Linguine with Mushrooms Recipe features tender ribbons of whole-wheat pasta tossed in a luscious, homemade sauce. The sauce base is made with ground walnuts, sundried tomatoes, and milk, complemented by a touch of chili flakes for gentle heat. Baby bella mushrooms are sautéed in olive oil and butter to golden perfection, thus releasing their woodsy aroma. Caramelized mushrooms add an earthy depth, while sundried tomatoes ground in milk lend a concentrated sweet and tangy flavor to this dish. Ground walnuts in the sauce base make it nutty, creamy, and slightly smoky. This irresistibly elegant dish is perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner!
One of my husband’s favorite food pairings is pasta and mushrooms because it allows for the combination of different pasta varieties with various types of mushrooms. I can also prepare them in unique ways, ensuring their taste, texture, and flavor are diverse, which is a key theme in the types of dishes I explore and write about on my blog.
One of the most common recipes is the classic Linguine With Mushrooms Recipe. It is traditionally made with a butter and white wine base, using crème fraîche to provide a thick, creamy finish. But what happens when one does not consume alcohol or avoid the use of fattening heavy cream? Should one give up on this classic?
Of course not! My own recipe is inspired by a small Italian café in Amsterdam, which served vegetarian and lactose-free Alfredo pasta. They used nut-based sauce to create the illusion of an Alfredo sauce. But what inspired me was their use of a variety of mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini to create a complete and compelling meal.
When we returned home, my kids, who had tried this pasta, kept asking me for it. I have been making this dish for my family and friends for many years now. This iteration of the Linguine With Mushrooms recipe is the one that I’m happy to share with you.
Types of pasta:
While there are several hundred varieties of pasta, there are two basic categories:
- Pasta Fresca (fresh pasta)
- Pasta Secca (dried pasta)
All pasta starts out as pasta fresca and where it is produced defines its usage. While northern Italy creates its pasta using all-purpose flour and eggs, southern Italy tends to use semolina and water. Pasta secca is traditionally made by slowly drying the wet pasta in a copper mold outdoors for over two days. Having sampled this, I can assure you that there is a profound difference in flavor between the traditional method and the modern steel mold and high-temperature drying method.
Once you get past that, pastas come in varying textures, thicknesses, and flavors. They can be tubular, strung, ribboned, flat, small, stuffed, or shaped. They can be made with yolk, pastes, tomatoes, spinach, and famously even out of squid ink, which makes the pasta black. What these classifications and combinations mean is that one needs to be careful about pairing the sauces with the type of pasta, and it can mean months (if not years) of trial and error to get the right pairing.
What sauces pair well with Linguine With Mushrooms?
But one common rule of thumb that has been passed down is that thick pastas should be paired with thick sauces and thin pastas with light sauces. Therefore, I chose linguine for this pairing. Now, given that the mushroom sauce is thick, I should have used fettuccine, but to be honest, I find the linguine perfectly acceptable.
Linguine is traditionally made with flour and water, whereas fettuccine is made from a heavier egg and flour mix. Although linguine is a thinner noodle compared to fettuccine, it is flat and sturdy enough to support a mushroom sauce that is not overly rich, making it a healthy option. In addition, this recipe for Linguine With Mushrooms balances the flavor of the pasta with the sauce, whereas the fettuccine will require a much thicker and richer sauce to achieve the same balance.
In this sense, with linguine, richness and taste are a function of the ingredients rather than the more obvious butter base that is traditional with fettuccine. Also, as the sauce tends to be less thick, I can add additional components to highlight different flavor profiles. One of my favorites is to use sundried tomatoes in the sauce, adding an acidic element to the recipe for Linguine with Mushrooms.
An alternative is to add creamed asparagus to a mushroom base, accompanied by a hint of pesto, or even add grilled prawns or lobsters. As you can see, the combinations are endless. While I do love the classic Italian linguine with butter and pesto, I enjoy the freedom that my recipe for the Linguine With Mushrooms provides to experiment with potentially endless flavors.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. How should I cook the mushrooms?
Mushrooms, when not appropriately cooked, can become rubbery due to overcooking or allowing them to steam in their own water. The fat or oil must be hot or shimmering before you add the sliced mushrooms to the pot. Sauté the mushrooms in small batches and avoid overcrowding the pan to prevent them from steaming.
2. Which mushrooms are best when cooked with pasta?
I have made pastas with white button, Portobello, oyster, and porcini mushrooms.
3. Do I soak mushrooms in water to clean them?
Mushrooms are like sponges, so soaking them in water will make them soggy. Rinse them quickly under running water and pat dry immediately.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
If you’ve tried this recipe or have questions, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to share (below) your thoughts, comments, or any questions that you might have. If you enjoy my recipes, consider subscribing to my mailing list for the latest updates, delivered right to your inbox. From my pen to your table, Bon Appétit!
Ingredients:
For the sauce base:
For the pasta:
- Garlic: white garlic or purple garlic
- Fat: butter, extra virgin olive oil
- Nut: walnuts (or use macadamia or pine nuts)
- Sundried tomato
- Mushrooms: baby bella (or use white or brown mushrooms)
- Herbs: dried or fresh oregano
- Spices: chili flakes
- Linguine: whole wheat linguine (or any pasta)
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to make this dish. For the measurements, please refer to the recipe card below.
How to make Linguine With Mushrooms with my recipe:
- Prepare the sauce base by soaking the sundried tomatoes in ½ cup of milk for 10 minutes. In a spice grinder, grind the walnuts first and then add the sundried tomatoes soaked in milk, salt, and chili flakes and grind them until smooth. Set it aside. Heat olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven or a saucepan, add the minced garlic, and sauté over low heat for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is lightly browned.
2. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté over high heat for 2-3 minutes or until caramelized.
3. Pour in the reserved pasta water, the ground sauce base, and milk. Stir until combined over medium heat.
4. Add the cooked linguine and season it with oregano.
5. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and chili flakes.
- If you are using the dry pack (not the ones soaked in olive oil) of sundried tomatoes, pre-soak them in warm milk or water for 10 minutes to facilitate easy grinding.
- Grind the walnuts first, then add the sundried tomatoes and milk to get a smooth paste for the sauce base.
- Cook the linguine al dente, or at least 2 minutes less than the package instructions, so that the pasta will not become overcooked when you add the sauce and briefly cook again.
- Cooking the pasta in less water will result in a more concentrated pasta water, rich in starch, which helps the sauce adhere to the linguine more effectively in this Linguine With Mushrooms recipe.
- Adjust the amount of milk by adding more milk to make a thinner sauce.
- Do not overcrowd the pan when cooking mushrooms, as they will steam and fail to caramelize properly.
Serving suggestions:
Serve the Linguine With Mushrooms made with my recipe, garnished with Parmesan cheese and chili flakes. You could pair it with the following soup, bread, or salad recipes:
Storage:
The sauce base for Linguine With Mushrooms Recipe can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for 4-5 days or prepared ahead and frozen for up to three months. Freshly cooked pasta can be added to the sauce (follow recipe instructions from the recipe card below) before serving.
Other pasta recipes that you might want to try:
Linguine With Mushrooms Recipe
Equipment
- Dutch oven or saucepan
Ingredients
For the sauce base:
- ¼ cup sundried tomato
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup walnut
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp chili flakes
For the pasta:
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tbsp butter unsalted
- 4 clove garlic
- ½ lb baby bella sliced
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup pasta water
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients for the sauce base. Soak the sundried tomatoes in ½ cup of milk for 10 minutes. In a spice grinder, grind the walnuts first and then add the sundried tomatoes soaked in milk, salt and chili flakes and grind them until smooth. Set it aside.
- Prepare the ingredients for the pasta. Cook the linguine al dente per the manufacturer's instructions. Reserve half a cup of cooked pasta water for the sauce.
- Heat olive oil and butter in a Dutch or a saucepan, add the minced garlic and sauté over low heat for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is lightly browned.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté over medium to high heat for 2-3 minutes or until caramelized.
- Pour in the reserved pasta water, the ground sauce base, and milk. Stir until combined over medium heat.
- Add the cooked linguine and season with oregano.
- Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and chili flakes.
Notes
- If you are using the dry pack (not the ones soaked in olive oil) of sundried tomatoes, pre-soak them in warm milk or water for 10 minutes to facilitate easy grinding.
- Grind the walnuts first, then add the sundried tomatoes and milk to get a smooth paste for the sauce base.
- Cook the linguine al dente, or at least 2 minutes less than the package instructions, so that the pasta will not become overcooked when you add the sauce and briefly cook again.
- Cooking the pasta in less water will result in a more concentrated pasta water, rich in starch, which helps the sauce adhere to the linguine more effectively in this Linguine With Mushrooms recipe.
- Adjust the amount of milk by adding more milk to make a thinner sauce.
- Do not overcrowd the pan when cooking mushrooms, as they will steam and fail to caramelize properly.
Nutrition
This is absolutely delicious! Mushrooms go so well with this combination of ingredients!
Thank you very much and I am happy that you loved this dish!
This was absolutely delicious! I love the addition of macadamia nuts, very creative!
I am so glad you liked my recipe – thanks for the wonderful comment!