Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Pasta is an easy, but elegant vegetarian pasta dish. Hearty mushrooms and whole wheat pasta make it a filling main dish without any meat!
Well February just flew by didn’t it? Happy Friday friends! Danae from Recipe Runner here today and I’ve got the perfect pasta dish for you to make this weekend, Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Pasta. Because as you know, weekends are for carbs!
I made this Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Pasta for Valentine’s Day dinner. Originally I didn’t have anything special planned to make that night since it was on a Tuesday. However, I got in the sweet, loving spirit and since my husband loves pasta decided to whip this up.
I’ve had this recipe for years. The original actually came from an old Cooking Light magazine. I remember the first time I made it my husband and I were living back in Arizona and had my parents over for dinner. Everyone absolutely loved it and I did too, because it was easy to make!
The recipe is a vegetarian one, but the mushrooms make it hearty enough so that you won’t miss the meat. Instead of using boring white button mushrooms I went with shiitakes. I love the texture of the shiitakes and the smoky, woody flavor they add to the pasta. If you can’t find shiitakes I recommend using creminis or a blend of different varieties of mushrooms.
Aside from cooking the pasta, everything is made in one pan. The shallot, garlic, mushrooms and spinach are sautéed until tender, then the pan is deglazed with white wine. If you don’t have white wine or prefer not to use it vegetable stock can be used instead.
The creaminess in this pasta dish comes from the half and half. The original recipe uses whipping cream, but I wanted to make this a little lighter, yet still have that rich creamy flavor. Freshly grated Parmesan cheese ties all the flavors together while adding a wonderful saltiness.
This pasta is easy enough to make on a weeknight, but elegant enough to serve for a special dinner. Enjoy!
Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Pasta
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound whole wheat farfalle or pasta of choice, use gluten-free to make this recipe gluten-free
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 10 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms or creminis
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 3 cups baby spinach
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup white wine or low sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the skillet is hot add in the shallots, garlic, mushrooms, salt and pepper and sauté until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the spinach and sauté until it wilts, about 3 minutes.
- Add in the wine and cook 2 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the pasta, half and half, parmesan cheese and parsley until everything is combined.
- Taste for seasoning and top with more parsley before serving.
Notes
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
More Pasta Recipes
Tomato Basil Pasta with Balsamic Grilled Chicken
Skinny Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
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I made this and it came out very tasty after I added some seasoning. It definitely needed more seasoning; more salt for sure. I also seasoned with garlic powder, paprika and all-purpose seasoning. It needed a lot of seasoning. There’s an awful lot of pasta in this dish. Also, the ratio between pasta and vegetable quantity is disproportionate. 12 ounces of pasta increases up to 24 ounces when its cooked, that’s 1 1/2 pounds of pasta. Not a problem. I LOVE PASTA. I can eat pasta 7 days a week and on the 8th day, eat some more. While the pasta increases, the mushrooms and spinach decrease significantly. Even 3 cups of spinach (which is a mere 90 grams), after cooking, is barely nothing. Next time I make this I will double the mushrooms and use about a pound of spinach.
I’m glad to hear you liked this recipe! Thanks so much for your feedback and suggestions.
What’s half and half?
Half and half is a combination of milk and heavy cream. So use 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup milk if you can’t find half and half.
Hi,
Just finished eating your recipe for creamy mushroom & spinach pasta. Delicios !!! Thank you so much for cheering up this cold February day with your cheerful Californian blog ! Great,
Dee