Mushroom Pesto Pasta (Printable)

Rich and comforting pasta with sautéed mushrooms in creamy basil pesto sauce. Perfect for an easy, elegant weeknight dinner.

# Ingredient List:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz penne or fettuccine pasta
02 - Salt for pasta water

→ Mushrooms

03 - 14 oz cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
04 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
05 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

→ Pesto Sauce

07 - 3.5 oz basil pesto
08 - ½ cup heavy cream
09 - ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
10 - Salt and black pepper to taste

→ Garnish

11 - Fresh basil leaves
12 - Extra grated Parmesan cheese

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside.
02 - Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté for 6–7 minutes until golden and tender. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Lower heat to medium-low. Stir in basil pesto and heavy cream, mixing until combined. Add grated Parmesan and stir until sauce is smooth.
04 - Toss cooked pasta into the skillet with the mushroom pesto sauce. Add reserved pasta water gradually until reaching desired creamy consistency. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
05 - Serve hot, garnished with fresh basil leaves and extra grated Parmesan cheese.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It tastes like you spent an hour in the kitchen, but youre done in the time it takes to watch half a sitcom.
  • The mushrooms get this deep, savory richness that makes even picky eaters go back for seconds.
  • You can use store-bought pesto and still feel like a genius when people ask for the recipe.
02 -
  • Dont skip reserving the pasta water, I learned this the hard way when my sauce turned into a thick paste and I had no way to loosen it.
  • Let the mushrooms cook undisturbed for the first minute or two, moving them too soon makes them soggy instead of golden.
  • Add the garlic after the mushrooms are done, not before, or it will burn and turn bitter while the mushrooms are still cooking.
03 -
  • Use a skillet large enough to toss the pasta in, it makes mixing everything so much easier and you wont have sauce flying everywhere.
  • If your pesto tastes too sharp, a tiny pinch of sugar in the sauce will balance it out without making it sweet.
  • For a vegan version, swap the cream for cashew cream or coconut cream, use vegan pesto, and sprinkle nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan, it works beautifully.
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