Best Mushrooms For Pasta: Enhance Your Pasta With These Mushrooms!

The best mushrooms for pasta are Portobello, Crimini, Shiitake, Chanterelle, Morel, Oyster, and Porcini. Each kind of mushroom is best with various types of pasta. You can also pick dried or fresh mushrooms, which can alter the texture and flavor of the food.

Pasta sauce is designed to be luxurious and rich regardless of whether it’s tomato-based, creamy, or light, with freshly made garlic oil and fresh sauce. The only thing that can add richness and a savory taste to any of them is mushrooms.

There are many other different mushrooms to choose from but each one is unique and brings something unique to the food you’re cooking.

The good news is that in North America, we’re spoiled with options in the field of mushrooms. There’s a huge choice of wild and fresh mushrooms available and also readily imported dried options from abroad.

Best Mushrooms For Pasta Dishes

Nearly any edible mushroom can be used in pasta, however, some may stand up to the weight better than others.

If you’re looking to really spice up your pasta dish by adding an alternative to meat, add some texture, or enrich your sauce with the earthy umami taste from mushrooms.

1. Portobello Mushrooms

Portobello mushrooms are ideal for pasta due to their dimensions as well as their density.

They’re regarded as among the “meatier” mushrooms, which may sound odd for a plant but it’s actually quite true.

If you cut thinly and then sauté the portobellos, they make an excellent substitute for thinly sliced or shaved beef, for example, the kind you could use in an ox Stroganoff.

2. Crimini Mushrooms

Cremini mushrooms are able to be substituted for white button mushrooms in any recipe, and they look similar to brown versions of a button mushroom.

They’re identical to white buttons but older. They’re identical to portobellos however they are younger.

The three mushrooms are all identical, Agaricus bisporus with different stages of their lives.

Crimini Mushrooms are similar to portobellos with respect to their texture and flavor and are delicious with pasta.

We did not give white button mushrooms a spot in our top mushroom choices for pasta.

The reality is that the white button mushroom isn’t enough in taste to stand with most noodles sauces. They’ll be delicious, however, it’s not as well-known as the other options that we have included on the list of our best choices.

3. Shiitake Mushrooms

Shiitake mushrooms are more well-known in Asian food, however, they are readily accessible on market on the American market in dried forms.

They’re delicious in combination with Ramen as well as Soba noodles. There are just as good in linguine with a creamy texture.

Shiitake is among the chewiest kinds of mushrooms that are great with tougher vegetables like Kale.

They have an earthy taste is amplified by the spices found in an excellent Italian sausage. In combination, the salty broth or tomato sauce forms the perfect pasta sauce.

4. Chanterelle Mushrooms

If you’re planning to make white wine sauce to serve with your pasta then Chanterelle mushrooms will be your best option.

They’re distinct due to their fan-shaped shape. they’re extremely earthy, with a rich taste that is enhanced by their fruity smell.

They go wonderfully with butter and white wine.

Chanterelles are a very sought-after wild mushroom, usually seen at the beginning of fall and later as the weather is getting cooler within the Pacific Northwest.

This time of year, they will be in the local supermarket.

5. Morel Mushrooms

Morel mushrooms are probably the oddest appearing mushrooms on our list however, they’re similar to shiitakes in texture and taste So don’t be letting the strange honeycomb-like appearance confuse you.

They’re among the most frequently hunted mushrooms due to the fact that they’re so easy to determine as safe to eat.

Because they’re wild animals, one of the best sources is dried morels.

If a mushroom smelled soft, this is a good example of the scent.

They’re best when cut into pieces and sauteed with butter, garlic, and cream. Pour liberally over pasta. Fresh lemon juice and a serving of asparagus would not be inappropriate.

6. Oyster Mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms, which are similar to shiitakes, are often found in Chinese or Japanese food preparations.

They shouldn’t only be reserved for stir-fries however since they absorb a thick cream sauce that’s as thick as sponges.

The King Oyster mushrooms are among the biggest edible mushrooms that you can purchase and makes for an excellent meat substitute.

The texture of their food is soft and chewy, which is why they can be used to replace or enhance seafood pasta with ease. You might try angel hair pasta, and sauteed scallops, shrimp, or mussels.

7. Porcini Mushrooms

Porcini or porcini mushrooms are one of the most sought-after mushrooms in both Italy as well as France and that means they are suitable for pasta.

All over the world, they’re considered to be one of the most well-known wild mushrooms. This applies to the US as well.

Because they’re not raised it is much easier to find dried, and many claims, that’s the way they taste most delicious.

Porcini are famous for their powerful, delicious umami taste. If you add these to your pasta, you’ll be able to taste them, not only feel them.

In actual fact, our preferred method to incorporate this mushroom into pasta is to crush them to a fine powder, then incorporate them into the cream sauce to give it a silky rich, woodsy, and luxurious flavor.

Fun fact: The porcine word porcini means “little piggy,” so named for its size and chubby appearance.

Fresh vs Dried Mushrooms

If you’re making pasta using mushrooms, you can choose to use fresh or dried mushrooms.

Dried mushrooms will regenerate quickly and can be stored for more time than freshly picked mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms store moisture and aren’t fresh for long after they’ve been picked.

However, dried mushrooms get dried out when they’re fresh-picked and preserved in their nutritional value and flavor. Experts on mushrooms even believe that drying increases their flavor.

A purchase of dried mushrooms will give you more options in the kinds of mushrooms that are available. Mushrooms that are fresh are generally restricted to the types that are readily available locally and dried mushrooms can be shipped around the world without the risk of spoiling.

No matter if you go for fresh or dried, every mushroom is unique in its texture, flavor, and consistency. in the next section, we’ll look at the most sought-after pasta-making mushrooms from North America.

Comparison table of the best mushrooms for which pasta dish:

Type of Mushroom	Fresh or dried?	Pasta Dish Recommendation
Portobello	Fresh	Portobello Penne with Peppers & Parmesan
Crimini	Fresh	Mushroom Stroganoff
Shiitake	Dry	Linguine is served with White Wine Mushroom sauce
Chanterelle	Fresh	Pasta with fresh Spinach, Chanterelle mushrooms, and Proscuitto
Morel	Dry	Garganelli asparagus Morels as well as Garlic sauce
Oyster	Fresh	Seafood Lovers Mushroom Pasta
Porcino	Dry	Creamy Porcini Fettucine

We’ll speak about the best method to buy every kind of mushroom, freshly or dried, and some of the most effective ways to use each one in pasta.

Take a look at our mushroom substitute guide if you fancy changing things up!

FAQs

Should You Cook Mushrooms Before Adding To Pasta Sauce?

Sautéing your mushrooms prior to when adding them to the sauce allows them to cook nicely and bring out the earthy, meaty flavor.

If you add them to your sauce they will absorb the flavor of the sauce, but not provide as much of their own flavor into the mix.

Be sure that they’re dry before you cook them for frying so that you obtain a more fried flavor from them while keeping away from the rubbery texture that can result as they absorb the water. This is yet another reason to cook them prior to when adding them to the sauce.

What Mushroom Is Good for Pasta?

It’s based on the type of pasta that you’re cooking, which sauces and sauces to serve it in, and the type of mushrooms you’re choosing to make use of.

The general rule is that mushrooms have an earthy and savory flavor and are a great match with smoke-smoked white meats, white cuts of meat, as well as seafood.

Regarding vegetables, we are in love with vibrant and fresh vegetables like spinach, asparagus, leeks, fennel, and most importantly garlic and onions.

The addition of fresh lemon juice seems to be fantastic on any kind of mushroom made in any manner.

Should You Wash Mushrooms Before Cooking In The Pasta?

Yes, you must wash your mushrooms prior to cooking them, unless you like some odd bite that’s mildly dirty.

The gills of the mushrooms draw and stick to dirt. If they’re not cleaned the dirt can end within your meals. This is the case for dried and fresh mushrooms.

However, you should put off washing them before cooking them, because mushrooms absorb water and become soft, soggy, and even moldy if attempt to preserve the mushrooms once they’ve been cleaned.

The best way to do this is to wash them thoroughly, but briefly in cold water, then spin them using a spinner for salads, if you own one. If you don’t do this, you can wipe the dryness with a newspaper towel prior to cooking.

Should You Boil Mushrooms With The Pasta?

We don’t recommend boiling your pasta with mushrooms since they’ll absorb an abundance of water and become quite sticky, and also lose a significant amount of their flavor to the water that drains.

Boiled mushrooms are excellent in soups and stews, as the flavor is absorbed in the soup.

When it comes to pasta, we would prefer to cook them and then slice or chop them finely for a sauce similar to the meat that you grind or grind into a powder to add taste without the texture.

What can you cook with dried mushrooms?

If you are certain that you’ll be cooking the dried mushrooms at a minimum the day before you cook, let them sit in the bowl of water at room temperature for at least a night. This will help bring out the finest flavor you can achieve.

If you’re cooking a meal in the hurry or, at some point have time, you can make use of warm water to refresh your dried mushrooms. They’ll be ready within about 10 minutes. Simply cut them into pieces and cook them the same way you would with any other type of mushroom.

When you’re done with the soaking process and removing the water, you can keep it for later use. Add it to your pasta broth or sauce, as it can hold many additional flavors.

Summary

Mushrooms can be used in pasta in many ways, but some types may perform better than others. Portobello mushrooms are ideal due to their density and dimensions and can substitute for thinly sliced or shaved beef in dishes such as ox Stroganoff.

The best mushrooms for pasta are Portobello, Crimini, Shiitake, Chanterelle, Morel, Oyster, and Porcini. Each kind of mushroom is best with various types of pasta.

Dried mushrooms are a better choice as they regenerate quickly and can be stored for longer, retaining their nutritional value and flavor. Fresh mushrooms, on the other hand, store moisture and lose their freshness quickly.