![Mushroom carbonara recipe](https://cdn.statically.io/img/assets.bonappetit.com/photos/5c9524e703cf857e539f64d1/1:1/w_2560%2Cc_limit/Basically-Mushroom-Carbonara.jpg)
Mushrooms take the place of the traditional cured pork in this vegetarian carbonara recipe—but fear not, the dish does not lack depth of flavor! A deep browning on the mushrooms, coupled with garlic and shallots, brings the humble button mushroom to a higher place.
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What you’ll need
Dutch Oven
$133 $80 At Amazon
Chef's Knife
$34.53 At Amazon
Large Pot
$55 $48 At Amazon
Measuring Cups
$28 At Bon Appétit Market
Measuring Spoons
$10 At Bon Appétit Market
Medium Bowl
$17 At Amazon
Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
Whisk
$10 At Amazon
Wooden Spoon
$7 At Amazon
Glass Measuring Cup
$26 At Amazon
Colander
$11 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
1½
6
2
1
5
1
4
1½
¼
1
Preparation
Step 1
Fill a large pot with water and season well with a few big pinches of salt. Bring to a boil.
Step 2
Meanwhile, do some veg prep! Tear off and discard stems of 1½ lb. crimini or button mushrooms, then tear them into quarters (or in halves if small). Transfer to a medium bowl. Lightly smash and peel 6 garlic cloves, then thinly slice. Peel and finely chop 2 medium shallots. (A small red onion will work fine in a pinch.) Coarsely chop 1 cup parsley leaves with tender stems.
Step 3
Whisk 5 large egg yolks, 1 large whole egg, 4 oz. store-bought pre-grated Parmesan (about 1¼ cups), and 1½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper in another medium bowl; set aside.
Step 4
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high for a good 3 minutes. You want to get the pan very hot since adding the mushrooms is going to lower the temperature of the surface of the pan. Toss mushrooms and ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil once in pan to coat in oil. Cook, tossing once every 4–5 minutes (but mostly undisturbed), until mushrooms are mostly golden brown, 13–16 minutes. This will take some time and they will let out a lot of moisture before they start to brown, so stick with it!
Step 5
Once mushrooms have been cooking for about 10 minutes, drop 1 lb. orecchiette into boiling salted water and set a timer 2 minutes shy of al dente according to package directions.
Step 6
Back to those mushrooms! Once you’ve finished the browning process, reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, shallots, and 1½ tsp. salt. Cook, stirring often, until aromatics are softened but not browned, 30–60 seconds.
Step 7
When pasta is 2 minutes shy of al dente, scoop out 2 cups pasta cooking liquid, then drain pasta.
Step 8
Add pasta along with 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to mushroom mixture. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often to finish cooking the pasta and absorb liquid, about 2 minutes (this is why you’re cooking the pasta 2 minutes shy of al dente; it allows for the flavors to meld as the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce). Remove from heat and let cool 1 minute. (Don't skip this step—if the pasta is too hot when you add the egg mixture, it will turn into scrambled eggs instead of a luxurious sauce.)
Step 9
Add ½ cup pasta cooking liquid to reserved egg mixture and whisk to combine and loosen eggs. Gradually add egg mixture to pot, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon and adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed to loosen things up, until a very creamy, luscious sauce coats all noodles.
Step 10
Add parsley and stir again to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning for salt.
Step 11
Divide pasta among bowls. Top with Parmesan and a few cranks of pepper.
Leave a Review
Reviews (202)
Back to TopDon’t sleep on this. I’ve made a dozen+ times since I first encountered it in 2020. I’ve made it for plenty of non-vegetarians, to much fanfare. Cremini are widely available, and often affordably priced, but you discard a good bit of weight, tossing the stems. I’m fortunate to live near a grocer that always has fresh Maitake. I’ll be trying them next time.
Chrisp
10/17/2023
I love a good carbonara and this recipe did not disappoint! This recipe is a great start for a vegetarian option. I will probably add a splash white wine or Marsala after browning the mushrooms next time.
Rachel
Vancouver, BC
2/6/2023
Just finished eating this for the first time and it is amazing! My one critique is that I’d say it’s definitely more than 4 servings but that’s not necessarily a bad thing haha I did add uncured cubes pancetta because my bf isn’t a huge mushroom fan and wanted a meat In there. I’m the end he loved the mushrooms! This was absolutely perfect! So happy I decided to make this!
Chrisanna M
Denver, Co
8/7/2022
I did not have success with this recipe. The main issue is the pasta did not continue to cook in the cup of pasta water and mushroom mixture, resulting in very uncooked pasta. I tried to resolve this by adding more pasta water and cooking longer, but it just made the mixture incredibly salty and still undercooked. The ingredients are expensive, so I'm very bummed this didn't turn out well.
Natalie
San Diego, CA
7/23/2022
Made this yesterday for the family and it was a big hit! Thanks!!!
lookhere
L.A., Ca.
2/7/2022
followed the directions exactly and WOW! this is a luxurious, restaurant quality meal that i made in the comfort of my own home. i was nervous about scrambling the eggs but the way the recipe was written makes it foolproof. this will become a go to recipe in our house. i absolutely loved it.
alyssa
west long branch, nj
12/20/2021
Loving the use of Puglia’s traditional pasta, orecchiette, but vegetarians beware. Parmesan is never vegetarian. Genuine Parmigiano-Reggiano, or Parmesan cheese, always uses animal rennet. For the same reason authentic traditional pesto (which uses Parmesan) is not vegetarian either.
PugliaPodcast
Puglia, Italy
11/29/2021