This Truffle Mushroom Pasta is a restaurant-quality dish at home. It features a creamy carbonara-like sauce flavored with black truffle butter, golden-brown sautéed mushrooms, and shavings of fresh truffle. It’s a decadent special occasion dish made in about 30 minutes!
Truffle pasta is a special occasion dish, something I love to splurge on at a great Italian restaurant. The pasta usually has a rich and creamy sauce that coats a thicker spaghetti-like noodle with hints of black pepper plus the nutinessness and garlicky flavors from the truffles.
But why not make this amazing recipe right at home? It’ll only take you about 30 minutes and 6 ingredients, plus is also more affordable in the end! We call that a win in the dinner recipe category.
Now with my recipe for mushroom truffle pasta, I use truffle butter to make the base of the creamy sauce that’s loaded with parmesan cheese and thickened with rich egg yolks. The sauce coats bucatini noodles and is sprinkled with black pepper and fresh black truffle shavings if desired. You’ll want to be licking every last drop of sauce out of your bowl when you make this recipe!
If you love pasta recipes, have no fear, they’re one of our favorites too. Our lobster pasta is also decadent or green pesto pasta for a bright flavor. Either way, you can’t go wrong.
Table of contents
About Black Truffles
- Flavor: Truffles have an earthy, oaky, musky, meaty, even gamy flavor which can somewhat resemble that of above-ground mushrooms. Truffles taste like they smell—pungent, slightly sweet, and very savory.
- Smell: Often times the aroma of a truffle packs more of a punch than the flavor. Together, the flavor and aroma of truffles add a delicious savory/gamy note to a dish.
- Seasonality: different truffle varieties have different seasons. According to Eataly, white and burgundy truffles are in season September—December while winter black truffles will pick up in December and can be found through February. Bianchetti truffles are often found in February and March, and summer truffles (black and white) are in season May through August.
- Buying: It’s best to purchase truffles from a well-known quality supplier such as Regalis Foods, D’Artagnan or Eataly. One good-sized truffle will weigh in around 2-ounces, and should be more than enough for this recipe.
You can expect to receive truffles wrapped in paper towels in an airtight bag. Make sure the truffles are firm without blemishes and mold-free when you receive them. - Storage: It’s best to re-wrap them in fresh paper towels, place them in a zipper-lock bag, and set in the refrigerator. Truffles should be used as soon as possible, but can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Avoid washing truffles until right before using, and let them come to room temperature before slicing or grating.
- Affordable Truffle Substitutes: if fresh truffles are not in the budget, look for some truffle oil or truffle butter at your local specialty market or online. Both of these are great ways to incorporate the unique flavor of truffle into dishes without hitting your wallet too hard.
Lauren’s Tip
If you prefer not to purchase fresh black truffle, just add additional truffle butter or grate truffle infused cheese over the top of the pasta to serve. It’s equally delicious!
Ingredients in Truffle Pasta
- Parmesan cheese: make sure you use high-quality grated Parmesan. This pasta is simple, but it’s all about using quality ingredients. You can also use pecorino if needed—just pull back on the salt a bit.
- Eggs: this recipe is somewhat similar to that of a carbonara, so you’ll need 6 eggs for the sauce—2 whole eggs and 4 yolks. Reserve the whites for a crustless quiche or use them in a cocktail. It’s important to use large-sized eggs to ensure there’s enough sauce to coat the pasta.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: you’ll need a couple of tablespoons to cook the mushrooms in.
- Shiitake mushrooms (or a mix of mushrooms): I like the flavor and texture of shiitake mushrooms. They also feel more elevated, so they pair nicely with truffle. Any type of mushroom will work.
- Spaghetti, bucatini, or tagliatelle: any three types of pasta will work here. Use a quality pasta that’s worthy of truffle!
- Truffle butter (homemade or purchased): truffle butter is essentially salted butter with small flakes of truffle mixed in.
- Fresh black or white truffle: if you have access to fresh truffles, thinly grate some over top of the pasta.
How to Make Truffle Mushroom Pasta
The process for making this black truffle pasta is very similar to the process of making carbonara.
This recipe is all about process. It’s a simple process (takes just about 30 minutes), but it’s important to follow top to bottom, switching up the steps won’t work for this pasta dish!
- Combine the cheese, yolks, eggs, and pepper; set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Spaghetti on standby.
- Meanwhile, cook the mushrooms until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a plate and reserve for later.
- Cook spaghetti 2 minutes less than package directions specify. Reserve 1¾ cups pasta cooking water. Do not forget this step! I repeat, reserve pasta cooking water. Drain the noodles.
- Add 1 cup of the reserved cooking water and the truffle butter to now empty pot (which the mushrooms were cooked in).
- Add the noodles and cook until al dente and liquid has reduced by half.
- Whisk ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water into the cheese and egg mixture, then add the mixture to the pan with the pasta and cook, tossing the noodles and sauce gently but continuously until sauce is thickened and silky.
- Add additional reserved cooking water by 1–2 tablespoon increments until the sauce is similar in thickness to heavy cream. You may add quite a bit of the reserved cooking water and that’s OK!
- Stir in the mushrooms and serve with sliced/shaved truffles.
Expert Tips
- Reserve the starchy pasta cooking water. This is essential to this pasta recipe. The starchy water creates the creamy texture of the sauce.
- Mix the eggs and cheese separately. This is required to make the creamy sauce work. Combining the sauce and noodles off of the heat first begins to cook the sauce and thicken it with the residual heat of the noodles.
- Cook the mushrooms longer than you think. Most people don’t cook their mushrooms long enough, make sure they are golden brown and excess liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes!
- Boil the pasta until al dente. That means the noodles have a slight ‘bite’ to it after being cooked. The best way to do this is to cook the noodles 2 minutes less than the package instructions.
Variations
- Use a mixture of wild mushrooms. Mushrooms and truffle are a natural pairing—and a variety of mushrooms will add different textures and flavors.
- Add crispy pancetta. A nod to carbonara! This will add additional salty savoriness.
- Use truffle oil instead of truffle butter. This is a more affordable option. I recommend still adding some butter to achieve a savory, creamy sauce.
- Serve seared scallops over top. Make it a complete meal with an elegant protein like scallops! The combo of scallops, truffle and mushroom is pure decadence!
- Use white pepper instead of black pepper for a more “perfumy” flavor. White pepper has a unique perfumy/floral note that pairs wonderfully with earthy flavors like mushroom and truffle. Ground pink peppercorns would also be delicious.
Storage Instructions
This black truffle pasta recipe is best made fresh and enjoyed immediately. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just to caution, reheating pasta can change the texture of both the noodles and sauce.
If you need to reheat, do this on stovetop over medium heat. Add water or cream (or reserved pasta cooking water if you have it!) to loosen as needed.
We do not recommend freezing the leftovers since it will compromise the texture and flavor of the recipe.
What to Serve with Truffle Pasta
We love to serve this rich and decadent recipe with a light salad or vegetable on the side. Some of our favorites are:
- Herbed Green Salad
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Sautéed Green Beans
- Simple Fennel Salad
- Green Salad with Oranges
FAQs
Serve with a light salad on the side or vegetable dish like green beans or Brussels sprouts.
A salty cheese as well as any cream-based sauce are both delicious with black truffles.
It depends, this sauce is made with eggs, parmesan cheese, black truffle butter, and reserved starchy pasta water.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
- If you like a mushroom pasta, be sure to try my Mushroom Bolognese!
- A quick Red Wine Pasta Sauce makes the perfect date night dinner in.
- For a quick weeknight dinner, don’t miss this creamy Cajun Pasta.
- One more elegant and decadent pasta you’ve got to try is our summery Lobster Pasta made with tomatoes, corn and basil.
- Stove top Gouda Mac ‘n Cheese is a slightly elevated take on the blue box mac. So luscious!
Truffle Mushroom Pasta
Description
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ounces grated Parmesan + more for serving ½ cup
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms trimmed and sliced into ¼ inch-thick slices
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound dry bucatini spaghetti, or tagliatelle
- 2 tablespoons truffle butter homemade or purchased
- 1 truffle black or white, shaved or thinly sliced
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Whisk egg yolks and eggs in a medium bowl until no streaks remain, whisk in Parmesan; season with pepper.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a plate.
- Season boiling water with 2 tablespoons kosher salt, add pasta and cook 2 minutes less than package instructions, stirring occasionally. Measure out 1 ¾ cups pasta cooking water. Add 1 cup cooking water and truffle butter to Dutch oven; bring mixture to a boil over medium-high. Drain pasta then transfer to Dutch oven.
- Cook pasta, stirring and gently tossing constantly with tongs, until al dente and water is reduced by about half; about 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
- Whisk ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking water into egg mixture. Slowly stream egg mixture into pasta, stirring and gently tossing constantly with tongs, until cheese is melted and egg is thickened to form a glossy sauce on the pasta.
- Thin sauce with remaining ½ cup reserved pasta cooking water, adding a 1–2 tablespoons at a time, until consistency of heavy cream is reached. Season to taste with additional truffle butter and salt.
- Mix in mushrooms and divide pasta among serving bowls. Top with thin shavings of truffle, ground pepper and additional parmesan.
Equipment
Notes
- This pasta is best served immediately.
- Reheat leftovers on the stovetop over medium heat. Add water or cream (or reserved pasta cooking water if you have it!) to loosen as needed.
- Reserve the starchy pasta cooking water. This is essential to this pasta recipe. The starchy water creates the creamy texture of the sauce.
- Mix the eggs and cheese separately. This is required to make the creamy sauce work. Combining the sauce and noodles off of the heat first begins to cook the sauce and thicken it with the residual heat of the noodles.
- Cook the mushrooms longer than you think. Most people don’t cook their mushrooms long enough, make sure they are golden brown and excess liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes!
- Boil the pasta until al dente. That means the noodles have a slight ‘bite’ to it after being cooked. The best way to do this is to cook the noodles 2 minutes less than the package instructions.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on December 23, 2020. It was most recently updated on February 11, 2022.
