Simplicity meets indulgence in this quick creamy bacon mushroom pasta. Earthy mushrooms, smoky bacon, and sour cream make a silky savory sauce – toss through your favorite pasta for a satisfying 20-minute dinner.
This recipe is ridiculously quick and easy to throw together. The sauce is one of my weeknight saviour sour cream pasta sauces, packed with mushrooms and smoky bacon for a classic salty savory combo.
Prep ahead
If I know I am going to be really short on time after work I will prepare the mushrooms and bacon in the morning or the night before and stash them in the fridge. That way everything is ready ahead of time, and it can go straight in the pan when I am ready to cook!
Scroll down for the printable recipe card, or read on for all the details.
4 Ingredients
One of the best things about this recipe is that it only has four ingredients (..not counting water and salt for the pasta, and oil for frying 🤭).
1. Pasta
Use your pasta of choice. I like fusilli (spirals) because they hold the creamy sauce so well, but spaghetti, tagliatelle, and penne pasta are also often used at my place.
I use dried pasta for this recipe. Fresh pasta is more delicious and quicker to cook, but the timings in the recipe are based around a pasta cooking time of around 10-12 minutes.
If you want to use fresh pasta, check the cooking time and cook it after the sauce is nearly finished (you can set the water to heat while you cook the sauce).
2. Bacon
Side-cut, streaky bacon, back bacon or middle bacon are all good options. Choose a type that is quite thinly cut if you can as this will cook more quickly.
3. Mushrooms
I would recommend using brown mushrooms, or portobello mushrooms for this recipe for more flavor, but button mushrooms are fine too.
4. Sour cream
I use lite/light sour cream, mainly because this recipe already has enough calories, but also because the flavor of the bacon packs enough of a punch that you don’t need ultra creamy full-fat sour cream. Your choice. You can substitute heavy cream, but will probably need slightly less of the pasta water to get the right consistency.
How to make my creamy bacon mushroom pasta
1
Prepare.
Place a large saucepan of salted water to heat, to cook the pasta.
While the water is heating prepare the sauce ingredients. Slice the mushrooms, and dice the bacon.
2
Start the pasta.
Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions (around 10-12 minutes). When it has finished cooking drain, but reserve around 1 cup/ 230ml of the pasta water.
3
Make the sauce.
While the pasta is cooking, cook the sauce. Saute the bacon in a drizzle of oil in a large frying pan or skillet. When it is starting to brown add the mushrooms and cook until they are tender.
When the bacon and mushrooms are cooked, remove the pan from the heat, add the sour cream and stir through.
4
Finish the dish.
Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce and toss or stir into the sauce. Add the reserved pasta water gradually, tossing the pasta to mix it in, until the right sauce consistency is reached.
Note: if you forgot to save some pasta water, you can just use regular water, though the sauce won’t be quite as silky.
Serving ideas and variations
- Top with a handful of arugula / rocket leaves.
- Serve with a crunchy green side salad and some crusty bread.
- Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of truffle oil.
- Light toast some hazelnuts in a dry frying pan, then crush and sprinkle over the dish.
Quick Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz / 230 g bacon (approx 8 slices)
- 12 oz / 340 g mushrooms [Note 1]
- ½ cup / 120 ml light sour cream
- 12 oz / 340 g uncooked pasta
- 1 cup / 250 ml reserved pasta water
- drizzle olive oil
Directions
Prepare
- Put a large pot of salted water on to heat.
- While it is heating, slice the mushrooms and dice the bacon into approx. ¼ inch pieces.
Cook pasta
- When the water has come to the boil add the dried pasta, and cook according to packet instructions (approx. 10-12 minutes).
Cook sauce (while the pasta is cooking)
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. When it is hot add the bacon and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add another drizzle of oil, and add the sliced mushrooms. Cook until soft (approx. 4 minutes).
- Remove from heat, add the sour cream and stir through.
Finish dish
- Drain pasta, reserving around 1 cup/ 250ml of pasta water.
- Add pasta and around half the reserved pasta water to the pan with the sauce and stir to combine well. If needed gradually add more of the remaining pasta water until the sauce is the right consistency.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Button mushrooms, white or brown mushrooms, or portabello mushrooms.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and provided for informational purposes only.
