Herbs with a light vinegar dressing give this Mushroom Pasta Salad a bright but earthy flavor. Serve it hot or cold to suit the season.
Cooking With Mushrooms
Cooking With MushroomsWhile you can find mushrooms, year-round, there peak season is fall and winter. So, what better a time to feature these beauties who so rarely get the star treatment?
So often mushrooms seem to be an after-thought. Something tossed in for extra flavor and texture.
But, they have some incredibly health benefits that makes them worth experimenting with. For example, they provide the nutritional benefits of produce, while also providing many of the nutritional aspects that are more commonly found in meat, beans and grains.
They really are a nutrition powerhouse.
And, this Mushroom Pasta Salad is a great way to get you started experimenting with mushrooms as a first thought, not an after-thought.
Our Mushroom Pasta Salad Recipe
We haven’t gone overboard and we won’t send you foraging for strange mushroom varieties… just yet.
This is a simple pasta salad that makes use of the most common of mushrooms: those cute little white button mushrooms you can find in any grocery store.
Mushrooms are hearty and filling, making them the perfect addition to this pasta dish in place of a lean meat. We like to use a basic button mushroom for most of our cooking. They are easy to find, saute up nicely, and are generally firm, but not chewy.
Mushrooms are beautiful to cook with because even though they add an earthiness that is all their own, they play very nicely with other ingredients and take on the flavors of the dish, creating a unified feel.
For this dish, we’ve started off by sauteing them with a hefty amount of garlic.
(Because, who doesn’t love pasta and garlic?)
Then, we’ve added a splash of bright lemon juice and white wine balsamic vinegar to brighten the salad with a little acidic punch.
You can serve this mushroom pasta salad hot or cold, depending on the weather and your preference.
Herby Mushroom Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry pasta (Your choice -- rotini or other small shapes work well)
- ½ tsp olive oil
- 8 oz button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp parsley
- 2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add pasta and cook 7-9 minutes (or as directed by the package) until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander and run cold water over it to cool the pasta down and keep it from continuing to cook. (If you would prefer your pasta salad warm, drain the pasta, but skip the cold water.) Transfer the pasta to a large bowl.
- Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add mushrooms and garlic. Sauté over medium high heat until the mushrooms and garlic are golden, 5-7 minutes.
- Add the mushroom mixture to the pasta along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well until the seasonings have evenly coated the pasta.
Notes
Nutrition
This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We’ve updated our pictures since we first made it, but we’ve left the original images here as a fun throwback and shout out to how far we’ve come. Enjoy!
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Sarah is one of Curious Cuisiniere’s founding duo. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
Michelle
Wednesday 19th of January 2022
This is absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I doubled the dressing, and added steamed broccoli, a diced red bell pepper, and a can of drained and rinsed great Northern beans. I packed it up for my lunch at work, and I can't get enough!
Sarah Ozimek
Friday 21st of January 2022
So glad you enjoyed it!