This Spaghetti Mushroom Alfredo is a wholesome and hearty pasta dish which comes together in 30 minutes. It is whipped up with minimum ingredients in no time and such minimal efforts and yet tastes gourmet. This Spaghetti in Mushroom Alfredo is not just extremely tempting, but looks straight out of a fancy cookbook. Put this together as a quick meal fix for yourself, or make it for a romantic date night or for your friends and family and be ready to get your share of praises for this delightful pasta dish. You have to give it a try!
This quick and easy one pot creamy Spaghetti Mushroom Alfredo pasta is one such go to recipe when you’re tired, lazy or just don’t have a lot of time in hand because with the spaghetti is boiled to perfection, this barely takes 10 minutes to come together and I cannot begin to tell you how delicious and filling it turns out to be. Being a big fan of a good wholesome plate of pasta, I end up making this recipe on those nights when the heart craves for an indulgent pasta.
This creamy pasta, with earthy tones of flavour from mushrooms, richness of the thick cream, the pungency of the garlic and sweetness of the onions topped with fruity and nutty parmesan in every bite will definitely top the list of your quick and easy go to pasta recipes.
One of the best things about this recipe apart from the fact that it is super quick, wholesome, comes together in a single pot and packed with flavours is- you cannot go wrong with this! Once you know how to boil the spaghetti (or any pasta) to perfection, this will be your fool proof weeknight dinner when the heart craves that hearty plate of creamy authentic Italian pasta.
How to Cook the Perfect Pasta Every Single Time
No one likes a plate of mushy broken pasta, and so, while it is important put in our best efforts in perfecting the sauce, where the entire flavour lies, it is also extremely important to boil the pasta to perfection. It is not rocket science, just a few basic steps and you’ll have yourself perfectly cooked pasta every single time:
– Bring sufficient water to a boil
It is very important to have enough water in the pan to properly drown the pasta- Lesser volume of water may result into it getting extremely starchy; and bring it to a roaring boil before adding your pasta- the boiling water agitates the pasta pieces, thus helping them cook more evenly, keep them separated from one another and avoid clumps.
– Add salt
A very common mistake a lot of people make is adding oil to their pasta water in order to keep them from sticking to one another. However, this is completely false, as the only thing that can keep pasta from sticking is ample amount of water and a rolling boil, and hence is a waste of oil. Adding salt to the pasta water ensures that the pieces/strands of pasta do not remain bland while the only flavour and seasoning is in the sauce, because no one likes to bite into pasta that has all the flavours in the sauce and none into those spaghetti strands.
– Save the pasta water
Saving a couple ladles of pasta water goes a long way. Not only does the salty pasta water help flavour your sauce, it also plays a major role, along with butter and olive oil, to bring that glossy magical finish to your pasta.
– Cook according to package instructions
There is no universal rule to cook the perfect pasta, it completely depends on the brand or product you are using and it is advisable to cook as per the packet instructions; especially timing. The most common way to cook pasta is till al dente, which loosely translates to “to the bite/tooth”, means almost cooked but not completely cooked. However, the above tips ensure getting the perfectly cooked pasta every single time.
Ingredients in this Creamy Mushroom Alfredo Pasta?
As mentioned before, this recipe calls for the most basic and minimal ingredients. Let’s take a look at the key ingredients:
– Mushrooms
Mushroom is one of the star ingredients of this recipe. If you’re not a big fan of mushrooms, this is probably not for you because the piquant flavour of mushroom somewhat dominates all the other flavours in this recipe. However, the earthy tones of mushroom also complement the richness of the cream. You can use any kind of mushroom or a combination of the same. I’ve used button mushrooms for this recipe which is very easily and abundantly available around where I live and would be for most of you as well.
The big chunks of mushrooms provide a meaty bite to your creamy pasta. One word of caution while cooking the mushrooms – do not salt them right in the beginning and do not touch them too much. These two tips ensure that the mushrooms turn crispy and not soggy.
– Cream
Fresh cream is the base of this Alfredo sauce. It provides certain richness and thickness to the sauce. Although we know how many Alfredo sauce recipes contain flour and milk- that is not the authentic way to go as that version of the Italian cream sauce was invented somewhere in America and not Italy. Truth is, for the most authentic, flavourful Italian Cream Sauce or Alfredo Sauce all you need is cream, freshly grated parmesan cheese and salt.
– Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and Butter
Butter is a key ingredient in any kind of Alfredo sauce. Paring it up with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) elevates your dish by providing a bitter and fruity flavour to your pasta; increasing the richness of the sauce.
Note this recipe down, try it for yourself and you’ll never have to search for another recipe and get the perfect Spaghetti Mushroom Alfredo every single time.
Preparation time – 10 minutes
Cook time – 30 minutes
Serves – 3 people
Ingredients
- 150 g spaghetti
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp garlic – finely chopped
- 1 cup onions – finely chopped
- 200 g button mushrooms, cleaned and cut into half
- 1 cup fresh cream
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
Directions
- Bring enough water in a deep pot to a roaring boil.
- Season the water with enough salt to make it saline.
- Add in the spaghetti and give it a mix.
- Boil the pasta according to package instructions and set aside.
- Save some saline pasta water.
- In another pan, heat some extra virgin olive oil.
- Add in the butter to the pan and let it melt.
- Throw in the chopped garlic and sweat it, stirring continuously. Do not brown the garlic.
- Add the finely chopped onions to the pan.
- Right after adding the onions, add the mushrooms.
- Cook till the mushroom turn a nice golden brown and crispy and cook completely and the onions become translucent, stirring occasionally.
- Throw in the fresh cream and saline pasta water and give it a good mix.
- Bring the sauce to a boil.
- Season with some black pepper and give it another good mix.
- Add your perfectly cooked spaghetti to the creamy sauce and fold it in.
- Adjust the salt at this point if needed.
- Add in the grated parmesan and mix it well.
- Garnish it with some more parmesan and serve it hot.
Additional Tips:
As letting the cooked pasta sit out for too long is not advisable, boiling the pasta simultaneously while making the sauce can be a good way to go about it. Since most pasta sauces take about 5 minutes to cook, you should put the pasta to boil slightly before starting up your sauce.
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