Vegan Mushroom Pasta

5 from 4 votes

A tasty vegan mushroom pasta that needs just seven ingredients and is ready in under 20 minutes. It is loaded with garlicky, lemony flavor.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Main Course/Pasta

Cuisine: Italian inspired

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 324kcal

16 oz spaghetti (or any long pasta)
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
16 oz cremini mushrooms or button mushrooms (I used crimini. Use any wild mushrooms, including shiitake, maitake, chanterelles or morels)
2 large shallots (thinly slied)
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 small bunch parsley (chopped, about 1 packed cup)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente.
While the pasta water is boiling, place the garlic and olive oil in a cold skillet large enough to hold the pasta. Heat over medium-low heat and let the garlic cook, stirring frequently, until it turns golden-brown.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. The mushrooms will express a lot of juice. Turn the heat to high or medium high and let the mushrooms cook, undisturbed, for 3-4 minutes, then stir them and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until they are golden-brown and all juices have evaporated.
Stir in the sliced shallots and cook for barely a minute or two, just until they have softened.
Add the cooked pasta to the skillet with a cup of the pasta water, lemon juice, zest and parsley. Add more salt and ground black pepper if needed. Toss together to mix.
Turn off heat and serve the pasta hot, warm or at room temperature with vegan parm.

Spaghetti. Use any long pasta, including fettuccine, bucatini, capellini or angel hair. A ribbony pasta like fettuccine or tagliatelle or linguini would work too.
Extra virgin olive oil. This helps flavor the pasta in addition to being a cooking medium, as in aglio e olio.
Mushrooms. Mushrooms are the star in this pasta recipe, and they shine here. I used cremini mushrooms this time but I also love wild mushrooms in this dish, and you can add any that you love or forage for, including shiitake, oyster, maitake, chanterelles and morels. (Each time I post a mushroom recipe I hear from someone who says they "hate" mushrooms. If you are one of those people, just determine to try some that are cooked right: you will learn to adore them. And do you know just how amazing they are for you?)
Shallots. This is an optional addition but a highly recommended one. The shallots are barely cooked: you add them to the pot and salute them just enough to take the spicy edge off and make them soft, but they retain some bite and all of that distinctive flavor. It makes for a nice surprise in each bite.