If you're a huge fan of the creamy and cheesy pasta dishes that you get at restaurants, but not a fan of the sluggish feeling after eating them, then my creamy mushroom and spinach pasta recipe (without the heavy creams) is something you need to make.
With a couple of easy substitutions, you can make a creamy and cheesy pasta dish that will leave you still feeling fresh as a daisy.
Especially when it comes to meal prep, the last thing I want is a heavy creamy pasta 4 or 5 days in a row. But I do love the flavours the recipes can bring which is why it was necessary to adjust the typical mushroom and spinach pasta and make it my own!
This mushroom pasta recipe without cream an easy recipe which makes a great lunch meal prep all week.
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Mushroom spinach pasta ingredients
Pasta. You can use whatever pasta you want for this recipe. Because this is a vegetarian recipe without meat, I used a protein-based pasta for the protein (and carbohydrate) component of the meal prep.
Mushrooms. It's in the name 😉
Spinach. I used fresh spinach from my garden for this recipe, but you could use fresh from the store or even frozen. As it gets cooked down, it doesn't matter which one, but if you use frozen spinach, there may be excess water so you may need to adjust the milk.
Milk. I used a high protein soy milk to make it a high protein meal prep. You could substitute with cow's milk or normal soy milk. I wouldn't recommend almond or oat as I don't find these achieve the same amount of creaminess in pasta dishes.
Parmesan. This helps with the flavour profile of the dish. I recommend freshly grated parmesan as this gives a better depth of flavour, but you can substitute for ready-grated if this suits your needs.
Use nutritional yeast for a vegetarian or vegan creamy pasta instead of the parmesan.
Cornstarch. This helps thicken the sauce. Use Arrowroot powder for Gluten Free.
How to make mushroom & spinach pasta
- Cook Pasta
Boil water in a large pot then add pasta.
Cook pasta according to packet instructions minus 1-2 minutes.
Each type of pasta has a different time it takes to cook al dante and the best way to know is to read the packet (usually between 8-12 minutes).
Once cooked, reserve 2 tablespoon pasta water and drain the rest. - Prepare ingredients
While the pasta is cooking, pre-heat a large and deep pan (you could also use a wok) over medium heat.
Slice mushrooms with a large knife to desired thickness (approx. 5mm).
Grate parmesan with a cheese grater or box grater (you could use pre-grated parmesan, but fresh grated gives the best flavour). - Cook mushrooms & make sauce
In the large, cook mushrooms over medium heat until browned and soft (approx. 5 minutes).
Add parmesan, cornstarch, milk and pasta water to the mushrooms. Bring to boil and then lower the heat. Add pasta and spinach and stir until spinach has wilted. - Serve or store
Top with more parmesan and pepper to serve.
Or store in airtight containers for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Pasta meal prep
Pasta meal prep is one of my favourites to make at the start of the week. If prepared correctly, it tastes just as good on the 4th or 5th day as it does on the first day.
Here are some of my tips!
- Undercook the pasta by a couple of minutes to ensure it doesn't go soggy when storing.
- Store in an airtight container that JUST fits the pasta so there's very little air. Glass meal prep containers are best as they tend to keep meals fresher for longer.
- Take the pasta out of the fridge 30 minutes-1 hour before re-heating it to allow it to come closer to room temperature. Bringing it to heat really quickly after being cold can cause the pasta to cook more than you will want it to.
- Drizzle some water over the top of the pasta before re-heating in the microwave.
- When re-heating, do it on 1 minute intervals and stir each time to make sure it reheats evenly.
Pasta recipe with mushroom and spinach FAQs
There's no meat in the dish, so it's already part-way there. If you use plant-based milk (soy is recommended) and nutritional yeast instead of the parmesan, this pasta meal prep will be both vegetarian and vegan.
Pasta is fantastic to meal prep if you do it right, if you don't, it can go a bit mushy when reheating. When cooking, remove it from the heat 1-2 minutes before al-dante. Upon reheating, it will continue cooking to give the al dante texture.
When reheating mushroom & spinach pasta, drizzle a tablespoon of water over the top. Reheat the pasta at 1 minute intervals, stirring in between to ensure an even heat.
Creamy pasta sauces can continue to reduce when reheating leaving you with less. By adding a little bit of water, the sauce will continue to stay creamy without drying out the pasta.
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Recipe
Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g pasta See Note 1
- 500 g mushrooms sliced
- 200 g spinach
- 2 cups milk See Note 2
- ¼ cup parmesan grated See Note 3
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch/arrowroot powder
Instructions
- Boil water in a large pot then add pasta.
- Cook pasta according to packet instructions minus 1-2 minutes. Once cooked, reserve 2 tablespoon pasta water and drain the rest.
- While the pasta is cooking, pre-heat a large pan over medium heat. Cook mushrooms over medium heat until browned and soft (approx. 5 minutes).
- Add parmesan, cornstarch, milk and pasta water to the mushrooms. Bring to boil and then lower the heat. Add pasta and spinach and stir until spinach has wilted.
- Top with more parmesan and pepper to serve.
Molly
Hi Lauren, great recipe. Am I being dim? When do you add the milk?
athletelunchbox
Hi Molly, thank you for your comment. I seem to have omitted that in the instructions, I apologise. I have amended. You add it in with the parmesan, cornstarch and pasta water to make the sauce 🙂