Creamy Mushroom Brown Butter Sage Pasta

As a kid, I’ve always loved super simple pasta dishes (I’m talking butter, salt  and shells). And this creamy mushroom brown butter sage pasta recipe is basically that dish, elevated and made so much more delicious. 

Obviously, this dish is more than just pasta and butter, but those are the two main components that I built the dish around. 

This healthy brown butter sage pasta is creamy, rich and packed with umami flavor. And everything comes together in one pot. Yep, the mushrooms, pasta and sauce are all cooked together in the same pot, minimizing clean up time. 

Enough said, let’s get into what you’ll need to make this vegan brown butter sage pasta dish, along with some of my notes to make this pasta dish perfectly! 

Brown Butter Sage Pasta Ingredients 

• Shells: I like using either Jovial brown rice penne or the Whole Food’s 365 pasta shells.
• Vegan butter: Miyoko’s is my favorite vegan butter brand; they don’t add any emulsifiers, additives, or anything bad.
• Mushrooms: Any type of mushroom will work in this dish, but I typically use baby bella mushrooms.
• Cashew milk: Specifically use my cashew milk recipe here, as it’s much creamier than the stuff you’d buy at the grocery store. 
• Sage 
• Garlic cloves 
• Black pepper 
• Chili flakes
• Vegan parmesan: Violife is my favorite! Obviously, this is optional, but it adds an extra layer of creaminess and flavor to this dish

How to Make the Vegan Brown Butter Sage Pasta Sauce 

Like I said before, the sauce for this easy brown butter sage pasta comes together in one pan, and couldn’t be easier to make. 

1. Heat the pot to medium-high heat and then add in the butter and chopped mushrooms. Don’t stir the mushrooms yet, just let them cook in the butter until they stop steaming, about 3 minutes. This is a sign that the water from the mushrooms has evaporated. Don’t worry if the mushrooms stick to the bottom of the pot a little bit; the browning on the bottom will add even more flavor to the sauce.
2. Lower the heat to medium and stir the mushrooms, cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms have shrunk and the butter has taken on a golden-brown hue. In total, the mushrooms will cook for 6 minutes. 
3. Next, dump in the cashew milk, pasta water, chopped sage, minced garlic, black pepper, red pepper flakes and salt. Stir the sauce and continue to cook until it thickens, about 1 minute. 
4. Lower the heat to low, add in the cooked pasta and stir gently to coat the pasta in the sauce; cook for an additional 1 minute to allow the sauce to thicken a tad more. 
5. Serve the pasta immediately with a generous grating of vegan parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper. 

Additional Notes…

• Use shells or a ‘cup’ shaped pasta. This shape is best for this dish as the shell or cup of the pasta will hold the sauce and mushrooms nicely. 
• Feel free to use this sauce on gnocchi if you like. This sauce is a universal recipe that works on any pasta. Of course, the mushrooms make it more ideal for shells or a cup-shaped noodle. 
• Use Miyoko’s vegan butter for best results. I personally love this butter not only because they use such wholesome ingredients, but because it mimics the way traditional butter melts and acts in cooking. Additionally, the flavor profile is super similar as well. Of course, if you’re not vegan, use regular butter! 
• One tip regarding the mushrooms in this recipe, do not wash them. Mushrooms already have tons of water on their own and thanks to their texture they also act as a sponge. Meaning that they will absorb even more water. Instead, brush off any dirt with a damp towel. 
• Speaking of mushrooms, make sure to cook them on medium-high heat. I called this out in the recipe, but I wanted to highlight why. Cooking mushrooms on low-heat causes the water that leaks out of the mushrooms to slowly evaporate, steaming the mushrooms. This will give you super rubbery and soggy mushrooms. Instead, opt for high heat so the water evaporates quickly and doesn’t have a chance to steam the mushrooms. This also saves you time! 

More Pasta Recipes 

• Upgraded Pasta Salad 
• Creamy Vegan Pesto Pasta 
• Orzo Pasta Salad

If you make this recipe, please leave a review and rating below. And don’t forget to snap a picture and tag me on either Instagram or TikTok (if you’re not already following me, make sure to for new recipes and wellness tips)!

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