Delicious, cozy, and so easy to make! This one-pot creamy mushroom pasta comes together in under 30 minutes and is made with mostly pantry staple ingredients. Serve on its own, with more added veggies, or with chopped up protein!

close up of one pot creamy mushroom pasta in cast iron pan

One pot and oh, so creamy!

This one-pot wonder is brought to you by all the pantry staple ingredients! I shared this creamy mushroom pasta on stories the other week, and I’ve rarely had that many people message me demanding the recipe. And as hesitant as I usually am to share a mushroom recipe, you guys continue to prove that you’re my people. We love those little nuggets of deliciousness!

So today’s creamy mushroom pasta recipe uses a variety of mushrooms. The more combinations you use, the more delicious your pasta will be. That’s not to say that I haven’t tried this with just one kind at 6:30 in the evening when I’m scrambling to get dinner on the table, and I just didn’t have the time to rush to the store to pick up an array! I’ve made this with only cremini mushrooms, and it’s fab. So don’t feel obligated to purchase more varieties if you’ve got a pack of shiitake or baby Bellas in the back of the refrigerator that needs to be used up. But if you’re making this for a special occasion, say Valentine’s Day or date night, I certainly would splurge on a bag of dried porcini mushrooms to hydrate and add to this one-pot meal. 

Next level stuff right here!

mushroom pasta in bowl with shaved parmesan on top

What do you need to make creamy mushroom pasta at home?

  • Butter + Oil: We’re using a combination of butter and olive oil to saute the mushrooms.
  • Mushrooms: You can use one variety (such as cremini or white button), or you can add in a handful of shiitake and porcini to make this even more special. It’s totally up to you!
  • Chopped Onions: finely chopped onions are added to give this more flavor.
  • Minced Garlic: What are mushrooms without garlic? You can use as little as 4 cloves and as much as 6! We often opt for 6 because we like more garlicky goodness in our food.
  • Seasonings: All but one of these is a pantry staple! You’ll need dried thyme, red pepper flakes, and mushroom powder. If you’ve made my Hungarian Mushroom Soup, you may have this ingredient on hand already. Though it is optional, I found that it elevated the dish by 1000%, so if you can find it, don’t skip it!
  • Bouillion: I like to use bouillon cubes for this recipe, but you can certainly swap it out for vegetable or chicken stock if you happen to have that on hand already. You can skip the water if you use prepared stock!
  • Pasta: I used farfalle pasta for this recipe. You can use pasta shells or even linguine or spaghetti if you’d like. Keep in mind that the cooking time will vary if you change the shape of the pasta, it may need more or less time based on the size and shape.
  • Half and Half: I used half and half to keep this a bit lighter, but you can certainly use heavy cream as well if you have that on hand! 
  • Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated parmesan and chopped parsley (optional) finish the dish!
sliced mushrooms on black cutting board
sautéed mushrooms, onions, garlic in cast iron pan on white marble

How to make the best one-pot creamy mushroom pasta:

  1. Saute the mushrooms. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, add the mushrooms and saute them until golden brown and delicious. Add the onions and continue to saute until they soften and turn translucent. Add the garlic and let the rawness cook until fragrant. 
  2. Boil the pasta. We’ll season the butter mushrooms with mushroom powder, dried thyme, and red pepper flakes. Then add the bouillon cubes and pour the water over the top. Immediately add the farfalle pasta and stir to combine. You want the liquid to come to a boil and then let the pasta cook until it’s just a hair underdone to your ideal preference. It’ll cook once we add the cream as well, so you don’t want to cook it all the way through just yet!
  3. Finish the dish. Taste the pasta for doneness. Drizzle in the half and half and parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Let cook for a few seconds or until the sauce thickens slightly.  At this point, you want to taste and adjust seasonings to your preference. Top with chopped parsley, and you’re ready to serve!
prepared pasta in pot with wooden spoon on white marble

How to make this mushroom pasta a full meal:

You can play around tons with recipe! 

  1. Add spinach. I’d add a handful of baby spinach during the last 1 minute of the pasta boiling to make this more filling and nutritious. 
  2. Cook chicken before you saute mushrooms. You could cook chicken in the same pot, dice it up and add it right at the end before the half and half. 
  3. Use leftover grilled chicken or steak bites on the side. Totally versatile that way.
  4. Add burrata to the top of each plate before serving!
pasta with mushrooms in bowl with shaved parmesan, black pepper, and parsley

If you like this mushroom recipe, you might also like:

bowls itv pasta, fork, on white marble with linen towel
Yield: serves 4

One-Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Delicious, cozy, and so easy to make! This one-pot creamy mushroom pasta comes together in under 30 minutes and is made with mostly pantry staple ingredients. Serve on its own, with more added veggies, or with chopped up protein!

One-Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 10 ounces mushrooms (such as shiitake, cremini, porcini etc.)
  • ½ cup finely chopped onions
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon mushroom powder (optional, see notes)
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1-2 chicken bouillon cubes (see notes)
  • 2 ¼ cups water
  • 8 ounces farfalle pasta (bowtie pasta)
  • ⅓ cup half and half (or heavy cream)
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • Chopped parsley (optional)

Instructions

    1. SAUTE: Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute them until golden brown, about 4-6 minutes. Add the onions and continue to saute them for another 2-3 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds.
    2. BOIL: Season with mushroom powder, dried thyme, and red pepper flakes. Add in the bouillon cubes and pour the water over the top. Add the farfalle pasta and stir to combine. Allow the liquid to come to a boil and cook uncovered on medium-low for 5 minutes. Check the pasta to make sure that about half of the liquid has evaporated. If it hasn't, crank the heat up to medium continue to cook for an additional 5-8 minutes or until it’s *just* a hair underdone to your ideal preference.
    3. FINISH: Taste the pasta for doneness. Add the half and half and parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Let cook for 30 seconds or until the sauce thickens slightly. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Top with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Notes

  • If you’ve made my Hungarian Mushroom Soup, you may have this ingredient on hand already. Though it is optional, I found that it elevated the dish by 1000%, so if you can find it, don’t skip it!
  • You can use vegetable bouillon or chicken/vegetable stock for this recipe as well. If you use bouillon cubes, check the box to see what is recommended for 1 cup. I used a large cube that was quite salty so 1 cube for 2 ¼ cups of water was plenty for me.
  • If you make this pasta in a larger casserole cast iron pan (the way it’s pictured) you’ll definitely need additional stock or water as the liquid will evaporate much faster than it would from a saucepan. For best results, I suggest preparing this in a saucepan the first time around!

Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!