Portobello Mushroom Pappardelle
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This is a quick and easy vegetarian pasta recipe — mushroom pappardelle pasta in a savory sauce (ragu!) thick with chunky portobello mushrooms and rosemary. The meaty-tasting portobello mushroom sauce combined with ribbons of al dente cooked pasta noodles make this a very satisfying plate, and you can make it on the fly!
I would describe the sauce as inspired by a traditional ragu or Italian meat sauce, only it doesn’t use any meat at all.
Portobello mushrooms with pasta
Portobello mushrooms have abundant earthy, woodsy flavors. I love the way they match up with the piney, aromatic fresh rosemary, garlic cloves and red pepper. The caps are big and meaty, which means portobellos are great for stuffing, as well as roasting with garlic and herbs.
And with pasta, a thick mushroom ragu is a best friend with pappardelle — the flat, wide strands coil and curl easily around a fork, catching all the juices and chunky bits of sauce. Yum!
I used to work in a produce market in high school, I still remember learning that portobello mushrooms (or portabellas) are simply the adult versions of cremini mushrooms. It seemed pretty interesting! They’re cultivated a bit longer, until they’re 3-4 inches in diameter.
How to prep portobello mushrooms:
- Choose firm mushrooms with unbroken caps. The underside of the mushrooms, or the gills, should be tight, dry and light brown in color.
- Wipe the mushrooms gently with a towel if they seem dirty — don’t soak them in water or they’ll become soggy.
- Yes, you can eat the gills of portobello mushrooms. But if they look very dark in color and moist (verging on slimy) you can feel free to remove them or they might make the sauce murky.
- If the gills are moist and/or turning black, scoop them out with a spoon and discard before slicing and cooking over medium-high heat.
Portobello Mushroom Pappardelle
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium shallots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 2 ounces each)
- Kosher salt
- 3 (350 g) portobello mushroom caps (10 -12 ounces), sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 8 ounces (225 g) pappardelle pasta, fresh or dried
- 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter
- 1 chunk (50 g) Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Put the oil, shallots and a pinch of salt in a large skillet and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are softened, but not browned.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan. Cook the mushrooms for a few minutes until they take on some color, then stir and add ½ teaspoon salt. Continue cooking until the mushrooms become tender and their liquid evaporates.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Cook the pasta until al dente, according to the package directions. Scoop out and reserve ¾ cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.
- Add the garlic, rosemary, red pepper, tomato paste, vinegar and butter to the mushrooms. Add ½ cup of the pasta water and stir over medium heat until the mixture becomes saucy. Add the pasta to the pan and toss gently with tongs to coat with the sauce, adding more water if it seems too dry. Taste for seasoning.
- Shave curls of Parmigiano cheese over the pasta with a vegetable peeler and serve.Â
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Any leftover pasta and sauce will keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
- The sauce coats up to 8 ounces of pasta. If you’d enjoy larger servings or are cooking one pound of pasta, add one more shallot and 1-2 additional portobellos. Increase the sauce by doubling the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and butter. Add up to 1 cup of the pasta water.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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This was amazing! I added roasted pine nuts as a topping for an extra crunch – it would have been lovely without it as well, I’ll be making this exact recipe again!
This was one of the best pasta dishes I have ever made! Thank you for sharing!!!
I made the sauce as written. Delicious! The rosemary!! Used homemade pasta. Bookmarked it for next dinner party.
This was delicious and soooo easy! I added some white cooking wine and it gave it just the right amount of kick!
Absolutely fabulous (made with shiitake and king oyster mushrooms)
Seasoning, texture, taste were perfect. I seved it on pasta and parmesan polenta, both amazing. Thank you for this recipe <3
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Marion.
Oh my…YES!
Our house was filled with some seriously intoxicating smells that left my mouth watering exuberantly with each passing moment. This has become a staple.
Bravo! Bellissimo!!
Grazie!!
Very tasty.
My changes: I chop my mushrooms tiny as I don’t love the texture of them. I use regular gluten free pasta or any pasta I have on hand.
Personally for next time I will double the sauce as it just barely covers all the pasta and I prefer saucier.
Oooh this sounds amazing! I’m going to make this simple yet savory recipe tonight! Sounds delicious!!
Wow! So delicious and easy to prepare. I will be making this again very soon. Thank you for sharing.
Wow!!!! I can’t stress how amazing this recipe is. I will definitely make this over and over.
I’ve made this 5 times in the last month… so freakin’ delicious!
I want to make this for dinner tonight, do not have pappardelle pasta. What can I Subtitute?
You could use rigatoni, shells or fettuccine!
Delicious and filling with a nice kick.
Hi I tried it a few weeks ago and my family loved this recipe! Thank you
My question is I would like to make this for a dinner party tomorrow, so is it possible to prepare the sauce earlier or the entire dish say a few hours before serving and then heat it up?
Hi Komal – So glad you loved the recipe! Yes, you can make the sauce ahead of time. Follow the directions through step 5 (but don’t make the pasta). Cover the sauce and refrigerate. When you’re ready to serve, boil the pasta and warm the sauce in a skillet. Add the pasta water and pasta and serve.
I loooooved this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Y.
We love this dish – I’ve made it 3 times and each time I am blown away! Tonight when I made it, I had to use dried Rosemary (I mistakenly thought I had fresh rosemary in my fridge), I cut it down to 1 teaspoon – it was fine and did the job – but fresh rosemary is soooo much better…I’ll be better prepared next time 😉 I’ve been going through your other recipes, and can’t wait to try many of them!!!
I followed another comment or and used sundries tomato’s in oil instead of tomato paste and it was incredible!!
Hi,
I picked up mini bella mushrooms instead. How do you recommend cutting the smaller mushroom to substitute those into this recipe? Also, can I substitute balsamic vinegar with cabernet red wine?
Hi Anthony – You can leave the mini mushrooms whole if they’re less than 1 1/2-inches round, or just slice in half. If you want to use red wine instead of the balsamic, add 2 tablespoons at the end of step 2 and let it bubble and evaporate for a few seconds before adding in the garlic, rosemary, chili, tomato paste, rosemary and butter. Hope that helps!
Wow! I’ve made a lot of pastas and this is over the top! I added peas and pancetta. I used thyme instead of rosemary due to personal preference but otherwise followed the recipe. Such a great combination of flavor. Thank you for the recipe!
Love the addition of pancetta! So glad you enjoyed the pasta 🙂
Followed the recipe almost to the letter and it was delicious! The only thing I changed was cutting the red chilli flakes by half. That was plenty of spice for us. But we both really enjoyed it and will make it again. Thank you!
This recipe looks good but what could I substitute for the rosemary? I’m not a huge fan.
Thanks
Hi Terrance – I suggest thyme or even fresh oregano.
I, too, am not a rosemary fan. But fresh in this recipe is a must. It is so subtle and awesome