This super creamy mushroom fettuccine alfredo takes just 15 minutes and it is the most delicious, easy pasta to impress. It uses basic ingredients and elevates them into something seriously luxurious and special. Great for date night or a cosy night in!
Silky fettuccine ribbons swimming in a lusciously creamy, super mushroomy and utterly divide alfredo sauce truly is my idea of heaven in a bowl.
The sauce itself is pretty special and actually works in a variety of ways – spooned over grilled chicken, steak or potatoes – or just enjoyed with a crusty piece of bread! But serving it with silky strands of fresh fettuccine has to be one of my favourite comfort meals.
It’s genuinely quick, easy and uses basic ingredients plus a couple of clever tricks to maximise flavour. You can even make the sauce in advance and just cook the pasta whenever you’re ready to serve, making it great for meal prep too.
Ingredients
The only potentially tricky ingredient here is the miso paste (which you can leave out if you struggle to find it), but everything else should be easy enough to find in a regular supermarket!
- Mushrooms. Any white mushrooms will do here – I’m using button mushrooms but you could use cremini, shiitake, porcini or portabello too. The recipe does call for a lot of mushrooms but don’t be worried about how much it looks like – they will reduce in size heavily while they’re cooking and the water evaporates. Plus, mushrooms are the star of the show here so you really do want a lot of them in each bowl.
- Cream. Use sour cream or a plant-based cream in place of regular cream. Don’t be tempted to use Greek yogurt – when heated in this way it’ll separate and curdle, resulting in a grainy sauce.
- Parmesan. You could also use Grana Padano or pecorino, or even manchego.
- Sundried tomatoes. I love using the oil from the jar to cook the garlic and onion, and chopped sundried tomatoes provide such delicious little bursts of deliciousness in the sauce. You can, however, leave them out.
- Fettuccine. I’m using fresh fettuccine (it takes no time to cook which is a bonus) but you could also use any regular dried pasta – a long pasta like fettuccine or spaghetti is ideal here.
How to make it
Get your shallot, spring onion and garlic into a high-sided pan over medium heat, along with a little of the sundried tomato oil and some salt. Cook for a couple of minutes, until they start to soften up. Add the chopped sundried tomatoes and stir to combine, then add the mushrooms and lemon juice. Cook, stirring for another few minutes, until the mushrooms release their water, soften and cook.
Pour in the cream and throw in the grated parmesan and miso paste, then give the sauce a good stir and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the spinach and stir it through the sauce so it wilts (as ever with spinach, it’ll look like a mountain but it will wilt down). While the sauce is simmering, cook your fettuccine.
Once the fettuccine is al dente (cooked, with a little bite to it), transfer it straight into the pan with your alfredo sauce, along with 1 tablespoon of the pasta cooking water. Toss the fettuccine through the sauce in the pan, making sure every ribbon is coated in that glorious sauce. Grind in lots of black pepper, then divide between plates and serve right away.
Got a question?
This is really all to do with serving your pasta right after it’s finished cooking. Once the alfredo has a chance to sit, the pasta will continue to absorb the liquid in the sauce. This will make it thick and clumpy, rather than smooth and silky. You can fix this by putting the pasta over low heat and adding a splash of water or milk and gently tossing it through, to loosen up the sauce again.
Yes! You could use Grada padano, pecorino or manchego. You want a hard, sharp cheese that will bring that lovely salty, umami element to the sauce.
You can make the alfredo sauce in advance, then just heat it in a pan, cook your fettuccine and combine the two when you’re ready to serve. I wouldn’t recommend cooking and storing the whole thing ahead of time as you’ll find that the pasta keeps absorbing liquid as it sits, and you’ll end up with thick, gluggy pasta.
But, if you do want to reheat the pasta with the sauce, add about 1 tablespoon of water or milk to it before you heat it. This will help loosen up the sauce (you can reheat it either on the stove top or in the microwave).
If you find your alfredo is a little runny for your liking (this can happen if a little too much pasta water transfers into the pan), you can add more grated parmesan to thicken it up. You can also keep cooking the sauce for a few minutes longer, giving it time to reduce and for some of that extra water to evaporate. Also, remember that your pasta will keep absorbing liquid as it sits – this is why it’s always best to serve pasta right away. You’ll most likely find that a sauce you might think is a little runny will thicken up perfectly on your plate!
Like this recipe? Here are some of my other pasta favourites
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
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Creamy Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This super creamy mushroom fettuccine alfredo takes just 15 minutes and it is the most delicious, easy pasta to impress. It uses basic ingredients and elevates them into something seriously luxurious and special. Great for date nights or a cosy evening in!
Remember, if you’re looking for US measurements, use the ‘Units’ section below and click on ‘US’.
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, finely diced (or use an onion)
- 1 tablespoon sundried tomato oil (from the jar, or use olive oil)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
- 300g mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup cream
- 1 tablespoon miso paste
- 1/2 cup parmesan, grated
- 150g spinach leaves
- 200g fresh fettuccine
Instructions
- Cook the shallots, garlic and spring onions. Set a large, high-sided pan over medium heat, then add 1 tablespoon of the sundried tomato oil. Add the diced shallots and spring onions, along with 1 teaspoon of salt, then stir for about 4 minutes, until the shallots start to soften and change colour (they’ll become more transparent). At this point, add the crushed garlic cloves and stir for another minute. Add the chopped sundried tomatoes and stir them through the shallots, spring onions and garlic.
- Finish the sauce. Add the mushrooms, pressing them down with your spoon into the pan. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes, until their water releases and evaporates and they soften. At this point, add the lemon juice and stir it through. Pour in the cream, then the miso paste and the grated parmesan. Stir them through the mushrooms and bring the sauce to a simmer. The parmesan will melt into the cream to create a gorgeous, silky sauce. Add the spinach leaves, and stir them through the sauce. It’ll look like a lot of spinach at first, but it will wilt down as it cooks. Reduce the heat to low, and let simmer gently for a few minutes while you cook the pasta.
- Cook the fettuccine. Get a large pot of water over high heat, and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil, then cook your pasta according to packet instructions. I’m using fresh fettuccine which takes about 2 minutes, but dried pasta will take about 8 – 10 minutes. If you’re using dried pasta, turn the heat off your sauce while it’s cooking just so that it doesn’t over-reduce and become too thick.
- Mix the pasta and sauce. Once the pasta is al dente (cooked, but with a little bite to it), use tongs to transfer it straight into the pan with your creamy mushroom alfredo sauce. Turn the heat to low, and toss the pasta through the sauce to coat every strand. Divide the pasta between plates, then top with the reserved grated parmesan and a good grind of black pepper. Eat straight away.
Notes
SUBSTITUTIONS: Leave the miso paste out if you can’t find it (it adds a lovely savoury depth but it’s not essential here), swap the parmesan for Grada Padano, pecorino or manchego and use your favourite plant-based cream or use sour cream. I’m using regular white mushrooms here but you could use cremini, porcini, portabello or even shiitake mushrooms to intensify the mushroom flavour.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: This Alfredo is best enjoyed right after cooking, but there are ways to successfully reheat it. As with any pasta, it will continue to absorb water the longer it sits in the sauce. You can reheat it either in the microwave or on the stovetop. Either way, add about 1 tablespoon of water or milk to the pasta before you reheat it. This will allow the sauce to loosen up again and you’ll end up with a better texture.
PREP AHEAD: You can make the creamy mushroom sauce ahead of time – it will keep well in the fridge for 3 days. Then you can just reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave, then cook the fettuccine when you’re ready to serve.
Sauce too runny or too thick? If you find your sauce has turned out runny (this can happen if you add a little too much pasta cooking water to your sauce), just add another handful of grated parmesan and toss it through the sauce. If you find it’s too thick, add another couple of tablespoons of pasta cooking water and mix it through the fettuccine to loosen things up. Remember your pasta will absorb liquid as it sits, so a sauce that looks a little runny in the pan will more than likely thicken up perfectly by the time it hits your plate.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: pasta
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
Keywords: alfredo pasta, fettuccine alfredo, vegetarian alfredo, mushroom pasta, creamy mushroom pasta
we made this for a date night tonight, it was so easy and SO yummy!! will be making again x
★★★★★
I’m so pleased you loved it!! You’ve made me want to make it tonight x