One Pot Gluten Free Spaghetti with Mushroom Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce
This post is sponsored by Ronzoni and SheKnows Media.
Posted By Savita
Earthy crimini mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes cooked in flavor-packed sun-dried tomato oil, garlic, and herbs with gluten free spaghetti coated in lighter yet silky cream sauce. Finished in one pot, this delicious Italian pasta dinner comes together in just 20 minutes!
Whether it is a busy weekday or relaxed Saturday evening, a comforting and fast dinner like this one is a favorite of everyone at my dinner table. Everyone is happy to slurp silky spaghetti pasta coated in scrumptious mushroom cream sauce. I'm happy because dinner came together so fast and most importantly has two servings of veggies and multi-grain gluten free pasta! Such a sweet win-win! Don't you think? So, today I thought why not share this winner vegetarian pasta dinner with you!
To keep this dinner gluten free I have used Ronzoni's Gluten Free® Spaghetti. Gluten Free pastas are one of my favorite choice when it comes to serving pasta or noodle dinner for my family.I'm not allergic to gluten but love healthier serving and sharing healthier meals. Also, being allergic to raw protein myself, I can put myself in anyone's shoes who lives with allergy... and sharing dinner ideas, which everyone can enjoy without worrying for a family member's allergy, makes me very happy. You can check collection of gluten free recipes here.
Ronzoni Gluten Free® pasta is a multi-grain, tasty mix of quinoa, corn, brown rice and white rice. Also, their pastas are certified gluten free, which makes me happier that I'm serving 19 grams of whole grains per serving for dinner.
Even though the pasta is gluten-free, it had the same white pasta taste and texture. I really hardly felt like I was eating gluten free! Yet I found that the pasta is much lighter on my stomach. They even have Gluten Free Thin Spaghetti!!! I'm for sure trying it in my next pasta dinner.
In my home, approval of any recipe is two-fold! ;-) The first critical judge is myself when I'm cooking in the kitchen, and the second is my better half. A recipe it makes to my forth-coming dinner menu when both parties approve it. :) And I'm happy to say, this mushroom cream sauce was the favorite of the hard-core carnivore in my family! I have shared with you before that Vishal calls vegetarian food, "grass diet". Amazingly, meaty mushroomy creamy sauce coated pasta tasted so so good that Vishal could not resist finishing the whole bowl. In my home that means oh yumm! How good is this pasta dinner!
So, I guarantee that you will love this family approved recipe! :)
A 20-minute dinner promise is very tempting! Isn't it? Trust me, it is not at all hard! If you ever are intimidated by serving pasta, in homemade sauces, on such short notice, this recipe will change your perception. I'm also including some useful tips (or say "hacks") to make perfect a pasta dinner at home, every time!
I start by cooking pasta per package directions. While pasta is cooking, I make the mushroom sun-dried tomato cream sauce. This parallel work saves a lot of time. Al-dente pasta is ready in 9 minutes and sauce takes 7-8 minutes. Easy! Right?
For an extra layer of flavor, I sauté the garlic, mushroom, sun-dried tomatoes in sun-dried tomato oil. I must say when veggies start cooking in flavorful oil, it smells really good in the kitchen.
To keep the cream sauce lighter, I use 50% heavy cream with 50% milk. A little mascarpone cheese makes a creamy, thick and silky sauce and no one even notices that it has milk in it. The cheese that I use keeps changing in this recipe as per my groceries. Today I used mascarpone, which is Italian cream cheese, and last week I used goat cheese for this recipe. Really, any cheese that will melt and help bring some body to the sauce can be used. Even good old mozzarella is fine.
Oh, and you can even substitute zucchini or broccoli for broccolini.
So don't be shy to use cheese and veggies of your choice and make this recipe your own.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- Pasta
- 1/2 box Pasta (6 ounce, Ronzoni Gluten Free® Spaghetti Pasta)
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1/3 Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes (about 12-13 halves, oil-packed)
- 227 Grams Mushrooms (9 ounce, crimini or white button mushrooms, thin sliced)
- 2 Cup Broccolini (florets seprated)
- 3 Garlic (cloves, minced)
- 1/4 Cup Mascarpone Cheese (or use shredded mozzarella )
- 1/4 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Chili Flakes (use more or less per taste)
- 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 3-4 tbsp Italian Parsley (chopped)
- Salt (to taste)
Directions
-
1. Drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil. Reserve 2 tbsps of oil for sauteing veggies. Chop tomatoes into small pieces. Also, ready rest of the ingredients: slice mushroom, cut broccolini and mince garlic cloves. -
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Once pasta has cooked, drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Additional Notes:
I like to season the water with salt for better flavor. Cook pasta al-dente. -
3. In a pan, heat sun-dried tomato's oil, add in garlic, sliced mushrooms and broccolini with paprika, Italian seasoning, and 1/4 tsp of salt. Saute on high heat until mushrooms are cooked, have started to caramelize a bit (2-3 minutes) -
4. Add milk, heavy cream, and cheese to the skillet and bring to simmer, cook for 2 minutes just until sauce starts to thicken and cheese has melted. -
5. Add 1/2 cup pasta water with drained pasta, pepper flakes, and chopped parsley. Fold pasta gently in the sauce and heat through for 1 minute until flavor comes together. Remove from heat. Additional Notes:
If serving later. Reserve the remaining 1/2 cup pasta water to loosen the sauce. (add few tablespoons as needed) -
6. Taste and adjust by using salt and pepper. (Make sure to taste seasonings. Proper salt will bring the flavor of cream sauce, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes even more.) Serve immediately! Enjoy!
Savita's Recipe Notes:
Some Tips for Cooking Perfect Pasta Every time:
Always cook pasta per package directions. Make sure to use the labeled amount of water and stir frequently. To ensure good taste & texture, be sure to use enough water when boiling pasta and to rinse with warm water after draining.
Always reserve pasta water after draining cooked pasta. You can even bring day-old pasta to life with a few tbsp. of pasta water without compromising the flavor of sauce.
If you ever feel that final pasta dish tastes bland, chances are it just needs a little more salt. So, first check and add salt. Especially in cream based pasta recipes, seasonings will bring out the flavor of every ingredient.
If you can't find mascarpone cheese (Italian cream cheese), use regular cream cheese or shredded mozzarella, or any white cheese that melts well in sauce such as goat cheese.
Half milk and half cream makes a lighter cream sauce vs. using all heavy cream. You can also use half-and-half (easily available in stores), which is equal portion milk and cream. You can also use 1% milk instead of whole milk to cut on some dairy calories.
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