The other day I was updating my blog post for Mushroom Herb Gravy in anticipation of the Thanksgiving season, and while I sat there trying not to drink the gravy straight from the skillet, I thought, “Maybe I can turn this into a pasta sauce…” And so I did. With the addition of a little cream for body and some lusciously thick fettuccine to sop up the delicious sauce, this Creamy Mushroom Herb Pasta was born.
Weeknight Gourmet
This rich and creamy pasta is so fast and simple you could easily make it on a weeknight. Add some homemade garlic bread and a simple green salad on the side and you have a meal worthy of any restaurant… except you did it yourself. And for half the money. Eat that pasta, girl. You deserve it.
What Kind of Mushrooms are Best?
I used regular white button mushrooms for this Creamy Mushroom Herb Pasta, but if you have room in your budget you can use something like baby bellas or full sized portobella mushrooms (sliced down to size). You’ll get more color and a slightly deeper flavor with the bellas.
Do I Have to Use Fresh Thyme?
You don’t have to, but you’ll definitely get a much better flavor with fresh thyme in this dish. And while I used rubbed (dried) sage, if you have fresh sage on hand, I would definitely use that. You’ll only need about one to two sage leaves, minced.
Creamy Mushroom Herb Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
- 8 oz mushrooms ($1.99)
- 12 oz fettuccine ($0.75)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 3 Tbsp butter ($0.33)
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.03)
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth ($0.19)
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp dried) ($0.32)
- 1 tsp rubbed sage ($0.10)
- 1/2 cup half and half ($0.62)
- Salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Wash the mushrooms to remove any dirt or debris, then thinly slice them.
- Begin cooking the fettuccine according to the package directions. Cook the pasta just until al dente, then drain in a colander. The pasta will continue to soften slightly once it’s in the creamy mushroom herb sauce, so do not overcook it.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the butter and minced garlic to a large skillet. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until fragrant and tender. Do not let the butter or garlic turn brown.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms have turned dark brown and all of the moisture they release has evaporated (5-7 minutes). Turn the heat down slightly to medium-low, add the flour, and continue to sauté until the flour begins to coat the bottom of the skillet and turns golden brown (about 2-3 minutes).
- Whisk the vegetable broth into the skillet with the flour and mushrooms. Whisk until all the flour has dissolved off the bottom of the skillet. Add the thyme, sage, and some freshly cracked pepper. Turn the heat up to medium and allow the sauce to come to a simmer, at which point it will thicken.
- Stir the half and half into the sauce and allow it to return to a gentle simmer. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt or pepper as needed (the amount of salt needed will depend on the type of broth used. I added approximately 1/4 tsp).
- Add the drained pasta to the sauce in the skillet. Toss to coat and allow the pasta to heat through over medium-low heat. The pasta will absorb some of the liquid and flavors, and further thicken the sauce. Serve hot.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Creamy Mushroom Herb Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Start by washing 8oz. of mushrooms to remove any dirt, then slicing them thinly. Also mince two cloves of garlic.
Begin cooking 12oz. of fettuccine according to the package directions. Cook only until al dente, as the pasta will continue to soften a bit once it’s in the creamy mushroom herb sauce. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander.
While the pasta is cooking, you can prepare the sauce. Add 3 Tbsp butter and two minced cloves of garlic to a large skillet. Sauté the garlic in the butter over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until it’s soft and fragrant. Don’t let the butter or garlic brown.
Add the sliced mushrooms and continue to sauté for 5-7 minutes. As the mushrooms wilt, they will begin to release water and the water will begin to pool in the skillet. Just keep sautéing until all that water has evaporated and only the mushrooms and butter remain. You want to cook out ALL the moisture.
Once all the moisture is cooked out, turn the heat down a touch to medium-low, add 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, and continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes. The flour will create a paste around the mushrooms. Just keep sautéing until the flour begins to coat the bottom of the skillet and the flour on the mushrooms loses its white-ish color. Toasting the flour like this gives the sauce better flavor and removes that pasty, flour-like taste.
Whisk in 1.5 cups vegetable broth. Whisk really well until all the flour has dissolved off the bottom of the skillet.
Add a couple sprigs of fresh thyme (or about 1/4 tsp dried), 1 tsp rubbed (dried) sage, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir in the herbs, turn the heat up to medium, and let the sauce come up to a simmer, at which point it will thicken. If you don’t want to bother with fishing out the thyme stems later, you can just pull the leaves from the stems before adding them.
Once the sauce has thickened, stir in 1/2 cup half and half, and allow it to come back up to a gentle simmer.
Finally, give the sauce a taste and add salt or pepper if needed. The amount of salt needed will depend on the salt content of your broth. I added about 1/4 tsp salt. Remember, you want the sauce to be seasoned a little on the heavy side as the flavor becomes a little less dramatic once the pasta is added.
Finally, add the cooked and drained pasta, toss to coat, and heat through. The pasta will absorb some of the sauce as it heats.
I garnished with parsley just because I had it and that’s always nice for photos, but it isn’t necessary. Parmesan is quite nice with this pasta, though.
Super dreamy Creamy Mushroom Herb Pasta!
ok listen. listen. I am grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking you to emphasize this.
this sauce is so good that the whole time I was eating it I was consciously debating whether or not to literally voluntarily cry about it. if I were a slightly different person I would have just cried on instinct. this deserves it. I sent pictures to my family and all my siblings were jealous that I live on the other side of the country and therefore they can’t have any.
my grocery store was out of vegetable broth so I ended up using beef broth and since I haven’t made it with vegetable broth, I don’t know the difference it made, but I hope by now I have conveyed to you that it was very tasty. I also pan fried some zucchini with butter, garlic, and salt to go with it and that was really good. an excellent flavor combination.
Delicious! I had to sub chicken bullion for the vegetable stock because I forgot it at the store but I think it’s so good!
Budget Bytes comes through again! We have enjoyed every recipe we have made from your site, and this one is no exception. Whenever I have a box of mushrooms that need to be used, this recipe is our “go to.” We have used either dried or fresh thyme – both ways are tasty. I used the pasta water from cooking the fettuccine and a vegetable bouillon cube for the vegetable broth, which thickened the sauce faster. This is a perfect Friday night dinner. It’s quick, delicious and feels like a special meal. Many thanks for a winning recipe.
This is one of my favourite pasta recipes. I add some cubed tofu and frozen green peas.
Delightfully herby! Followed this recipe exactly, but using pink oyster mushrooms instead of button mushrooms/cremini/portobello. I think a mushroom medley would be nice for some more dynamic flavors, and agree that a base of cremini/portobello is perfect for this since they bring in more savory notes vs oyster mushrooms. Still wonderful.
My sister uses this as a step up to canned cream of mushroom in our family’s Broccoli Bake recipe. We combine cream of mushroom with blanched broccoli in a casserole dish and top with Ritz/crackers.
It’s a staple at our holidays, and I don’t think I’ve seen our combination on blogs after looking. You have my blessing if you find it appealing and would like to recipe test it. Your blog has given a lot to us, after all.
Oh – and sour cream to the sauce!
I will for sure try this. Just a friendly piece of advice – write not only American units but also European ones (grams, liters) – we are sometimes just lazy to convert and for you, it can become a routine :)
My son is not a fan of mushrooms. I wanted to get back into making family meals after a long work day. Made this tonight. BF son, and I loved it and I am not a great cook. Subbed herbs de Provence bc I thought I had sage but didn’t. Subbed heavy cream for half and half. Amazing!!!!! BF wants to make spin tort as a sub for the pasta. Maybe a touch of balsamic vinegar. We order a ton of DD and was surprised I managed to get it done so quickly
I make this often and just “veganize” the half and half portion. It’s omnivore approved as well ;)
For the vegan half and half:
1 Tb nutritional yeast
Heaping 1/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup almond milk
2tbl lemon juice.
Blitz all that in a nutri bullet or vitamix then follow the rest of Beth’s recipe.
If my budget allows I also dice up and cook 2 hot Italian Beyond sausages and add them to the finished sauce.
You have an excellent site. I make SO many of your recipes and need to make a point to comment more often. Although I’m vegan you have plenty of options and many that are easily customizable to my diet. THANK YOU!
I make this at least once a week since I found this recipe like 1 years ago and it changed my life IT IS THE BEST. Everyone I made it for so far loved it and even people who claimed not to like mushrooms ;)
wow this pasta looks beautiful, delicious and creamy…. nice
Great recipe! I had mushrooms that I needed to use up, and that’s pretty much all I had so I went with this recipe for a quick weeknight dinner. It was fab! I subbed 1/4 c almond milk and 1/4 c greek yogurt whisked together for the half and half (simply bc I didn’t have it) and dried herbs for fresh, and it still turned out great. If one also subbed olive oil for the butter, this could be a vegan dish.
I love your recipes, Beth. They are solid, delicious, and made with few ingredients – at least compared to other recipe sites I use. Thank you for your blog!
average recipe. made alot of changes in the recipe to make it more flavourful..
Hi! Quick question—could this be made without the sage? That’s not usually something I have on hand but I don’t want to ruin the recipe by excluding it!
This site has introduced to me to cooking On my college and I’m so grateful! Thanks for your easy to follow instructions for newbies like me!!
Hi Kari! You can leave it out but it gives the recipe a really great flavor that I think you’ll enjoy. Sage can be found in smaller canisters too.
It was so delicious and filling! I used milk because i never have half n half and i served it with chicken breast. I will make it again!