Creamy Brown Butter Mushroom Pasta (Printable)

Silky fettuccine with golden mushrooms, nutty brown butter, and Parmigiano Reggiano cream sauce.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 14 oz fettuccine or tagliatelle

→ Mushrooms & Aromatics

02 - 14 oz mixed mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, or button), sliced
03 - 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
04 - 3 tbsp unsalted butter
05 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 1 small shallot, finely diced
07 - 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

→ Cream Sauce

08 - ¾ cup heavy cream
09 - ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
10 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
11 - 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

→ Finishing

12 - Extra Parmigiano Reggiano, for serving
13 - Fresh parsley or chives, chopped, for garnish

# How To Make It:

01 - Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.
02 - While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and foam, swirling the pan occasionally, until it turns a deep golden-brown and releases a nutty aroma, about 3 to 4 minutes.
03 - Add the finely diced shallot and minced garlic to the browned butter. Sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant and slightly softened.
04 - Add the sliced mushrooms and fresh thyme leaves to the skillet. Increase the heat to medium-high and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are deeply golden brown and their released moisture has mostly evaporated, about 6 to 8 minutes.
05 - Pour in the heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat and stir in the grated Parmigiano Reggiano until smoothly melted. If the sauce becomes too thick, loosen it with small additions of the reserved pasta water until the desired consistency is reached.
06 - Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss thoroughly to coat every strand in the sauce, adding more pasta water as needed. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.
07 - Transfer to warm serving bowls immediately. Finish with an extra shower of Parmigiano Reggiano and a scatter of freshly chopped parsley or chives.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The brown butter does most of the heavy lifting, so you taste like you fussed for hours when you barely broke a sweat.
  • It turns ordinary weeknight mushrooms into something deeply savory and just a little luxurious without needing hard to find ingredients.
02 -
  • Watch the butter like a hawk once it starts foaming, it goes from perfectly brown to burnt in seconds and there is no coming back from that.
  • Do not crowd the mushrooms in the pan, if they are stacked on top of each other they will steam instead of sear and you will miss that deep caramelized flavor entirely.
03 -
  • Always salt your pasta water until it tastes like mild broth, this is your one and only chance to season the pasta itself and it makes a huge difference.
  • Grate your Parmigiano Reggiano as finely as possible so it melts seamlessly into the sauce without leaving stringy clumps behind.

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