Mushroom lovers, this recipe is for you. We take tender, earthy morel mushrooms and pile them on a bed of pasta covered in a garlicky Parmesan cream sauce with a sprinkling of fresh herbs and a kick of citrus. Every decadent bite of this morel mushroom pasta is comfort food at its finest.
And while this pasta is certainly comfort food, the morel mushrooms make it plenty fancy to serve for a special occasion. Large-scale commercial farmers don’t grow morel mushrooms in rows and rows like other mainstream crops. Rather, morel mushrooms are harvested by literally foraging the forest to hand-pick these delicious beauties between March and May. Considering all the hard work and dedication that goes into bringing us morel mushrooms, I always feel fortunate when they're on my plate.
In the interest of full disclosure, dried morel mushrooms are on the pricy side because of their labor-intensive harvesting; however, these are meaty little 'shrooms, and a little bit goes a long way. Only 1 ounce of dried morel mushrooms easily serves four people. Because morel mushrooms are so substantial, we're not using a protein in this pasta, so the cost balances out when you think about it that way. And, hey, this is special-occasion pasta. Sometimes you need a splurge in your life.
Given their limited availability and specialty nature, you might worry about finding morel mushrooms at your local grocery store but don't fear. That's why Amazon exists, so we can easily get our dried morel mushrooms there.
How to Rehydrate Morel Mushrooms
Before we make our morel mushroom pasta, we need to rehydrate our morel mushrooms. Simply place the morel mushrooms in a bowl and cover with two cups of warm water. We don't want boiling-hot water. Warm water is just fine. We let our morel mushrooms sit in the water for 20-30 minutes and then drain, slice and rinse, reserving the mushroom liquid.
And don't skip the rinsing. Grit can get stuck in those little honeycomb-like holes, but make it a quick swish.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Now that our morel mushrooms are rehydrated, we're ready to start on the pasta. Let's go ahead and start boiling our pasta water and add the pasta when it's ready. If you prep all the ingredients for the sauce ahead of time --- and you most definitely should --- the sauce goes pretty quickly, so you should be able to time it well with the pasta.
For the sauce, we start by melting a stick of butter because this recipe is all about special occasions, which always call for lots of butter. We add our morel mushrooms and let them brown for a few minutes. From here, we add in plenty of garlic and then pour in the reserved liquid from the morel mushrooms.
After the reserved liquid reduces, we're ready to add a good dose of heavy cream and let that heat up just a bit. Now we throw in a handful of freshly grated Parmesan and stir to melt. And I'd like to emphasize the "freshly grated" part. Please don't use that pre-grated Parmesan in a can. That stuff won't melt, and you'll be left with a gritty texture. Definitely not what we want with special-occasion pasta. Or any pasta for that matter.
By now, our pasta should be ready, so we turn off the heat and stir in a little lemon zest along with fresh chives and tarragon. Give it a taste and season with salt and pepper if you'd like. Parmesan is on the salty side, so you might only need a little pepper. Listen to your heart on that one.
To finish, we stir in the pasta, scoop into bowls and enjoy pure bliss. Oh, and make sure you have plenty of crusty bread on the side. This recipe makes a saucy bowl for the specific purpose of dipping. You're welcome. ❤️
Perfect Pairing
Morel mushrooms are known for pairing well with many wines, but for this particular dish, I recommend an oaky chardonnay. With chardonnay, you get a buttery undertones with a rich mouthfeel, which stand up well to the cream sauce. The oaky notes also pair perfectly with the earthiness from the mushrooms.
Keeping the oak theme alive, a wild ale aged in oak barrels is a great option for my fellow beer lovers. During the fermentation process of wild ales, the yeast tends to result in herbal, grassy notes that complement the morel mushrooms. These beers also typically have a dry finish to cut through the creamy sauce, and it's not uncommon to get some tartness. If you have access to Crooked Stave beers, Surette is an excellent choice. But no worries if not. I'm sure a friendly face at your local bottle shop could offer some alternatives.
When a special occasion calls, I hope you try this morel mushroom pasta in a Parmesan cream sauce. Please let me know how you enjoyed this morel mushroom pasta recipe in the comment section and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter. You can also catch me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.
Cheers!
Pasta Obsessed, Are We?
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Morel Mushroom Pasta in Parmesan Cream Sauce
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Tender, earthy morel mushrooms sit on a bed of pasta covered in a garlicky Parmesan cream sauce with a sprinkling of fresh herbs and a kick of citrus. Every decadent bite of this morel mushroom pasta is comfort food at its finest.
Ingredients
1 ounce dried morel mushrooms
2 cups warm water
Fettuccine, 12-16 ounces dried or 18 ounces fresh
½ cup butter
4-5 garlic cloves, minced or grated
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup Parmesan, freshly grated using the small-hole side
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste
Crusty bread for serving, optional
Instructions
- Place dried morel mushrooms in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let the morel mushrooms sit for 20-30 minutes. Drain, reserving the morel mushroom liquid. Quickly rinse the morel mushrooms and slice them in half.
- Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta and cook the pasta when the water is ready. As the water heats, prep your other ingredients.
- In a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the morel mushrooms and cook until they're golden, about four minutes, and then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring often.
- Pour in the reserved morel mushroom liquid. Cook until it reduces to about ¼ cup.
- Add the heavy cream, stir to combine and allow to heat to a near simmer. Stir in the Parmesan cheese until it melts. Let it simmer for a few minutes to thicken but don't boil. If the sauce is ready before the pasta, turn the heat to the lowest setting and stir occasionally.
- Drain the pasta when ready. Turn off the heat on the sauce and stir in chives, tarragon and lemon zest. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Toss pasta in with the sauce and divide into bowls. Serve with crusty bread for dipping. Enjoy!
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Stove-Top
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: morel mushroom pasta, mushroom pasta
Morel mushrooms hold a special place in my heart. When I was a child, my mom would actually go into the woods and find these little beauties. She also prepared them in a cream sauce. SOOOOO good. Oh the food memories.
★★★★★
Oh, wow, that must have been amazing! What a neat memory of your mom. ❤️
This sounds absolutely incredible, Amanda! I would love to try this very soon 🙂
Thanks, Alexandra! I hope you do. 😀
We love pasta with mushrooms but I have never tasted morel mushrooms, that looks yummy!
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Thank you! Hope you get a chance to try it.
I don't think I've ever seen them in the forests around here, but I love to go chanterelle hunting! If I see morels in the stores I would want to give this one a try, it looks so delicious!
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That sounds so fun! I've actually never been mushroom hunting, but I need to change that. Hope you find some morels, though I'm sure it'd also be delicious with chanterelles.
Someone called for mushroom lovers? I am here! And there is no better pasta than a mushroom pasta because the mount of flavors in it is just over the roof! Delicious recipe.
★★★★★
Haha, glad you're here! You'll definitely love this one. And thank you! 😀
I don't think I have ever added citrus flavor to my pasta. Seriously. But now that I am thinking about it (thanks to your recipe) I realize that it should be so good - pasta, mushroms, citrus, herbs - does it get any better?
★★★★★
Oh, you totally should! It adds such a nice brightness. You'll love it.
this has really got me craving some fresh pasta. i love pasta with mushrooms, and morels are so delicious. Sounds like a great recipe!
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Thank you! There's never a bad time for fresh pasta.
This dish actually made me drool! I didn't have any morel mushrooms, but I had lots of dried mushrooms that I tend to pick up at my local Asian store. I used a mixed blend and it was so delicious! I'll certainly make this over and over again. It was so quick and so easy and sooooo delicious!
★★★★★
Thank you -- so glad to hear that! 🤗
This dish looks so heavenly! I love morel mushrooms and white pasta sauce so this is a match made in heaven. Can't wait to make this dish.
★★★★★
Pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce is a match made in heaven, especially when the mushrooms are wild. They have so much more flavour than cultivated mushrooms. We go mushroom hunting quite a lot here in Italy but I've never found Morels myself.
★★★★★
That sounds SO fun! I feel like I'm missing out not living in Italy. 😀
Man oh man, this mushroom pasta looks good! You make morels looks so beautiful! Love this recipe and your photos!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for those nice words!
Who needs neat when you have this gorgeousness. I love this dish! I love mushrooms and need to look out for these. This recipe is speaking to me .
Haha, that's the best kind of recipe, right? Hope you love it!
I am a big fan mushrooms. This looks great. I am sure it would have finished in no time. Brilliant share!
★★★★★
Thank you! I'm the same with mushrooms. 🤤
This garlicky Parmesan cream sauce has me drooling. This looks like a perfect meal to serve my hubby for at date night at home.
★★★★★
Thank you! Isn't cream sauce the best?
I'm seeing this morel mushrooms for the first time. The pasta dish looks so delicious and perfect for date nights
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Thank you! It definitely is.
Mushrooms and cream are such a great combination. I love how you packed the mushroom flavour with these earthy morels.
★★★★★
Thank you! That's the perfect way to describe it. 😋
This looks so very delicious! Throw anything in a parmesan cream sauce and I am IN! Can't wait to try it.
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Right? I'm a sucker for creamy pastas.
How could you adapt this with fresh Morel mushrooms instead of dried?
Hi, Gia! I would substitute vegetable stock or broth for the liquid you’d get from rehydrating the mushrooms. If you use two cups of stock and then reduce it to 1/4 cup, you’ll be good to go. Otherwise, you shouldn’t have to make any other changes. Better Than Bouillon makes a vegetable base that works great for a stock. You can find it in the soup aisle of most grocery stores. I hope you love it! I’m a little jealous you have fresh morels in hand. 😀
OMG that parmesan cream sauce looks unreal - my daughter loves all things mushrooms and pasta, so this is definitely happening at our house this week.
Thank you! Hope you both loved it!
This is my new favorite Morel mushroom recipe! Delicious!
Awww, thank you! So, so glad to hear you loved it. 😀