Creamy Mushroom Parmesan Pasta is a restaurant quality meal you can easily make at home. You will lick your plate clean of this decadent yet simple dish!
“This is heavenly! Quick and easy to get on the table but tastes like a sauce that’s been simmered for hours! It will be on my go to recipe rotation for sure!”
Visiting NYC during the holidays has always been a dream of mine, and my husband and I finally got the chance to take this bucket list trip a few years ago.
Between drinking cocktails in historic bars, seeing an off-broadway Lin Manuel Miranda show, enjoying a $2.75 waterfront cruise of the city (ie taking advantage of the New York Ferry — best kept secret in NYC!) and eating one of the best gluten free meals of my life at the 100% GF restaurant Senza Gluten — the trip checked all our boxes, and then some!
Gluten Free Comfort Food
If you have Celiac Disease or a food allergy/intolerance, you can probably understand the overwhelming feeling of entering a restaurant knowing you can order anything inside. Shifting my mindset from what I GOT to order at the restaurant from what I HAD to order, was extremely bizarre!
Once we accepted our beautiful fate though, there was no stopping us. The calamari was the best we’d ever had (GF or not!) the cocktails were on point, the side dishes memorable, and the entrees incredible.
I ordered the Rigatoni Funghi e Speck – gluten free rigatoni in a decadent cream sauce with mixed mushrooms, smoked prosciutto, and truffle oil. It was one of the most memorable meals I’ve ever had and our cozy, candle-lit trattoria surroundings were the cherry on top.
Back at home I immediately went about recreating the meal at I had Senza Gluten, and the result is a recipe that my husband has deemed my “best recipe yet” (woo!)
Creamy Mushroom Parmesan Pasta is a decadent-tasting, restaurant-quality recipe that’s easily made at home. You will lick your plate clean!
Creamy Parmesan Mushroom Pasta
I kept all the flavors of the pasta dish I had in NYC but made a few swaps to ensure the recipe is easy to make at home.
Cooked gluten free fettuccini is tossed in a lightened up parmesan cream sauce studded with sauteed mushrooms, sizzling bacon, lots of garlic, and tender baby spinach. A drizzle of fresh lemon juice brightens up the final dish before it’s topped with plenty of freshly cracked black pepper, twirled around your waiting fork, and devoured.
You will feel like a true chef after whipping up this impressive yet easy gluten free pasta dish!
Lightened Up Parmesan Cream Sauce
The secret to achieving a thick yet lighter (than a restaurant serves, anyway) cream sauce that clings to the the pasta, is harnessing the power of pasta cooking water.
Adding some of the water that the pasta is cooked in while stirring the al dente pasta together with the creamy parmesan sauce allows the starch from the water to naturally thicken the sauce.
The sauce will go from thin and separated from the pasta, to thick and clinging to the pasta, right before your eyes. If you think it won’t happen, just keep stirring. I’ll show you below!
Add Perfect Grilled Steak
How to Make Creamy Mushroom Parmesan Pasta
Step 1: Crisp the Bacon
Start by browning chopped bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Scoop the crisped bacon onto a paper towel lined plate to drain then reserve some of the bacon fat in the skillet.
Step 2: Saute the Mushrooms
Next add sliced mushrooms and chopped shallots then saute until the mushrooms have released their liquid and the liquid has cooked off. Add minced garlic and a pinch of dried thyme then continue to saute until the mushrooms are golden brown and tender.
Step 3: Make the Parmesan Cream Sauce
To the skillet add heavy cream and chicken stock then bring to a simmer and stir in freshly shredded parmesan cheese until smooth and creamy. Add fresh baby spinach then simmer until its barely wilted, just a minute or two.
Step 4: Add Pasta then Thicken Sauce
Use tongs to transfer gluten free fettuccini that’s been cooked to al dente in a cooking pot next door (timing instructions are in the recipe card below) directly into the skillet then use the tongs to gently and continuously stir the pasta until it becomes tender, and the sauce becomes thickened and creamy.
Keep adding ~1/4 cup pasta cooking water a time then stirring continuously until you achieve a thickened sauce that clings to the pasta. Like I said, the pasta will look separated from the sauce, and then at the last minute the starches will cause it to fully thicken and cling to the pasta. That’s when you know it’s done.
Turn off the heat then add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice — the dish shouldn’t taste lemony, just brightened — the bacon, plus plenty of freshly cracked pepper, and salt to taste.
Scoop into bowls then top with more parmesan cheese, if you please, and serve. I hope you LOVE this taste of New York made right in your kitchen – enjoy!!
More Gluten Free Comfort Food Recipes
- Crispy Gluten-Free Chicken Cutlets
- Ground Beef Stroganoff
- Chicken Stew
- Creamy Ham Peas and Pasta
- Short Rib Ragu
- Gluten Free Lasagna
- Gnocchi Chicken Pot Pie
- One Pot Chicken and Rice
- Homestyle Beef and Noodles
- Stove Top Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 8 oz fettuccine pasta, Jovial brown rice recommended
- 4 strips bacon, chopped
- 8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, scant
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
- 4 cups baby spinach, lightly packed
- freshly cracked black pepper + salt
- 1/2 lemon
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add 1 Tablespoon salt, turn heat down to low, and place a lid on top to keep hot.
- Add bacon to a large skillet then place over medium heat and let bacon slowly render its fat and brown. Once browned, scoop bacon onto a paper towel lined plate to drain. Remove all but 2 Tablespoons bacon grease from the skillet.
- Turn heat under water back up to high to bring to a boil then add fettuccini. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente – ie NOT totally tender as the pasta will finish cooking in the creamy parmesan sauce. Note: Pasta should be done at the same time as the cream sauce/skillet portion of the dish, but if it's done before, scoop out 1 cup pasta cooking water and reserve then drain pasta and set aside.
- Meanwhile, turn heat under skillet up to medium-high then add mushrooms and shallot and stir to coat in bacon grease. Let mushrooms sit and sear until they release their liquid, 2-3 minutes, then saute, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has cooked off. Add garlic and dried thyme then continue sauting until the mushrooms are golden brown and tender, 5 minutes, turning heat down slightly if needed to prevent garlic from burning.
- Add heavy whipping cream and chicken stock then turn heat up slightly to bring to a simmer. Add parmesan cheese then stir until smooth. Add baby spinach then stir and simmer until spinach is barely wilted, 1 minute.
- Use tongs to transfer pasta directly from the cooking pot to the skillet (or if you had to drain it, add pasta from colander). Stir gently and constantly with tongs, adding 1/4 cup pasta cooking water at a time to create a smooth and creamy sauce – just keep stirring! When the pasta is tender and the thickened sauce clings to the pasta, it’s done.
- Turn off heat then add a drizzle of fresh lemon juice (dish shouldn’t taste lemony – just brightened) the cooked bacon, lots of freshly cracked black pepper, and salt to taste. Scoop into bowls then garnish with more parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve.
Notes
- Use any long cut pasta you have on hand, such as spaghetti or angel hair.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
This hit the mark perfectly-wonderful blend of flavors. We really enjoyed this recipe.
Love, love, love to hear this, Eugenia! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
So I quit my Hello Fresh subscription and decided to use your website as my cooking Bible. My only regret is I didn’t do this sooner! This pasta dish is amazing!! All my fav veggies – bacon, mushrooms, spinach, heavy cream. Lol. It will be on repeat for our house. So easy too! Thank you so much for all these amazing recipes! Haven’t had a bad one yet!
Ummm, you are much too kind, Janan!! Thank you so much for the kind words, and I’m SO GLAD you loved this recipe, and the others you’ve tried!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
May I have a link to the brand of pasta you used in this recipe? Thank you so much!
You bet! The process photos show Barilla GF fettuccini, and the final photos show Jovial brown rice fettuccini.
https://www.barilla.com/en-us/products/pasta/gluten-free/gluten-free-fettuccine
https://jovialfoods.com/100-organic-gluten-free-brown-rice-fettuccine/
So delicious! I am wondering though, if using regular pasta instead of GF, will the sauce still thicken the same when adding the pasta water? After stirring for several minutes, mine never thickened. Perhaps I added too much water? (I ended up using the whole cup). I was able to thicken it by adding some Glucomannan that I’ve used as a thickener in other recipes, but not sure what I did wrong. Regardless, it tasted amazing!!
I’m so glad you loved it, Mandy! It should thicken the same whether you’re using regular or GF pasta – just add 1/4 cup water at a time (mentioned in step 6) until the sauce is the consistency you like. I hope you’ll give it another try!
This looks great! Do you think it would be okay to sub turkey bacon for regular, since our family doesn’t eat pork?
Sure! I might be prepared to add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if there isn’t enough fat left in the skillet.
How just made this and it is amazing, seriously AMAZING. It’s Lent so I used butter not bacon and used Swiss Chard which tastes just like spinach, because I had that.
So how would you make this df. I know there is df parmesan, but how would you replace the cream?
I’m sure you have lots 9f people say I loved the recipe…I just changed this and this and this.????
Next time bacon which we love normally. Thanks for making recipes that we don’t have to go out and buy ingredients we’ll never use twice.
Deb
I’m so glad you loved it even with modifications, Deb! A lot of people use unsweetened light coconut milk (can not carton) in place of heavy cream for DF recipes. Personally the faint taste of coconut in a savory dish throws things off for me, but there are some that don’t mind it. Might be something to try!
This is the meal you need in your life! I’m not usually a big pasta eater, but this is SO DANG GOOD! I can’t wait to make it again!
The highest praise!! Thank you so much, Elyse, I am THRILLED it was a hit for you!!!
If I removed the bacon to make it a vegetarian meal, is there anything I should add in it’s place?
Hi Teri! The bacon lends a deep savoryness – maybe a splash of gluten free Tamari or soy sauce if you don’t need to eat GF at the end?
Best meal I have made in 2022 so far! Incredibly easy and tastes better than any restaurant food I have had in a looooong time!
Thank you IGE!! ♥️
I am SO thrilled to hear this, Teresa!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
This was everything you said and then some! It was really good and hit the spot on a cold winter evening! Thank you for sharing your New York meal with us! Wow!
I’m so glad this recipe hit the spot, Laurie!! Grateful to bring a little slice of New York to you, via Iowa. ;) Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating, too!
I grew up/still reside just outside the city and I sincerely love the joy travelers get from seeing it all showed out for the holidays–it IS beautiful and I love your dream coming true! *also this pasta sounds like a $exy carbonara-ish vibe and I’m here for it.*
Heck yes to the carabonara-vibe – minus the always looming fear that I’m going to be eating scrambled egg pasta – ha! No matter how many times I visit, NYC will never get old. It is a magical place in so many ways! Have you seen the new show on HBO called Gilded Age? It takes place in NYC in the late 1880s – fairly boring, but I love my boring historical fiction books and shows – the clothing and architecture are incredible though!
This looks wonderful! Do you think it could work with dairy-free cream and Parmesan?
It is *delicious*, Sharon! I have heard wonderful things about Violife parmesan cheese, and I definitely think that could work here in place of traditional parm. If you have a favorite dairy free heavy cream alternative that could work too! I just haven’t tested this recipe with anything other than heavy cream.
This looks fabulous! Can’t wait to try it.
It is incredible, Janet – I hope you love it!