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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Hello! I want to make this today and I wanted to ask about the shallots.
I prefer to go by weight as it is a far more accurate measure than volume to maximize reliable replication of a recipe.
For the shallots, you say 2, but what weight for each shallot? I ask because the shallots at my grocery store vary substantially in weight and therefore overall amount?
Thank you!
Hi great question! It’s so true that shallots can sometimes be small or somewhat large if they are clumped together. I go for medium shallots that weigh in the range of about 2 ounces each, or 50-55 grams each.
I see you added it to your recipe list that’s awesome!
Thank you for your quick response as well!
I’ll update later on how it turns out. My husband always cooks but I wanted to do it today 🙂
Perfect! Hope you enjoy 🙂
I’ve prepared this recipe three times and it never fails! I’m not a mushroom fan – this sauce is hands down the best combination of ingredients that includes mushrooms I’ve ever eaten. My wife loves it too, making it again for dinner tonight 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you for your comment Mark – I’m so happy you enjoy it!!
This was SO good. Followed recipe exactly as written. Husband already asking for a repeat.
I really loved this recipe and will make it again (even though I made it with ziti–I used what I had! 🙂 ) The combination of flavors is perfect–that little touch of balsamic is so nice–although I think in future I will use a little less of the chili flakes. This is a quick and easy meal that would also be great for company. Thank you!
This pasta was amazing! Delicious rich flavours – will be making this again and again!
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times. Am making it today. It’s well loved.
Made this tonight with fresh mix of mushrooms I picked up at our local farmers market. With fresh Pappardelle – it was freaking fantastic! Thanks for this easy and delicious recipe!
I forgot the fresh Rosemary. Can I substitute with dried instead?
Hi Shari – Yes, you can use half the amount of dried rosemary or even thyme.
Thank you! Just saved me a trip back to the store. I am excited to try this out and leave a review 🙂
Hi!
I had bought all the ingredients and sadly just realized I forgot the shallots. Would I be able to use yellow onion or is that a completely different taste?
Thank you!
Hi Alana – Yes, you can definitely use yellow onions instead, about 1/2 cup chopped. Hope you enjoy!
This is delicious!! Would this sauce freeze well?
Yes, the sauce alone (without the pasta) can be frozen for up to a month. Be sure to cook the mushrooms well so they exude all their liquid, as mushrooms can become mushy after freezing.
Made this for dinner tonight, followed recipe as written, and it was fabulous!! Thanks Karen…thumbs up from Chicago!!!
Amazing , have made this a few times , doesn’t cost too much to make .
The comment at the bottom of recepie saying sauce will keep 3 days in the fridge…… mmmm nah , no chance in our house !! 🤣
Have made it with chestnut mushrooms too which was also lovely. Thankyou for the recepie.
This was delicious! The only adjustment I made was adding an extra portobello, just because they came in a package of 4. Soooo good! Thank you 🙂
So, so good! My husband and I love mushrooms and want to eat more vegetarian meals. This one is so easy! The only thing is I can’t find pappardelle pasta anywhere lol. Even with fettucine, it’s great!
Sainsbury sell Pappardelle!
This has become a weekly staple. So easy and delectable!
My family loved it. Just the right amount of spices. They couldn’t really taste the garlic or the vinegar, so next time I may increase the amount a bit as I had doubled the recipe.
Hi Karen,this was such a delicious recipe! My daughter said Yummmm and my husband praised it too. I did add another ingredient – vegan sour cream just to make the sauce volume a bit more and that worked really well with the balsamic I gear and tomato pasted. We ate a restaurant qualitymealathome tonight. Thank you!
OMG! This dish is ABSOLUTELY delicious! My family and I enjoyed this restaurant quality meal. This is a keeper!
great made it for supper with polenta no pasta water so used marsala wine and some water added diced yellow peppers delish and looking good got it memorized Roberto
I love portabellas and everything about Portobellas so this was a fantastic opportunity to try it with my favorite pasta. Flavor was very good and I will add a little bit more Rosemary next time off the bush well. Thank you for such a great recipe