Making this flavorful mushroom pasta is a breeze - sauté mushrooms with a splash of wine & toss them with pasta, garlic, herbs & a little cashew cream.
This mushroom pasta was inspired by our recent trip to Parma, Italy. Mushrooms were in season in the area, and every restaurant we went to seemed to have a mushroom special. In addition to multiple mushroom pasta recipes, we tried mushroom soup, grilled mushrooms, and more. Jack and I happen to love mushrooms, so I was itching to make this mushroom-lovers spaghetti once we got home.
Mushroom Pasta Recipe Ingredients
This recipe, obviously, starts with the mushrooms. I used sliced cremini mushrooms, but by all means, mix in other varieties such as chanterelle mushrooms or oyster mushrooms if you want to get crazy. The rest of these ingredients – olive oil, garlic, herbs, and a touch of cashew cream with Dijon mustard – seem so simple, but they compliment the mushrooms in such a delicious way. Specifically, if you’ve never tried tarragon before, it has an anise/licorice flavor that you might not love at first sniff, but it REALLY makes the deep savory flavor of the mushrooms pop.
Mushroom Pasta Recipe Variations
Now that the weather is cooling off, this mushroom pasta is our kind of weeknight recipe. It’s quick to toss together, which is the beauty of pasta, but it’s also yummy, satisfying, and very flexible. For example, if you don’t have tarragon and chives, rosemary and/or sage would be delicious. You could also sub in gluten-free pasta if you want to (or even spaghetti squash), and there’s a vegan option (below) to use cashew cream instead of regular cream. Of course, if you’re not vegan, top this with fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano (or pecorino or Parmesan cheese), because this recipe is inspired by Parma after all!
Buon appetito!
If you love this mushroom pasta recipe…
Try my broccoli pasta, roasted veggie pasta, pasta pomodoro, butternut squash pasta, or pesto pasta next!
Garlic Herb Mushroom Pasta
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 16 ounces cremini mushrooms, de-stemmed and sliced
- 8 ounces Spaghetti, plus ⅓ cup reserved pasta water
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine (such as chardonnay or pinot grigio)
- ¼ to ⅓ cup cashew cream (below)
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh tarragon
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh chives
- ⅓ cup shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup raw cashews + ½ cup water (or skip this mixture and use regular cream)
- ½ clove garlic (a small one)
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon dijon mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- Make the cashew cream by blending all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Set aside. (note: it’s not going to be very thick, it should be the consistency of half & half or heavy cream).
- In a large pan heat the olive oil oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, a few generous pinches of salt and pepper, and cook until soft and wilted, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water 1 minute short of the package directions, until al dente. Reserve ⅓ cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.
- To the mushrooms, add the wine. Stir and let it reduce for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, then the cooked pasta and toss. Add a few splashes of the cashew cream and a few splashes of the pasta water and toss to create a light sauce. Add half of the fresh herbs and season to taste. Serve immediately with remaining fresh herbs and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on top.
Change up the herbs: rosemary and/or sage would be delicious here, but add those heartier herbs to the pan as you add the mushrooms so that they'll cook more than the softer herbs.
This makes me so hungry! So simple but thats really all you need. yum!
I’m going to make this tonight. My daughter suggests boiling the cashews to soften them. How do you feel about that? Thanks!!
Hi Deb, you can do that (it won’t hurt). I use a vitamix blender and it’s not necessary.
This came out perfectly. I added some tapioca starch to get that creaminess that the cheese usually brings and you really wouldn’t believe how creamy and delicious it was.
So good! I used garbanzo noodles (who knew?) and subbed in parsley and green onions. Mushrooms, wine, garlic and cashew cream. Yum!
Is the 8oz spaghetti measurement dry or after it’s been cooked?
dry!
This recipe was wonderful! I did make a change and omitted the cream sauce. My husband and I are not huge fans of cream sauces. The results were pure and fresh and very Italian! We will definitely make this again!
Absolutely delicious! I ended up also adding some toasted pine nuts, I excluded the tarragon but added some sauteed leeks. thank you for this recipe, I will definitely be making it again!
This was outstanding and very easy! Another great recipe. Do you think I can freeze the leftovers-i.e. the pasta, sauce, mushrooms, etc mixed together?
Hi Karen, I don’t usually freeze pasta, I think it would get kind of mushy.
This pasta dish sounds good especially with wine and herbs i have tontry one day
Delicious! Thank you. I used rosemary as what was on hand and extra garlic and was loved by all.
Don’t know where to start first. Everything sounds amazing
Wow, this was awesome. I have never made cashew cream before but I loved it and can see using it in a lot of dishes. I didn’t have wine so I used good vegetable stock with the juice of half a lemon and the hint of lemon with the mushrooms and Parmesan was really good. I also used fresh thyme and oregano because that’s all I had on hand and they worked great.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I am not an experienced kitchen user and this turned out to be SO good. I think anyone could make this and have a kickass meal, oh buddy. Oh man. This real good.
Can I freeze the leftover cashew cream?
Hi Cheryl, it’ll get a little more gritty when it thaws… it’s stored in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Made this recipe and loved it! It was super easy and everyone in my house loved it! Def adding to the repertoire!
Hi Ben, I’m so glad everyone loved it!!
I had a mushroom pasta dish at a restaurant last week, and I was craving something similar. This dish was even better! Thanks!
Yay, I love hearing that! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
This was AMAZING. I didn’t have all of the ingredients on and, so I had to make do with what I did have, and it was still incredibly tasty. I will be making this again in the future for sure. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Sneha, I’m so glad to hear! I’m happy to hear it was so flexible to work with what you had on hand 🙂
Made this a couple of nights ago, and it was outstanding! I subbed rosemary for the tarragon (not a big fan), as you suggested. My carnivore boyfriend wolfed it down, and we had a bit of a ‘debate’ over who would get to take the leftovers for lunch the next day. I won on the condition that I make this again in the very near future!
Ha ha, I’m glad you both loved it so much. Love the rosemary idea!
Hi Jeanine, I was skeptical about the tarragon since the only way I’ve ever known it to be used was when growing up my mother added it to our winter stored bottled vinegar. I’m curious by nature and your website and cookbook have contributed a lot to go vegetarian. This dish was a hit[one more ..] tonight. Prepped with Creminis and Chanterelles. Miam ! ps: the cashew cream was just the perfect.
TX !
This pasta is so delicious!!! I used shitake mushrooms and it turned out perfect. I prefer the cashew cream over the whip cream. Thanks for a great recipe that will be on repeat all season long!,
Hi Diane – I’m so glad you loved it! It’s one of my all time favorites, happy to hear you’re a fan of the cashew cream 🙂