Bacon Mushroom Orecchiette

Mushroom Orecchiette
Mushrooms are my favorite. I am the person who can find a way to add mushrooms in to any recipe. They are the best. When I found a recipe for mushroom pasta on Pinterest a couple of years ago I just about died. I have since committed the recipe to memory, changed it up just a bit, and perfected it. Add bacon, check! Add cheese, check! Add spice, check! This recipe is amazing because you can make it fit so many different tastes. Vegetarian? Add veggie broth instead of chicken, take out the bacon. Don’t like spice? Don’t add crushed red pepper. No cheese? Take that out too. You can mix and match the ingredients to get what you really want. Me? I think it’s perfect just like this, savory and delicious. See for yourself.
Mushroom and Bacon Pasta with Cream

Ingredients:

  • Olive Oil
  • Butter- 2 tbsp
  • Bacon- 6-8 strips
  • Mushrooms- sliced, 8 oz
  • Onion- diced, 1 large
  • Garlic-minced, 2-3 cloves
  • Orecchiette Pasta, 1 box
  • Chicken broth- 1 cup
  • Cream- 1/3-1/2 cup
  • Parmesan Cheese- 1/4-1/2 cup (Optional)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Basil
  • Crushed Red PepperMushroom and Bacon Orecchiette with a Cream Sauce

Directions:

  1. Start with prep work. Slice the mushrooms, dice the onion, mince the garlic, grate the parmesan, get your water boiling, etc. 
  2. Using a tablespoon or so of butter and some olive oil, begin to brown your mushrooms. You can do this in batches if your pan is too small, but make sure they are nice and brown.
  3. Add your noodles t the boiling water at this point. Cook until al dente. 
  4. Put the mushrooms on a plate and begin the same process of caramelizing the onions. Cook your garlic with the onions. (Use butter and olive oil)
  5. Put the onions aside with the mushrooms and break out that bacon. 
  6. Cook bacon until crisp and then place on a plate to the side.
  7. Put the onions back in the pan and pour the chicken stock and cream in with them.
  8. Add your parmesan cheese to the mix and let it melt in with the sauce. (This is optional. I have done it with parmesan and without and they both taste fantastic.)
  9. Once the sauce has thickened up just a bit, add your mushrooms back in.
  10. Season to your liking using salt, pepper, basil, and crushed red pepper. (These are just suggestions on what I think tastes wonderful!)
  11. The bacon should be cooled and crispy by now. Chop it in to bacon bits and sprinkle in. 
  12. Stir in strained noodles and mix. 
  13. Top with Parmesan and enjoy!
**NOTE**
If your sauce gets to thick or there is not enough, add more chicken stock.
If your sauce isn’t creamy enough for your liking, add more cream.
Mushroom Pasta With Homemade Cream SauceMushroom Pasta
Even though this one isn’t quite in my bank of “skinny” recipes, it helps you get in your veggie intake! Haha! I hope you all enjoy! If you happen to make it, let me know how it turns out in the comments below!
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