A delicious and easy Mushroom Spinach Pasta made with a creamy parmesan sauce and crispy guanciale. A simple pasta dish that's comforting, full of flavour and perfect for busy weeknights.
Looking for a quick weeknight meal that doesn't compromise on flavour? This mushroom spinach pasta ticks all the boxes.
It's comforting, full of flavour, uses minimal ingredients and is made in just under 30 minutes making it quick and easy enough for busy weeknights.
Made with a creamy parmesan sauce and crispy, salty guanciale. Don't have guanciale? Use pancetta or good-quality bacon instead - delish!
See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below
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Ingredients
See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make our delicious mushroom spinach pasta plus some helpful notes and ingredient substitutions.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Mushrooms - we used crimini (chestnut) mushrooms but you can use any mushrooms you like.
- Spinach - if you don't have baby spinach roughly chop it before adding it to the pasta.
- Guanciale - if you don't have guanciale you can use pancetta or good-quality bacon.
- Pasta - we used penne pasta which works really well but you can use any short pasta shape you like.
Step by step photos and instructions
Prepare ingredients
Cut the guanciale into thin strips or cubes. Wipe any dirt from the mushrooms with a piece of kitchen paper and thinly slice them. Finely grate the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Make the pasta sauce
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well.
Heat a large frying pan or skillet and fry the guanciale until it starts to brown and goes crispy. Spoon it out onto a plate and set aside (photos 1 and 2).
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente (about 8-10 minutes).
Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt to the same pan the guanciale was in and fry for a few minutes until all the moisture from them has evaporated and they start to turn golden (photos 2 and 3).
Add the guanciale back to the pan with the mushrooms followed by the cream and ¼ cup (60ml) of pasta water. Simmer for for a couple of minutes and add the cooked pasta with the baby spinach (photos 5-7).
Toss everything together keeping it on the heat until the sauce thickens slightly (photo 8).
Turn off the heat and add the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, stir into the sauce then serve.
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Clean your mushrooms - to clean your mushrooms cut off the bottom of the stock and wipe them clean with a damp piece of kitchen paper or kitchen towel. Do not wash them or submerge them in water.
- Reserve pasta water - adding starchy reserved pasta water helps add flavour and creaminess to the sauce (without adding more cream). Make sure to reserve at least ¼ cup (60ml) before draining your pasta.
- Seasoning the sauce - Guanciale can sometimes be heavily salted some more so than others so it's important to taste the sauce before adding more seasoning.
- Variations - you can opt to add some fresh garlic (add it once the mushrooms are cooked for a few seconds) or use Italian sausage instead of guanciale or pancetta.
Because of the cream, this pasta is best eaten immediately but can be eaten cold or reheated. You may need to add an extra splash of water or cream when reheating to loosen it.
I don't recommend freezing. This pasta is best eaten immediately.
More delicious pasta recipes to try
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📖 Full Recipe
Mushroom Spinach Pasta with Crispy Guanciale
Ingredients
- 14 oz penne pasta (400g/4 cups)
- 100 g guanciale
- 8 medium crimini mushrooms (chestnut mushrooms UK) thinly sliced (250g)
- 2 cups baby spinach (roughly 2 large handfuls/50g)
- ½ cup heavy cream (double cream UK) (120ml)
- ¾ cup Parmigiano Reggiano freshly grated (30g)
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water (60ml)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Prepare ingredients
- Cut the guanciale into thin strips or cubes. Wipe any dirt from the mushrooms with a piece of kitchen paper and thinly slice them. Finely grate the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Make the pasta sauce
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well.
- Heat a large frying pan or skillet and fry the guanciale until it starts to brown and goes crispy. Spoon it out onto a plate and set aside.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente (about 8-10 minutes).
- Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt to the same pan the guanciale was in and fry for a few minutes until all the moisture from them has evaporated and they start to turn golden.
- Add the guanciale back to the pan with the mushrooms followed by the cream and ¼ cup (60ml) of pasta water. Simmer for for a couple of minutes and add the cooked pasta with the baby spinach.
- Toss everything together keeping it on the heat until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Turn off the heat and add the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, stir into the sauce then serve.
Notes
- Clean your mushrooms - to clean your mushrooms cut off the bottom of the stock and wipe them clean with a damp piece of kitchen paper or kitchen towel. Do not wash them or submerge them in water.
- Reserve pasta water - adding starchy reserved pasta water helps add flavour and creaminess to the sauce (without adding more cream). Make sure to reserve at least ¼ cup (60ml) before draining your pasta.
- Seasoning the sauce - Guanciale can sometimes be heavily salted some more so than others so it's important to taste the sauce before adding more seasoning.
- Variations - you can opt to add some fresh garlic (add it once the mushrooms are cooked for a few seconds) or use Italian sausage instead of guanciale or pancetta.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Grace
So good! I tried this today and it was perfect. I added minced garlic and a little more cream in it. I also used frozen spinach. Thank you for the recipe.
Emily
So happy you enjoyed it, great idea to use frozen spinach!
Ronni
Wonderful recipe. I did add garlic and parmesan cheese, and it was perfect.
Jacque Hastert
This looks fantastic and you provided great tips!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Thank you Jacque!
Chris Collins
Oh my goodness this is the most gorgeous bowl of comfort food I've ever laid eyes on! Mushroom and pasta really is just a match made in heaven. Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
Inside the rustic kitchen
D'aww thanks Chris, no problem!
Sara
This looks fantastic. I love the combination of spinach and mushroom in pasta! So yummy!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Me too, thanks Sara!
Demeter
Loving how thorough the step-by-step tutorial is! Love that you took the time to outline each and every step so beautifully! Perfect summer recipe. 🙂
Inside the rustic kitchen
Thanks so much Demeter!
Jessica Randhawa
This looks delish! Can't wait to try it and looks super easy. I love to add spinach in my dishes so that's a bonus!
Inside the rustic kitchen
It's so easy, thanks Jessica!