This pasta with pancetta and mushrooms is a great easy dish that you can make as a weeknight meal or a special meal because it looks and tastes wonderful and it’s so easy to make. The pancetta in this recipe is an Italian bacon that flavors the olive oil with all of its spices and it combines so well with the mushrooms to bring a meaty bite to the dish.
What makes this pasta with pancetta and mushrooms so easy is there are very few ingredients but you’ll want to make sure the ingredients you are using are all quality ingredients.
The ingredients you will need to make this pasta with pancetta are:
- spaghetti (or any pasta you have on hand)
- pancetta
- mushrooms
- olive oil
- Parmesan cheese (the real stuff!)
- garlic
- red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper
The steps to making this dish are as easy as the ingredients. It is so easy that we make this dish as an alternative to takeout when we are just too tired to cook but we still want a good meal.
I will often keep many of these items on hand so I have a quick easy dish to throw together during the week. I do love pasta dishes and make them all the time (like my cajun chicken pasta or my energy pesto pasta) so maybe I am biased but pasta is so easy to throw together and should be part of everyone’s cooking repertoire.
The steps to making this pasta with pancetta recipe:
- Bring your water to a boil and cook your pasta (reserve some of that pasta water!)
- Saute your pancetta and mushrooms in a large pan along with your olive oil and red pepper flakes.
- Once your pasta is finished cooking, throw it into the pan with the mushrooms and pancetta along with some of that reserved pasta water.
- Toss for a minute.
- Serve with your freshly grated Parmesan.
As you can see from these steps, this pasta with pancetta and mushrooms is so easy to make! This dish will come together in no time and will certainly be a hit with everyone who tries it.
Pasta with Pancetta and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 6 cloves of minced garlic
- 1/4 cup good olive oil
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 6 ounces diced pancetta you can either find this near your deli section already diced in a container or at your deli
- 1 6-8 ounce package of mushrooms sliced and cleaned I used Baby Bellas (baby portabella mushrooms) but any variety you like will work
- 1 box of spaghetti
- 1 tbsp salt and pepper to taste and (salt for pasta water)
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Fill a large pasta pot with water and place over high heat to come to a boil
- In a large saute over medium heat add your olive oil and red pepper flakes and warm for about 3 minutes to let the red pepper release into the oil
- Now add your pancetta and cook until the pancetta starts to crisp, about 5 minutes
- Now add your mushrooms and saute until slightly soft (about 5 minutes)
- Reduce heat to low and add your garlic stirring it well until combined
- Your pasta water should be boiling. Once this happens, add a good handful of salt to the water so it's nice and salty.
- add your spaghetti and cook according to instructions for al dente
- once your pasta is in the water and has been cooking for a few minutes, take a coffee mug and scoop out a mug full of the starchy water and set aside.
- Also, scoop out a ladle full of pasta water from the pot and add it to your mushroom and pancetta pan and mix well. This is your sauce. The reserved pasta water is just in case the pasta looks dry later when you add it to the pancetta and mushrooms.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain the pasta and add it to your pan of mushrooms and coat the pasta well by constantly turning it around in the sauce. Add your salt and pepper.
- Keep tossing your pasta in the pan for a few minutes over low heat then remove pan from the heat
- The pasta may have absorbed a lot of the sauce. If it has, and it looks dry, add 1/2 of your mug of reserved pasta water to it and toss it around. Keep doing this until you have a moist looking pasta.
- Add 1/2 cup of your parmesan cheese, some more fresh cracked pepper and a sprinkle of salt on top.
- Serve with extra parmesan on the side
- enjoy
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