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Elegant pasta with a luscious mascarpone cheese sauce, hearty mushrooms, plenty of garlic, and savory thyme leaves. This comes together in 30 minutes, making it a perfectly easy vegetarian pasta.
When I’m allowed to get creative with my cooking, I take advantage of it. Since I had the house to myself for a bit, I immediately jumped on this recipe that I had in my notebook for a while. It was so irresistible because it was creamy with delicious umami flavors from the mushrooms. This pasta is nice and hearty from the mushrooms that you won’t miss the meat; it’s filling, which makes it a great comforting dinner for the winter months, or if you have a romantic dinner night with your significant other. Prepare to indulge in one of the easiest, yet tastiest vegetarian pasta recipes I’ve ever created! It’s absolutely crave-worthy, rich, creamy, and bursting with complex flavors.
How to make Mushroom Mascarpone Pasta
You only need a few key ingredients to make this decadent pasta. Each of the ingredients listed packs so much flavor into the dish. While the list may look like a lot, it’s actually not too much since you can find some of these ingredients in your kitchen without running up your grocery bill! (Full ingredient amounts and complete instructions are available in the recipe card down below).
- Fettuccine: You can use another type of pasta such as linguine or rigatoni, but I feel the sauce clings better to fettuccine.
- Unsalted butter
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Baby Bella Mushrooms: Also known as cremini mushrooms, these work the best for this dish. They’re older than white mushrooms, but younger than portobello mushrooms. Their flavors are robust and deep without being overwhelming.
- Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder
- Small Shallot & Garlic
- All-Purpose Flour: This will help thicken the sauce. You can swap it for your favorite gluten free flour. If you choose to use cornstarch, you will need to cut the amount in half. For example: this recipe calls for 2 tsp of flour, so you will need 1 tsp cornstarch.
- Fresh thyme leaves
- Dry White Wine: Pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc are best. You can also use chardonnay.
- Vegetable Broth: This just brings a bit of flavor to the dish.
- Heavy Cream
- Lemon Zest & Lemon Juice: It offers a nice bright note.
- Mascarpone Cheese
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
Tips & FAQs
- Storage: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: Reheat in the microwave with a splash of heavy cream or half & half to keep the sauce from becoming oily. You can reheat this on the stovetop as well, adding in some additional heavy cream as needed to loosen up the sauce.
- What is mascarpone cheese? Think Italian cream cheese. It’s a very silky and rich cheese that originated in Italy. It’s usually made with heavy cream and citric or tartaric acid. The consistency is slightly thinner than cream cheese but thicker than creme fraiche. However, its milk fat content is higher than cream cheese. It’s incredibly versatile and can be used in sweet or savory dishes.
- What if I can’t find mascarpone? My first substitution would be ricotta cheese, but full fat cream cheese with work as well.
- Variations:
- Swap the baby bella mushrooms for shiitake, oyster, porcini, chanterelles, or morels. You can use dried mushrooms, but you will need to rehydrate them.
- Add in some fibrous veggies such as spinach or arugula. Zucchini, peas, or green beans will also be delightful.
- Add in some meat such as chicken or shrimp. Both work well with the sauce and mushrooms.
- Crisp up some prosciutto or bacon and crumble it on top.
- Make it spicy by adding some red pepper flakes.
Want the recipe? Click print below! Let me know how it came out for you by tagging me on Instagram (@missravenskitchen) and using #missravenskitchen! Follow my Facebook page for updates as well! Let me know if I need to tweak anything.
Mushroom Mascarpone Pasta
Ingredients
- 16 oz fettuccine
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 10 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick
- Salt, to taste
- 1 small shallots, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tsp dried
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
- 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp lemon zest
- Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Boil the fettuccine according to the package directions for al dente. Reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set the pasta aside.
- In a large saucepot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and butter together until the butter is melted and starts sizzling.
- Add in the mushrooms, and saute for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure that all of the mushrooms are sauteing evenly. Stir in the shallots and garlic. Cook them for 1 minute or until the shallots are slightly softened.
- Sprinkle in the thyme leaves, salt, to taste, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Pour in the wine and allow it to reduce, about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat the veggies completely. Cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and heavy cream along with the lemon zest and juice. Season with salt to your liking. Bring to a steady simmer then reduce the heat to medium-low, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add in the mascarpone cheese and stir until it melts completely into the sauce. Sprinkle in the parmesan cheese and simmer for 5 minutes until it thickens slightly.
- Stir in the remaining black pepper and garlic powder. Toss in the pasta, using some pasta water a little at a time until the sauce is smoothed out and coats the pasta.
Notes
Storage: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: Reheat in the microwave with a splash of heavy cream or half & half to keep the sauce from becoming oily. You can reheat this on the stovetop as well, adding in some additional heavy cream as needed to loosen up the sauce.
What is mascarpone cheese? Think Italian cream cheese. It’s a very silky and rich cheese that originated in Italy. It’s usually made with heavy cream and citric or tartaric acid. The consistency is slightly thinner than cream cheese but thicker than creme fraiche. However, its milk fat content is higher than cream cheese. It’s incredibly versatile and can be used in sweet or savory dishes.
- What if I can’t find mascarpone? My first substitution would be ricotta cheese, but full-fat cream cheese with work as well.
Variations:
- Swap the baby bella mushrooms for shiitake, oyster, porcini, chanterelles, or morels. You can use dried mushrooms, but you will need to rehydrate them.
- Add in some fibrous veggies such as spinach or arugula. Zucchini, peas, or green beans will also be delightful.
- Add in some meat such as chicken or shrimp. Both work well with the sauce and mushrooms.
- Crisp up some prosciutto or bacon and crumble it on top.
- Make it spicy by adding some red pepper flakes.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
1051.74Fat (grams)
62.06 gSat. Fat (grams)
35.16 gCarbs (grams)
92.86 gFiber (grams)
4.66 gSugar (grams)
6.06 gProtein (grams)
27.87 gSodium (milligrams)
404.6 mgCholesterol (grams)
237.69 mgThe nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and the brands of ingredients used.
Miss Raven's Kitchen 
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