This rich and smoky Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta is made with garlic and finished with fresh parmigiano to make a flavorful side dish. The unique flavor combination of paprika and garlic combined in this creamy pasta makes for a dish people won't forget!
Looking for more creamy pasta? Try out Cajun Shrimp Scampi or Creamy Chicken Parmesan Pasta.
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Cream Sauce Pasta
My biggest complaint with cream sauces is that they are usually very bland, so I knew if I was going to make a creamy garlic mushroom pasta, it couldn't be too white-bread American. I just didn't want it to taste like an alfredo out of a jar. I love to make a dish with more depth like the funky flavors of our Gorgonzola Risotto with Mushrooms.
I'm hyperfocused on making my cream sauces, like our Creamy Lemon Sauce, be extremely flavorful so that they're worth making and unique to our family recipes!
Instead of just going with the normal garlic or onion flavors I made this a little spicy and smoky with cayenne and paprika. It adds the perfect amount of kick to the cream sauce but not enough to overpower everything. It's not nearly as spicy as Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Linguine or Spicy Chicken Riggies
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Pasta: Substitute any tubular pasta. Penne or rigatoni work great.
- Heavy Cream: There is no substitution that I would make for heavy cream. I'm sure some people have tried coconut cream, but that flavor profile would just not work for this. If you can't use heavy cream you might want to try a creamy pasta that doesn't require it like our Creamy Pesto Shrimp Pasta.
- Mushrooms: Substitute any mushrooms that you have. I enjoy the butteriness of baby bella mushrooms. Our Creamy Mushroom Mascarpone Soup uses a bunch of different mushrooms like lion's mane, shitake, and blue oyster.
- Red Onion. Cooking down a red onion has a muted flavor compared to when it's raw. It is mildly sweet and goes great with the smokiness of this dish. You can substitute shallots.
- White Wine. Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio are good options for cooking with white wine.
- Garlic. Garlic is half the flavor of this dish. I use 3 cloves which feels like plenty when minced.
- Seasoning. This dish is uniquely smoky with the slightest kick from the cayenne. It's very different but the perfect combination with the garlic flavor and creamy texture.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on ingredients.
How to Make Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta
Step 1: Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil to a large saucepan and bring to medium heat. Add the red onion and stir until they soften, about 5 minutes.
Step 2: Stir in the mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms start turning a deep brown color, about 8-10 minutes.
Step 3: Once the mushrooms have developed a deep brown color, add your garlic and saute for 1- 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant but not browned.
Step 4: Add the white wine and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Boil pasta in salted water to al dente.
Step 5: Next, add the heavy cream, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Simmer on low for 5 minutes until the sauce starts turning a slight orange-brown.
Step 6: Add in the pasta with ½ a cup of pasta water. Stir the pasta until well combined.
Step 7: Remove the pan from the heat and slowly stir in the parmesan until the sauce thickens and sticks to the pasta. Serve creamy garlic mushroom pasta with fresh parsley and extra parmesan.
Creamy garlic mushroom pasta is one of my favorite comfort foods. It is such an easy dish to make, so it is perfect for Friday night, staying in, and watching a movie on the couch! It's also great as a side dish along with Crispy Italian Chicken Cutlets or Pistachio Pea Pesto Stuffed Chicken for dinner parties or the family because it only requires one pan and pot for the pasta!
Pro-Tip
- I know most of the time we hear to season with salt early and often, but with mushrooms, that's not the case. Add salt too soon and the mushrooms will steam instead of developing a nice golden brown edge. Wait to salt until you are making your sauce with this dish.
- Don't stir the mushrooms too often while sauteing. The more you stir them, the more they will steam instead of sear.
- When you add the pasta to the sauce, the sauce won't immediately be thick enough. Simmer on low, stirring until well combined until the sauce starts to stick to the pasta.
- Slowly add in parmesan off the heat so it doesn't pill into little balls.
Recipe FAQs
The reason creamy pasta is difficult to reheat is because the oil and fat will separate from the cream when reheating. The best way to reheat is to slowly reheat over medium heat on a pan on the stove.
I used a sauvignon blanc. It's light and crisp. I find it to be my favorite white wine to cook with.
You can substitute milk or half and half, but the dish is supposed to be rich and intense so it will lose a bit of its full texture with a substitution.
More Vegetable-Based Pasta
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta
Equipment
- 1 large pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb rigatoni
- 2 10 oz containers of baby bellas
- ½ red onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoon fresh parsley
- ¾ cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil to a large saucepan and bring to medium heat. Add the red onion and stir until they soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms start turning a deep brown color, about 8-10 minutes.
- Once the mushrooms have developed a deep brown color, add your garlic and saute for 1- 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant but not browned.
- In a 4-6 oz pot, boil pasta in salted water to al dente.
- Add the white wine and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
- Next, add the heavy cream, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Simmer on low for 5 minutes until the sauce starts turning a slight orange-brown. Add in the pasta with ½ a cup of pasta water. Stir pasta until well combined. Remove from the heat and slowly stir in the parmesan until the sauce thickens.
- Serve with fresh parsley and extra parmesan cheese.
Notes
- I know most of the time we hear to season with salt early and often, but with mushrooms, that's not the case. Add salt too soon and the mushrooms will steam instead of developing a nice golden brown edge. Wait to salt until you are making your sauce with this dish. The parmesan and salt will do wonders for you!
- Don't stir the mushrooms too often while sauteing. The more you stir them, the more they will steam instead of sear.
- When you add the pasta to the sauce, the sauce won't immediately be thick enough. Simmer on low, stirring until well combined until the sauce starts to stick to the pasta.
- Slowly add in parmesan off the heat so it doesn't pill into little balls.
Vinny
A creamy delicious pasta with mushrooms perfect for a weeknight meal! Hope you enjoy!