Mushroom Bolognese Pasta Recipe has a rich, thick, satisfying sauce atop hearty tagliatelle noodles. This recipe is a family style Italian meal that is a fairly easy recipe and fills your home with an irresistible aroma that will bring everyone to the dinner table!

Mushroom Bolognese

Bolognese is a hearty meat based sauce, and although my sauce recipe does have some beef in it, it is mainly made up of cremini mushrooms. When researching recipes, I came across a recipe for Mushroom Bolognese on myrecipes and loved the idea of replacing most of the meat with tasty mushrooms. By doing so, it keeps the sauce thick and hearty, while at the same time giving it much more flavor. I like that!

This recipe does take some time to prepare, but it's very easy. The time consuming part is the simmering on the stove-top. It doesn't need a lot of attention while it is simmering, which I like, because I can put my feet up and relax before dinner or, if I'm feeling ambitious, I can get some cleaning done. You're more likely to find me with my feet up <wink>

How to Make Mushroom Bolognese Pasta

Heat a large skillet over mid-high heat and add 1/2 pound of ground chuck to the skillet. Salt and pepper it and let the beef sear on one side for about 5 minutes.

Once the beef has a nice sear on one side, flip it over and start breaking it up into chunks. I like to sear the one side as it adds great flavor to the dish. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 cup diced onion and 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic. Continue to cook and break up the beef until it is cooked through and no longer pink.

Add 1 pound chopped cremini mushrooms and stir to combine. Add a pinch of salt & pepper to the mushroom mixture and cook until the mushrooms reduce in size. The mushrooms will release their liquid as you cook them down, and you want to continue to cook until most of the liquid is cooked out. About 10-15 minutes. The mushrooms will likely fill the skillet quite a bit at first, but they will shrink down, so don't be alarmed.

Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and stir to combine. Add 1 cup water and 1/2 cup white wine and scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to mid-low and simmer about 45 minutes until most of the liquid is reduced. Stir occasionally to gently break up the tomatoes while the sauce is simmering. Compare the amount the liquid reduced from the saucy photo above to the thicker sauce below.

When the sauce has reduced, give it a taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Add 1/4 cup milk and stir to combine.

About 15 minutes before the sauce is ready, cook pasta according to package directions and drain, reserving some of the pasta water to toss with the pasta. After draining, place the pasta noodles back in the pan and toss with about 1/4 cup reserved pasta water or more as needed to moisten. Serve Mushroom Bolognese sauce over pasta and garnish with freshly chopped parsley and Parmesan-Reggiano cheese. Enjoy!

Mushroom Bolognese Pasta Recipe

By Life Tastes Good
Published 04/03/2016

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound ground chuck
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 cup diced, yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 28 ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 lb tagliatelle pasta or another broad, flat pasta such as fettucine
• Chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
• Shaved Parmesan-Reggiano cheese

Instructions

1. Heat a skillet over mid-high heat and add 1/2 pound of ground chuck to the skillet. Salt and pepper it and let the beef sear on one side for about 5 minutes.
   
2. Once the beef has a nice sear on one side, flip it over and start breaking it up into chunks. I like to sear the one side as it adds great flavor to the dish. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 cup diced onion and 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic. Continue to cook and break up the beef until it is cooked through and no longer pink.
3. Add 1 pound chopped cremini mushrooms and stir to combine. Add a pinch of salt & pepper to the mushroom mixture and cook until the mushrooms reduce in size. The mushrooms will release their liquid as you cook them down, and you want to continue to cook until most of the liquid is cooked out. About 10-15 minutes. The mushrooms will likely fill the skillet quite a bit at first, but they will shrink down, so don't be alarmed.
4. Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and stir to combine. Add 1 cup water and 1/2 cup white wine and scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to mid-low and simmer about 45 minutes until most of the liquid is reduced. Stir occasionally to gently break up the tomatoes while the sauce is simmering.
6. When the sauce has reduced, give it a taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Add 1/4 cup milk and stir to combine.
7. About 15 minutes before the sauce is ready, cook pasta according to package directions and drain, reserving some of the pasta water to toss with the pasta. After draining, place the pasta noodles back in the pan and toss with about 1/4 cup reserved pasta water or more as needed to moisten. Serve sauce over pasta and garnish with freshly chopped parsley and Parmesan-Reggiano cheese. Enjoy!

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 15 mins.

Cook time: 1 hrs. 00 mins.
Total time: 1 hrs. 15 mins.

Tags: Mushroom Bolognese Pasta Recipe, Italian, Family, Dinner, Noodles, Pasta, Easy Recipe, Sauce, Bolognese Sauce, Mushrooms