One Pot Mushroom Spaghetti

This One Pot Mushroom Spaghetti is an incredibly creamy and flavorful plant-based dinner. It can easily be made vegan, requires minimal cleanup, and takes only 30 minutes!

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I know it’s the middle of the summer and turning on your oven may seem less than ideal. BUT if you’re not opposed to cooking in the summer heat, then I think you should try this recipe.

One Pot Mushroom Spaghetti is the ultimate weeknight meal. It’s all made in one pot (as the name suggests) on the stovetop (so you don’t need to turn on the oven!) and is loaded with flavor and creaminess in every bite.

But, here’s the kicker, there’s not even any cream in it! Yup, this is a healthy mushroom pasta recipe, folks. The creamy texture comes from a combination of the starch from the pasta, vegetable broth, and a little bit of parmesan cheese.

Ingredients in One Pot Mushroom Spaghetti

You can use regular or whole wheat spaghetti for this recipe. It should also work with gluten free spaghetti, but I have not personally tried it that way.

In addition to the spaghetti, you need:

• Mushrooms
• A yellow onion
• Garlic
• Thyme
• Vegetable broth
• Parmesan cheese*

*Note: this recipe is vegetarian only if you use parmesan cheese that doesn’t contain rennet. If you are trying to make this strictly vegetarian, you can omit the parmesan cheese, use vegetarian parmesan cheese, or use nutritional yeast instead. To make it vegan, skip the cheese or try nutritional yeast.

How to Make One Pot Spaghetti

This recipe really does use ONE pot. Unlike other “one pot” recipes that might require a mixing bowl, skillet, or some other pot/pan, One Pot Mushroom Spaghetti is made start to finish in a medium (or large) pot.

I first learned about this method of making spaghetti a few months ago when I was browsing Food52.com. I was immediately intrigued and excited!

If you’re new to making one pot spaghetti, like I was, here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need to do.

1. Cook the veggies in a little olive oil in a medium or large pot over medium heat. For this recipe, I used cremini mushrooms and onion.
2. Add vegetable broth and dry spaghetti (~4 cups broth to 8 ounces spaghetti), plus salt and any other seasonings you want, to the pot.
3. Hold the spaghetti with your hands, with one end in the liquid, and gently push it into the pot as the broth/veggie mixture starts to heat it up and make it more tender. Do this slowly and carefully so that you don’t break the spaghetti. Once the entire bunch of spaghetti has been pushed into the pot, give it all a good stir. Increase heat to high.
4. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low so that it maintains a low boil.
5. Let it cook for ~20 minutes or until the pasta has absorbed most of the liquid and there is only a little broth left (just enough to cover the pasta as a sauce). Stir in the parmesan cheese, remove from heat, and serve!

FYI: the pasta cooks faster than it absorbs the broth. So, the final result is a very tender and creamy pasta. In other words, the spaghetti in this dish is not cooked al dente.

I personally love the way the pasta tastes and the flavor that the broth adds, but you can choose to cook the dish for a shorter time than 20 minutes and just remove some of the liquid (or keep it!), depending on how tender you want your pasta.

Sounds pretty darn delicious, don’t ya think? And oh so comforting too. Even though I’m posting this recipe in the middle of July, I know it will be on repeat in our house during the fall and winter.

Serve this meal with a side of greens or steamed broccoli for some added veggies. It can stand alone as a plant-based main dish, but if you want to bulk it up, you can add white beans, chicken, or shrimp.

Can’t you see this tasting really good with some crunchy garlic bread, too?!

Don’t forget to check out my other favorite mushroom-based recipes while you’re here, like the Garlic Thyme Roasted Mushrooms, Baby Portobello Mushroom Stir Fry, and Asparagus and Mushroom Naan Bread Pizza.

For some other veggie + pasta dishes, check out my One Pot Veggie Mac and Cheese, Spaghetti Stuffed Bell Peppers, One Pot Pumpkin Tomato Pasta (uses a different method than this one), and Lentil Pasta Primavera with Frozen Vegetables.

I’d love to hear how you like this recipe! Rate/review using the stars on the recipe card or in the comments, and follow the Veg World on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Looking for something totally different? Browse the recipe library.

Enjoy your dinner!

Lizzie