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This mushroom pasta is served in a rich and creamy peppercorn sauce with sautéed mushrooms and fresh basil. A delicious plant-based dinner that is easy to make and requires minimal ingredients!
⭐️ Why You Should Try It
- Pasta at its best! This peppercorn pasta is creamy, savory, and so satisfying! The sauce has the perfect amount of spiciness and earthiness.
- Super easy. The best thing about this recipe is that it’s VERY EASY to make. It’s the perfect last-minute dish, as it can be on the table in less than 35 minutes. This is now my go-to recipe for pasta, and everyone loves it!
- It’s customizable. While I only went with mushrooms, you can definitely use the vegetables you have on hand or add tofu or tempeh for extra protein.
📘 What Is Peppercorn Sauce
Peppercorn sauce is a traditional French sauce often served with meat, fish, or pasta. It consists of aromatics like shallots and different kinds of peppercorns cooked in a broth with cream, butter, and sometimes wine or brandy.
This plant-based version swaps the dairy cream for a cashew-based cream!
🍄 Ingredient Notes
You will need only 7 ingredients to make the peppercorn sauce:
- Butter – It adds richness and flavor to the sauce. Use store-bought or homemade vegan butter.
- Shallots
- Brandy or cognac – You can replace it with more vegetable broth and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
- Vegetable broth – While homemade vegetable broth yields a superior flavor, it still tastes great with store-bought vegetable broth.
- Cashew cream – Homemade cashew cream brings richness and creaminess to the sauce. You can substitute it with your favorite plant-based cream.
- Peppercorns – This sauce is made with a blend of different peppercorns for a combination of flavors. Pink and Jamaican peppercorns add fruitiness as well as a hint of sweetness. Black, white, and green peppercorns make it peppery and spicier.
- Cornstarch – To thicken the sauce and allow it to coat the pasta.
Then, for the rest, we have:
- Fettuccine – I like to use long noodles like fettuccine or linguine for this recipe as they hold up the sauce very well. If you don’t have any on hand, feel free to use short pasta like penne or fusilli, it also works great.
- Mushrooms – Cremini, white button, or even oyster mushrooms.
- Soy sauce – To deglaze the mushrooms and give them a salty, umami-packed flavor.
🥣 How to Make It
The peppercorn sauce is clearly the star of the recipe and takes only 20 minutes to make. Here is the process:
- Sauté the shallots in the vegan butter for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant.
- Next, deglaze with the cognac and let it simmer for one minute. This will allow the alcohol to evaporate.
- Cover with vegetable broth and let simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about 1/3.
- In the meantime, blend the soaked cashews with water to create the cream.
- Add the cashew cream to the broth as well as the crushed peppercorns. Let the sauce simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Finally, to thicken the sauce, pour in the cornstarch slurry and cook for one more minute.
Once the sauce is ready, remove it from the heat and cover it with a lid to keep warm.
Finally, sauté the mushrooms in a pan until slightly browned and cook the pasta. Combine everything and toss to coat the pasta with the sauce. Dinner is served!
📔 Tips
- Feel free to add a teaspoon of nutritional yeast to the sauce for extra umami and a subtle cheesiness.
- Strain the sauce or not. If you want a smooth sauce without any peppercorns, strain it before thickening it. I prefer to serve it with crushed peppercorns as it adds great flavor.
- Cook the pasta al tende. Do not overcook the pasta. Otherwise, it will become mushy once tossed with the sauce.
- This pasta dish is best served immediately. While you can keep it for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, it’s really best served right after cooking, as the pasta tends to absorb the sauce as it sits.
- Double the sauce. If you want to meal-prep, double the sauce and keep it in the refrigerator. Add the cornstarch slurry and reheat it right before pouring it over the pasta.
🥗 What to Serve It With
This mushroom pasta with peppercorn sauce is delicious served with a simple green salad like this 10-Minute Carrot & Kale Salad!
You can also serve it with green beans, steamed broccoli, spinach, or your favorite greens.
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Mushroom Pasta with Creamy Peppercorn Sauce
Ingredients
Peppercorn Sauce
- 1/4 cup raw cashews soaked overnight
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil
- 1 medium shallot minced
- 1/4 cup cognac or brandy
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp peppercorns crushed
- 1/4 tsp salt adjust to taste
- 2 tsp cornstarch diluted in 1 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
The Rest
- 1 tsp oil
- 4-5 cremini mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce
Pasta
- 5 ounces dry fettuccine pasta
Instructions
Peppercorn Sauce
- Prepare the cashew cream: Drain the soaked cashews and transfer them to a blender. Add the water and blend until smooth and creamy. Note: feel free to add an extra tablespoon of water if the cream appears too thick. Set aside.
- Prepare the sauce: Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the minced shallots and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant.
- Deglaze with the cognac and let simmer for one minute. Next, pour in the vegetable broth and bring it to a simmer. Let simmer uncovered for 10-12 minutes or until the broth has reduced by about 1/3.
- Pour in the cashew cream and add the crushed peppercorns. Stir to combine and cook uncovered for another 3-5 minutes.
- Thicken the sauce: Add the diluted cornstarch to the sauce and cook for another 2 minutes, frequently stirring until the sauce has thickened. Season with the salt and stir in the chopped parsley. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
The Rest
- Mushrooms: Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the mushrooms and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Deglaze with the soy sauce and cook for one more minute. Set aside.
- Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the fettuccine and cook according to the package instructions. Drain.
- Combine: Add the drained pasta to the mushrooms. Pour in the peppercorn sauce and toss to coat. Heat for 1-2 minutes or until hot. Serve immediately topped with fresh basil and/or vegan parmesan!
Notes
- Feel free to add a teaspoon of nutritional yeast to the sauce for extra umami and a subtle cheesiness.
- Strain the sauce or not. If you want a smooth sauce without any peppercorns, strain it before thickening it. I prefer to serve it with crushed peppercorns as it adds great flavor.
- Cook the pasta al tende. Do not overcook the pasta. Otherwise, it will become mushy once tossed with the sauce.
- This pasta dish is best served immediately. While you can keep it for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, it’s really best served right after cooking, as the pasta tends to absorb the sauce as it sits.
- Double the sauce. If you want to meal-prep, double the sauce and keep it in the refrigerator. Add the cornstarch slurry and reheat it right before pouring it over the pasta.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
Leave a Comment
So in love with how this peppercorn sauce tastes. It fits beautifully with the pasta. Can’t get enough of it 😋
Awesome! I made one minor change. I noticed my sauce was thick enough without the cornstarch. So I did not add it. It was perfect that way a one does not want a sauce that is too thick. Other than that I kept pretty true to the recipe. It was really good. So good, that I now realize I never really have to use Heavy Cream for sauces. (Im not a pure Vegan but I’d say 85% of the meals I make have no animal in them)
Thanks for your feedback! Yes, cashew cream is a great substitute.
I love peppercorn sauce and I’m sure it will taste amazing with pasta and mushrooms. Will try it soon and let you know how it goes!
I tried this recipe today. And guess what? My husband and even my picky teenager daughter loved it. It was surprising for me, because usually they are not into spicy food much. The thing is the spiciness of your recipe was perfect for us. Not too spicy, just enough to keep it tasty. Thanks for another fantastic recipe, Thomas! Your blog never disappoints me. 🙂
Aw, thank you so much for your feedback Lisa! ^^ I’m so happy to hear you and your husband liked this pasta recipe 🙂
This recipe looks gawjus
How many persons does the amounts mentioned in the recipe feed?
It serves 3.
This recipe look perfect. will try it soon.
I just made this and indeed it was easy! The nutritional yeast added a hint of cheese like flavor. I added a little ground pepper and some wilted baby kale to the pasta. I will make this again.