15-Minute Creamy Mushroom Tagliatelle

🍄 Ingredients to make mushroom tagliatelle

• Pasta - For creamy sauces, like this mushroom sauce, long flat ribbon noodles like tagliatelle work best. Pappardelle is another egg pasta that would work, as well as fettuccine.
• Butter & Olive Oil - Why both olive oil and butter? Olive oil can stand a higher heat to prevent the sauce from burning, while butter adds the rich and creamy flavor you want.
• Shallots, Garlic & Thyme - These aromatics build the flavor layers in the sauce. Shallots are a bit sweeter than onions, but sometimes aren't carried in the grocery store. Use yellow or sweet onions as a substitute, if needed. Use fresh garlic, because it will add the best sweet flavor to the sauce. Use dried thyme if needed, but only use half the quantity.
• Mushrooms - Cremini mushrooms, sometimes known as Baby Bella, are one of my favorite general-purpose mushrooms to cook with. They have a deeper, more earthy flavor than white mushrooms. For a substitute, white, porcini, or chestnut mushrooms will all work. Porcini mushrooms are meatier in flavor, while chestnut mushrooms are a tad sweeter.
• Wine - The wine deglazes the pan while adding a bit of acidity to balance the rich sauce. Use a dry white wine such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pinot Grigio that you would also enjoy drinking. If you don't want to drink the rest of the bottle or don't cook with wine, substitute it with vegetable broth with a splash of lemon juice. The leftover wine can also be used to make Homemade Bolognese Sauce, Pasta Alle Vongole, or Shrimp Risotto with Mascarpone.
• Heavy Cream - This gives the delicious mushroom sauce a rich, silky finish. Use half and half for a lighter sauce, if desired. Regular milk can be used, but the sauce will be much thinner.
• Cheese - Parmigiano-Reggiano is a hard Italian cheese with a salty but sweet, nutty flavor. It is held to a higher standard than regular parmesan and the superior flavor really comes through well in this sauce. I always recommend freshly grated cheese regardless of the type. Pre-grated cheeses contain an anti-caking agent that prevents them from melting well and affects flavor. My favorite tool to use for grating hard cheeses, like parmesan, is this microplane. It does a very fine grate on the cheese so it melts perfectly into the sauce!

📋 Substitutions and variations

• Plant-Based - Use a plant-based alternative for both the butter and parmesan cheese. For the heavy cream, a full-fat canned coconut milk works best. An unsweetened plant-based milk can be used, but the sauce will be thinner.
• Gluten-Free - The mushroom sauce is naturally gluten-free, so just the tagliatelle needs to be replaced with your favorite gluten-free option.
• Meat - While this mushroom pasta is vegetarian, meat or seafood can be added. Grilled steak, shrimp, or chicken would all be great.

🔪 Step by step instructions for making mushroom tagliatelle

Cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water until the pasta is al dente. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet.

Sauté the shallots and mushrooms in the skillet for 2-3 minutes until tender and lightly browned. Add the garlic and fresh thyme leaves and cook for one more minute.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine, then stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Let the sauce simmer for a couple minutes to thicken and slightly reduce.

Once the pasta is done cooking, drain all but ¼ cup of the cooking water from it.

Add the reserved pasta water to the mushroom sauce along with the drained tagliatelle, then toss to combine.

Serve the mushroom tagliatelle topped with extra Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, if desired.

⭐ More tips for making creamy mushroom pasta

• To flavor pasta properly when cooking it, add at least 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt to 4 quarts of boiling water. Always add the salt AFTER the water boils, otherwise, it will take longer to come to a boil.
• When sauteing, it's best to let the butter stop foaming before adding the mushrooms. This means all the milk solids have cooked off, allowing for the best browning to occur.
• Don't forget to scrape the bottom of the pan when you add the wine to deglaze it. These browned bits hold a ton of flavor that adds even more layers of flavor to your sauce.