Delicious Bacon and Mushroom Pasta Recipe

 This bacon and mushroom pasta recipe has crispy bacon and plenty of mushrooms in a delicious garlic herb cream sauce. It only takes about 30 minutes to make!

This pasta dish is easy enough for a busy weeknight but tasty enough for company. And everything is better with bacon. 

You may also like my Creamy Mushroom Pasta or this Bacon Cream Cheese Tortellini.

To make this mushroom and bacon pasta, you start by boiling some water for the pasta and make the sauce while it cooks. Fry up some bacon, then once it's nice and crispy, you transfer it to a plate and sauté the mushrooms in the leftover bacon grease. Add in the garlic, then take the mushrooms out of the pan and start making the sauce by adding the chicken broth (or wine), Italian seasoning, lemon juice, flour, and Dijon mustard. Once that has been stirred together and reduced a bit, add in the cream and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. The bacon and mushrooms are then added back to the pan and cooked through for a few more minutes. Toss with the drained pasta and serve. 

Recipe notes & tips:

    I don't have a brand preference for the wine, but something dry like a sauv blanc or pinot grigio will work. You can use chicken broth if you don't want to open a bottle/don't have any. 

    You can swap the cremini mushrooms for another variety like white mushrooms.

    The lemon juice and Dijon mustard add more depth to the sauce so that it's not boring and one-dimensional. Don't worry... the sauce doesn't taste like mustard if you're not a fan. 

    I prefer a longer pasta shape for this recipe (I used bucatini, but spaghetti or linguine or similar will work fine), but any pasta shape will work.

    As always, sub the cream for something lower fat at your own discretion (like half-and-half or milk). There's always a chance it can curdle since this is cooked over quite a high heat.

Ingredients

    ▢ 8 ounces uncooked pasta (I used bucatini)

    ▢ 6 strips bacon cut into small pieces

    ▢ 7 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced

    ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced

    ▢ 1/3 cup chicken broth or dry white wine

    ▢ 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

    ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon juice

    ▢ 1 teaspoon flour

    ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

    ▢ 1 cup heavy/whipping cream

    ▢ Salt & pepper to taste

    ▢ For serving: freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley optional

Instructions

    Boil a salted pot of water and cook pasta al dente according to package instructions.

    Meanwhile, cut the bacon up (I use kitchen shears to make it easy) and add it to a skillet. Fry it until crispy over medium-high heat. When it's done, transfer it to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the bacon fat in the pan.

    Add the mushrooms to the skillet, and cook them, stirring occasionally, for about 5-6 minutes or until they release water and it's been cooked off.

    Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

    Take the mushrooms out of the pan (add them to the same plate that has the bacon).

    Add the broth, Italian seasoning, lemon juice, flour, and Dijon mustard to the pan. Give it a good stir (only let it cook for about a minute max or it'll all cook off).

    Add in the cream and let it simmer for about 2 minutes.

    Add the mushrooms and bacon back to the skillet. Let it heat through/cook for a few more minutes until it's slightly thickened, then drain the pasta and add it to the skillet and toss. Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve with parmesan cheese and parsley if desired. If the sauce gets a tad too thick, add in a splash of the hot pasta water prior to draining it.