It is a creamy vegan mushroom pasta that will leave you wanting more. Sautéed mushrooms and onions are mixed with savory thyme, parsley, and rosemary-infused milk sauce, while a dash of lemon juice adds a zesty kick. Topped with vegan Parmesan and a sprinkle of red chili peppers, this dish is the perfect combination of comfort and flavor.
You can never have enough vegan pasta recipes, am I right? You should definitely try our vegan pesto pasta, vegan cashew alfredo sauce, coconut milk pasta sauce, or our harissa tahini pasta sauce.
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Why you’ll love it?
This is the best vegan mushroom pasta recipe, which we spent a lot of time perfecting. It has everything you need: creaminess, richness, and that specific woodsy taste that usually comes with mushroom dishes.
It is a milk-based sauce seasoned with thyme, parsley, and rosemary. They complement the earthy flavors of classic button mushrooms perfectly.
While there are at least 20 ways to thicken soups or sauces, we opted to thicken this sauce with part of the sauteed mushrooms blended into a thick puree. The main reason we did this was to deepen the mushroom flavor and enhance the richness of the sauce.
We are so proud of this recipe. All the ingredients we added like garlic, lemon juice, vegan Parmesan, and even red chili flakes are to make this sauce the best it can be. They are all there to add their subtle or not-so-subtle flavor and texture and to build this sauce together into what it is, the best vegan mushroom pasta you have ever tasted.
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Ingredients
So what do you need to make creamy mushroom pasta? You’ll see there are only a handful of ingredients. Nothing hard to get. You can probably find them in your pantry or fridge. If you need alternatives, check out our “Variations” section.
- Pasta → We used egg-free tagliatelle.
- Button mushrooms → Similar ones are cremini mushrooms, small portobello mushrooms, baby bella mushrooms, or champignon mushrooms.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Dairy-free milk → Use unsweetened milk like soy milk, oat milk or almond milk. Since most unsweetened milk you can buy in the stores still tastes too sweet for sauces, we prefer using our homemade cashew milk.
- Corn starch
- Thyme (dried)
- Rosemary (dry)
- Parsley (fresh)
- Lemon juice
- Vegan Parmesan cheese → We like using Violife’s product.
- Red chili flakes (optional)
🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Instructions
Preparing the ingredients
- Gently wash mushrooms with a damp paper towel or kitchen cloth. We never peel them, but sometimes cut out the stem if they feel too dry or hard. Slice them thinly.
- Peel and chop onions.
- Peel and mince garlic cloves.
- Chop fresh parsley.
- Grate vegan Parmesan cheese.
- Measure all the other ingredients.
- Cook pasta as per package instructions in a pot.
Making vegan mushroom pasta
- Preheat a large frying pan or cast-iron skillet to medium-high heat.
- Once it is hot, add sliced mushrooms. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to work in batches. You need to fry the amount that you can spread in one layer. Fry them for 2-3 minutes.
- Sprinkle them with dried thyme and dried rosemary and stir well. Fry them for another 2-3 minutes. Once mushrooms are reduced in size and got some color, take them out of the skillet.
- In the same pan/skillet, heat some oil on medium heat.
- Add chopped onions and saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add chopped garlic and red chili flakes (optional). Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, mix dairy-free milk with cornstarch with a whisk.
- Add the mixture to the skillet.
- Season with salt and black pepper and stir it continuously until the sauce thickens. It should take approx. 3-4 minutes.
- Once you have a thick sauce, transfer it to a blender and add ¼ of the previously pan-fried mushrooms. Blend it until smooth. This step will really infuse the sauce with the delicious mushroom flavor.
- After blending, transfer the smooth, creamy sauce back to the pan/skillet. Re-heat it over medium heat and add the remaining pan-fried mushrooms, chopped fresh parsley, lemon juice, and grated vegan Parmesan cheese. Stir well.
- Finally, add pre-cooked pasta. Stir well. Now, you are ready to serve this delicious vegan mushroom pasta.
Cooking tips
- Don’t add salt while pan-frying the mushrooms. They will release even more water. We recommend adding salt to the sauce instead.
- The frying pan has to be HOT. Sauteed mushrooms over medium heat mean mushrooms are cooked in their own moisture. They will be softer and less crispy. Pan-frying them on high heat means crispy, slightly charred mushroom slices.
- If you do a large batch, use a large skillet. Pan-frying them in one layer helps to get them crispy.
- If you are batch cooking, skip the last step. Storing vegan mushroom pasta sauce and the cooked pasta for several days is best done separately. See more info in the “Storing tips” section.
Variations
- Use other types of mushrooms, or even better if you use a combination of multiple types. We love button mushrooms with shiitake, portobello mushrooms, or oyster mushrooms.
- Select any type of pasta you like, such as tagliatelle, pappardelle, fusilli, fettuccine, spaghetti, or other. If you require a gluten-free diet, select gluten-free pasta. The sauce itself is gluten-free. You can use classic GF pasta, rice noodles, or protein-packed options such as quinoa spaghetti, edamame spaghetti, or chia flour pasta.
- Include various vegetables. You can add spinach, red peppers, broccoli, asparagus, green peas, sweet corn, or any other veggies of your choice.
- If you prefer a more affordable vegan alternative to Parmesan cheese, you can use nutritional yeast instead.
Serving ideas
What else can you add to your vegan mushroom pasta? We have some toppings and add-ins you can mix and match to create your favorite pasta dish for a perfect weeknight dinner.
- Chopped nuts like pine nuts, pecan, cashew, or walnut
- More fresh herbs like chopped fresh thyme or parsley.
- Caramelized onions that we also used as a topping in this vegan sweet potato casserole recipe.
- Mushrooms pair great together with other vegetables like cherry tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, or green beans, as well as leafy greens like spinach or kale.
- Vegan bacon bits or vegan shredded chicken
Equipment
- Cast iron skillet or frying pan – We use the one from UnoCasa.
- Whisk – It helps to mix the starch with the milk without lumps.
- High-power blender – We have a Vitamix, which we love since it makes any sauce silky smooth. You can get good results with an immersion blender, but bits and pieces may still remain.
Storing tips
In the fridge: It is best to store the vegan mushroom pasta sauce separately from the cooked pasta in the refrigerator. This way, it can last for up to 4-5 days. However, if you have already mixed them at the last step, store them in an airtight container for up to 1-2 days. If they are stored together, the pasta will continue to absorb more sauce during storage, making it mushy and dry.
In the freezer: When it comes to freezing, we recommend freezing the pasta and the sauce separately. Both the pasta and mushroom sauce freeze well on their own.
To reheat the sauce, you can either use a small saucepan or microwave. If you are reheating frozen pasta, there is no need to thaw it. Simply boil water in a kettle and cover the pasta with hot water in a pot.
FAQs
You cannot go wrong with classic button mushrooms. However your mushroom pasta will be even more flavorful and aromatic if you combine different types of mushrooms like oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, or wild mushrooms with it.
While coconut cream, vegan cooking cream, and even homemade cashew cream are frequently used to make pasta sauces rich and creamy, they are not obligatory ingredients to have. You can make creamy vegan mushroom pasta using dairy-free milk, starch, and a bit of mushroom blended together.
More vegan pasta recipes
We selected 30+ vegan pasta recipes you would absolutely love, or you can browse through our vegan pasta sauces library for more ideas.
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The Best Vegan Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 servings Pasta
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 12 oz Button mushrooms
- 1 Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 + ½ cup Dairy-free milk
- 1 Tbsp Corn starch
- 1 tsp Thyme (dried)
- ½ Tbsp Rosemary (dry)
- 1 Tbsp Parsley (fresh)
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- ¼ cup Vegan Parmesan
- ¼ tsp Red chili flakes
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
Preparing the ingredients
- Gently wash mushrooms with a damp paper towel or kitchen cloth. We never peel them, but sometimes cut out the stem if they feel too dry or hard. Slice them thinly.
- Peel and chop onions. Mince garlic cloves. Chop fresh parsley. Grate vegan Parmesan cheese. Cook pasta as per package instructions in a pot.
Making vegan mushroom pasta
- Preheat a large frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once it is hot, add sliced mushrooms. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to work in batches. You need to fry the amount that you can spread in one layer. Fry them for 2-3 minutes.
- Sprinkle them with dried thyme and dried rosemary and stir well. Fry them for another 2-3 minutes. Once mushrooms are reduced in size and got some color, take them out of the skillet.
- In the same pan/skillet heat oil over medium heat.
- Add chopped onions and saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add chopped garlic and red chili flakes. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- In a separate small bowl, mix dairy-free milk with cornstarch with a whisk to make a slurry.
- Add the slurry to the skillet. Season with salt and black pepper. Stir it until the sauce thickens. It should take approx. 3-4 minutes.
- Once the sauce is thick, transfer it to a blender. Add circa ¼ of the previously pan-fried mushroom slices. Blend them until smooth.
- Transfer the smooth, creamy sauce back to the pan/skillet. Re-heat it over medium heat. Add the remaining pan-fried mushrooms, chopped parsley, lemon juice, and grated vegan Parmesan. Stir well.
- Finally, add pre-cooked pasta. Stir well.
Notes
- Don’t add salt while cooking, as the mushrooms will release even more water. We recommend adding salt to the sauce only.
- The frying pan has to be HOT. If you saute mushrooms over medium heat, they likely get cooked in their own moisture instead of crispy. Pan-frying over high heat, will give you the desired result.
- If you do a large batch, use a large skillet as it helps to get them crispy.
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Nutrition
UPDATED: The original vegan mushroom pasta recipe was published in March 2021. Since then, we have been testing several versions to find the best recipe. And we did it. We finally published it here in March 2023.
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