seal of approval. We’re talking sautéed mushrooms with plenty of garlic & shallots, all smothered in a creamy sauce – plus grated cheese for good measure.

Ready in just 20 minutes, serve this delicious recipe on its own or as a full meal with Homemade Garlic Bread or as a side dish served with Crispy Chicken Cutlets .

Why This Recipe Works

Sautéed mushrooms add flavor and texture to the dish, providing an earthy base for the creamy sauce.
Shallots and garlic provide a savory kick that balances out the creaminess of this dish perfectly.
Adding half-and-half or single cream makes for an incredibly rich and velvety sauce that clings to each strand of pasta beautifully.
Grated Parmesan cheese adds delicious umami notes while adding depth to every bite!

Ingredient Notes

shallots, garlic, mushrooms, parsley, cream, and spaghetti - 10

Mushrooms: I like cremini mushrooms, but you can use baby Bella, chestnut, white mushrooms, or whatever is your favorite.
Spaghetti: Use dried pasta or fresh pasta that is just undercooked before adding it to the sauce. I love to serve this sauce with spaghetti, but you can mix it up with any pasta you have on hand, it’s very good with penne.
Cream: This recipe calls for half and half (or single cream in the UK), thicker cream will work, but it makes a thicker sauce that can be thinned out with extra pasta water.
Shallots: Shallots give a wonderfully subtle flavor to this dish, but if you don’t have them, you can use finely diced onion in their place.
Parmesan Cheese: Use freshly grated cheese as it melts beautifully into the sauce. You can also use other Italian hard cheese, such as Pecorino Morano or Gran Padano.

How To Make Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Cook the pasta.
Saute the shallots in butter, add mushrooms.
Add garlic, stir in cream and parsley.
Simmer . Season with salt and pepper.
Stir the cooked pasta into the sauce.
Serve and enjoy!

Step By Step Instructions

Start with cooking the spaghetti until just undercooked. Reserve some pasta water before draining.

a mug being dipped into the pasta water - 11

While the pasta cooks, sauté the shallots in butter and cook until transparent. Add the garlic and cook another minute.

shallots and garlic cooking in butter - 12

Add the mushrooms.

Mushrooms cooking in a pot with garlic and shallots - 13

Cook until the mushrooms are fully cooked. Stir in the cream, lower the heat and simmer gently until thickened (1-2 minutes). Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

A pan with mushrooms in a bubbling cream sauce - 14

Add the spaghetti and toss with the sauce to coat and add some of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce.

pasta water being poured into the pan with the Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti - 15

Serve hot topped with shredded parmesan.

Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti ready to serve in the pan - 16

Erren’s Top Tips

To clean the mushrooms , use damp paper towels to remove any dirt. Cleaning mushrooms with water cause them to become waterlogged. Mushrooms absorb water like sponges and they won’t brown well when cooked if they are full of water.
If you want to use water, you can quickly rinse the mushrooms and pat dry with paper towels, but don’t soak them.
When cooking mushrooms, don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook mushrooms in a pan with a good amount of surface area. You want to be able to spread the mushrooms in a single layer to allow contact with the hot pan and let moisture evaporate quickly so they brown nicely.
To add an even deeper mushroom flavor, you can add some dried porcini mushrooms (that have been soaked of course) and add a bit of the liquid you use for soaking them. Since I wanted a quick and simple dish, I went for using only fresh mushrooms.
Swap Out The Mushrooms This recipe would work well with white mushrooms or baby portabellas too.
For a non-vegetarian meal , add cooked chicken.
Looking for something spicy? Sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes into the sauce for a creamy southwest spaghetti.

Rate This Recipe

Ingredients

▢ 1 pound spaghetti
▢ 2 tablespoons butter
▢ 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
▢ 3 shallots (chopped)
▢ 8 ounces cremini mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
▢ 1½ cups half and half (UK – Single Cream)
▢ Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (for serving)
▢ A good handful of fresh parsley (chopped)
▢ Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until quite al dente (it will finish cooking in the sauce).
While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large frying pan on medium heat.
Add the shallots and cook until transparent (about 3-4 minutes). Add the garlic and cook another minute.
add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are fully cooked.
Stir in the cream and parsley, lower the heat, and simmer gently until thickened (1-2 minutes).
Reserve some of the pasta water and drain the pasta .
Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat, adding the reserved water as needed to loosen the sauce.
Serve immediately with grated cheese.

Tips

To clean the mushrooms , use damp paper towels to remove any dirt. Cleaning mushrooms with water cause them to become waterlogged. Mushrooms absorb water like sponges and won’t brown well when cooked if they are full of water.
If you want to use water, you can quickly rinse the mushrooms and pat them dry with paper towels, but don’t soak them.
When cooking mushrooms, don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook mushrooms in a pan with a good amount of surface area. You want to be able to spread the mushrooms in a single layer to allow contact with the hot pan and let moisture evaporate quickly, so they brown nicely.
To add an even deeper mushroom flavor, add some dried porcini mushrooms (that have been soaked, of course) and add a bit of the liquid you use for soaking them. Since I wanted a quick and simple dish, I used only fresh mushrooms.

Nutrition

Update Notes: This post was originally published on: July 17, 2014 , but was republished with new photos and content in 2022.