Keeping It Simple Italian

  • Recipes
  • About
  • My CookBooks!
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About
  • My CookBooks!
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • About
  • My CookBooks!
×
Home » Recipes » Italian American Dinner Recipes

How To Make Mushroom Bolognese (With Pasta)

by kisitalian, Mar 14, 2024 updated Mar 14, 2024

Jump to Recipe

Looking for a tasty alternative to traditional bolognese? This delicious wild mushroom bolognese is the recipe for you! It is a delicious twist on a classic bolognese and ready in just an hour.

wild mushroom bolognese in a large saute pan.

Have you ever thought about making a bolognese with mushrooms? It is something I recently tried at our home and the results are really delicious.

This is not a traditional bolognese, not just because it has mushrooms instead of meat but because it uses bacon instead of guanciale or Italian pancetta.

You know what though, that is what Italian cooking is all about. Italian cooking is not always about following rules but about using ingredients that are in season and available to you.

So I guess you can say this is in some ways authentic 🙂

Why mushrooms are a great way to make a bolognese!

Mushrooms have always been the perfect replacement for meat. They have a meaty flavor (some more than others) and they have a nice chewy bite.

For this recipe, wild mushrooms are used which really adds even more meaty flavor to the bolognese. Mushrooms are a really great alternative to using meat and my favorite part, more economical! Whether you are cutting back on meat like with my mushroom bacon carbonara or making the mushrooms part of the main dish like with this recipe or my mushroom pappardelle, mushrooms make the perfect addition to pasta.

How to make

wild mushroom bolognese ingredients on counter.

What you will need

  • Wild mushrooms: I like to mix a few for flavor and interest. I use cremini (just like in my Italian mushrooms recipe) and shitake. However, feel free to use what is available to you. Porcini, button mushrooms, portabella mushrooms
  • Bacon: I like a thick-cut bacon that is not too sweet.
  • Tomato passata or tomato sauce: The base of the mushroom sauce.
  • Carrots, Fresh Garlic Cloves, and Onion: For the base flavor of the sauce.
  • Kosher salt and black pepper: For flavor.
  • White wine: Wine is a classic part of bolognese and it helps deglaze the pan.
  • Cream: I like to use a heavy cream. You can use whole milk as well.
  • Pasta: I like rigatoni but you can use tagliatelle or spaghetti.
  • Olive oil: I like using extra virgin olive oil.
  • Parmigiano-reggiano cheese: For topping the mushroom ragu.

Ingredients Note: A classic Italian sofrito has diced celery as well. I cannot stand celery so I omit it. Feel free to add it if you like it.

Making the wild mushroom bolognese

wild mushroom bolognese ingredients in small bowls.
Wild mushroom bolognese cooking on stovetop.
  • Prep ingredients: Prep all the ingredients, finely dicing the carrots, onion and garlic and chopping the mushrooms.
  • Saute: In a large saute pan, saute the ingredients you just prepped until fully cooked.
Wild mushroom bolognese cooking in a large pan.
wild mushroom bolognese in a large saute pan.
  • Reduce the liquids: The two reducing steps of any bolognese recipe, first reduce the wine, then add the dairy (cream) and fully reduce.
  • Simmer the mushroom mixture: Add the tomato sauce then simmer for about an hour.
  • Cook the pasta: Cook your pasta until al dente and make sure to reserve some of that pasta water. It will help thin the sauce a bit when you toss in the pasta.
  • Toss: Toss cooked pasta with the wild mushroom bolognese sauce and enjoy.
wild mushroom bolognese closeup.

What to serve with mushroom bolognese

If you want some tasty sides to serve with this, here are some of our favorites:

  • Garlic bread made with ciabatta
  • Sauteed Zucchini
  • Italian Fried Eggplant

More Delicious Italian Pasta Recipes

If you love this wild mushroom bolognese, you may also like these:

  • pasta al tonno feature
    Pasta al Tonno - Italian Pasta with Tuna
  • creamy kale pasta
    Creamy Kale Pasta with Tomatoes
  • angle hair pasta with tomatoes
    Angel Hair Pasta with Tomatoes
  • pasta piselli e pancetta
    Pasta Piselli e Pancetta (Pasta With Pancetta and Peas)
wild mushroom bolognese in a large saute pan.

How To Make Mushroom Bolognese (With Pasta)

Melissa
Looking for a tasty alternative to traditional bolognese? This delicious wild mushroom bolognese is the recipe for you! It is a delicious twist on a classic bolognese and ready in just an hour.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 50 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr
Course entertaining, Main Course, pasta
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6 servings
Calories 496 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb rigatoni or tagliatelle
  • 28 oz pureed tomatoes
  • 16 ounces Wild mushrooms diced
  • ½ cup carrots finely diced
  • ½ cup yellow onion finely diced
  • ½ cup Italian white wine
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
  • ½ teaspoon fresh black pepper

Instructions
 

Wild mushroom Bolognese

  • In a large pan over medium heat, add your olive oil, carrots, and onion and cook for about 4-5 minutes or until they begin to soften.
    ½ cup carrots, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup yellow onion
  • In the same pan add your mushrooms and cook for about 3-4 minutes until lightly golden.
    16 ounces Wild mushrooms
  • Now add all of your wine and cook until the wine almost completely evaporates and gets absorbed into the meat.
    ½ cup Italian white wine
  • Once your wine has completely evaporated out (you cannot smell the alcohol anymore) add the cream and completely reduce.
    ½ cup heavy cream
  • Add tomatoes and mix well.
    28 oz pureed tomatoes
  • Next, add salt and pepper and mix well.
    1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon fresh black pepper
  • Cover with a tight-fitting lid, turn down heat down to low, and allow to gently simmer for at least 1 hour, preferably 2, making sure to check it every 30 minutes or so and give it a good stir.
  • Taste for seasoning and see if it needs any salt.

Pasta

  • Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove.
  • When the water is boiling salt it well and add your pasta. Follow the instructions on the box of spaghetti for cooking just to al dente. For fresh pasta usually 2-3 minutes is all you need.
    1 lb rigatoni
  • Once the pasta if cooked drain the pasta and place it back into the pot. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water in case you need to thin the sauce.
  • Add 1 ladle of the red sauce to the pasta and mix well to prevent it from sticking to itself.

Serving

  • Toss the pasta and sauce together.
  • Serve this with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
    ½ cup Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Storing leftovers:
If you have leftover bolognese, let it come to room temperature then place in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To re-heat: Place the bolognese in a microwave-safe bowl then cover with a lightly moistened paper towel or towel. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes or until heated all the way through.

Nutrition

Calories: 496kcalCarbohydrates: 75gProtein: 18gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 721mgPotassium: 883mgFiber: 7gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 2424IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 184mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Comments

No Comments

5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Making tagliatelle for ragu alla Bolognese.

Welcome to Keeping It Simple Italian!

I love to share easy Italian recipes. From easy Italian recipes from Italy to Italian American recipes brought over and adapted by Italian immigrants. read more:

Footer

↑ back to top

Privacy Policy

Accessibility

Subscribe

Copyright © 2020 KeepingItSimpleItalian

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




In order to protect the integrity of our reviews, and user trust, we require everyone to leave a comment with their rating. Thank you!

Let us know what you thought of this recipe:

This worked exactly as written, thanks!
My family loved this!
Thank you for sharing this recipe

Or write in your own words:

A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.