Mushroom ALfredo

We’ve kind of had a mushroom theme going on all week, so I figured a rich and creamy pasta was the perfect way to send it off. And not only is this pasta creamy and delicious, it’s loaded with veggies! So that has to be a win, right?

Let’s start with the pasta. Typically, you see alfredo sauce coating a long cut pasta like a fettuccine or a pappardelle. And don’t get me wrong, I love a good fettuccine. But for this recipe, I was really feeling a short cut pasta. So, I ended up using a whole wheat rotini pasta. I love whole wheat pasta, and I think the slight nuttiness of the pasta pairs really well with the earthy mushrooms in this dish. But, you can 100% use whatever pasta you prefer. Short cut, long cut, whole wheat, regular…this sauce is DELISH on whatever you smother with it.

Next, let’s talk mushrooms. We’re going to keep things super simple and saute our baby bella mushrooms in a little butter. That’s it. Mushrooms tend to have a high water content, so I actually don’t season them with salt until after they’ve finished cooking. Salt tends to draw water out of veggies, and these mushrooms are wet enough on their own. So, it really is just the mushrooms and the butter in the pan all by themselves for about 10 minutes until the mushrooms are perfectly golden brown.

Once the mushrooms are caramelized, we’re going to add in a little garlic; and let those cook together for just about a minute. Then, to add some extra protein and a pop of color, we’ll add in a big ol’ handful of fresh spinach to wilt down with our shrooms. Once we add the spinach, that’s the point that we’ll throw in a pinch of salt and pepper.

As soon as the veggies are all cooked down, it’s time to add in our sauce components. This is my current go to for alfredo sauces. I accidentally created it early on in quarantine, and I’ve never turned back. It’s so simple and delish! So, we need equal parts of milk and heavy cream, a little cream cheese, and some freshly shredded parmesan cheese. To lighten things up just a tad, I always use 1% milk and low fat cream cheese. They both work great in this sauce. But, you can certainly use a higher fat content of both which will just add a little extra creaminess. Either way, we’ll add it all to the pan at once, stir it really well until all of the cheeses melt, bring it to a simmer, and turn down the heat so the sauce can thicken up for a couple of minutes.

Typically, I season this alfredo sauce with a simple pinch of salt and pepper. But for this recipe, I used my new favorite secret weapon: umami seasoning from Trader Joes. We’re just going to add a little touch of this spice to our sauce, but I love the richness that it adds. To me, it makes mushrooms taste even mushroomier (