You all know that comforting pasta dishes are my favorite. They were my Nana Lulu’s specialty, and I grew up on them every Sunday. I also love classic French cooking, exactly the kind I learned in school. So this week, I combined the two in this simple and incredible creamy mushroom chicken pasta. The sauce base was a French béchamel, which is one of my favorite sauces to make because of its versatility. The baby bella mushrooms, parmesan and tender pasta were all Nana Lulu’s influence. It was a match made in heaven!
After that I just scooped a heap of that yumminess into bowls and served it for a simple dinner with Marc. It was such a bowl of pure, hearty comfort with the luscious sauce, chicken and mushrooms. I think Nana Lulu would have loved this twist on a classic Italian pasta dinner. Hope you all love it too! xoxo
This creamy mushroom chicken pasta is pure, simple comfort food that is so satisfying. The sauce is an easy, luscious béchamel base loaded with baby bella mushrooms, chicken and parmesan.
- 1 dash olive oil
- salt as needed
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken diced small
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus additional for topping
- 1 pound short pasta like penne or rigatoni
- First, get a large pot of water on the stove for the pasta so that it is boiling by the time you need it. Then get out a large skillet with deep sides and heat the olive oil in it over medium high heat. Brown the chicken in it until completely cooked through for about 4-5 minutes. Season it with a pinch of salt while it cooks. Remove it to a plate and add the mushrooms in. Let them start to soften for a couple of minutes before you add the garlic and butter. Let the butter melt and coat the mushrooms and garlic, then add the flour. Stir it all well until the mushrooms become thick with roux covering it. Slowing pour in the milk while you continue to stir until everything is smooth. Then stir in the Dijon, parmesan and another pinch of salt. Let it all cook and thicken for 6-8 minutes, stirring fairly often.
- While the sauce cooks, cook the pasta in the water you got boiling. It should get tender in 8 minutes or so. Reserve a scant 1/4 cup of the cooking water for the starchy goodness and add it to the sauce. Then drain the pasta and add it to the pan of sauce, along with the chicken. Let everything gently simmer together for another couple of minutes while you stir it together thoroughly. Scoop into pretty bowls and serve immediately with extra parmesan on top! It also reheats really well for fantastic leftovers.
This looks like a yummy recipe my whole family would eat! Plus, it looks so easy!
It really is simple!! Thanks so much for the comments, I really appreciate it :-).
Looks absolutely delicious, creamy pasta is the best
Yes it is!! Thank you so much :-).
That looks so delicious! cremini mushrooms are my favorite to add to pasta and chicken!
They’re my favorite too! There is so much flavor to them. Thanks very much for stopping by :-).
Mmmm creamy mushrooms drowning in that bechamel sauce with pastas?!?! Thats heavenly delish?
Thank you so much!!
This looks so comforting! I love mushrooms, especially in a creamy pasta dish like this.
Thank you so much!!
looks delicious! Would definetely be a hit with my kids as well!!!
Thank you so much!!
I am assuming you are using 1 # of pasta. I didn’t see it posted.
Yes, 1 pound of pasta for this recipe! I didn’t mention how much in the post but it is in the actual recipe at the bottom :-). Hope that helps, thanks!!