Copycat Olive Garden Creamy Mushroom Sauce
One of my favorite Olive Garden dishes is their mushroom cream sauce. It’s basically an alfredo sauce, but with the added meatiness of button mushrooms. It’s creamy, a bit garlicky, and oh-so-delicious!
There was a night when I was really craving this dish but I didn’t feel like going out, so I decided to try to make it at home, and it was delicious!
Plus, it’s the easiest sauce to make! The whole dish comes together in under 15 minutes, a perfect week night dinner when you need something quick but you’re still wanting to feel a bit fancy.
This would be a great dish to make for having friends over for dinner, and it serves great with a light salad, bread, and a bottle of wine.
Can I Use Pre-Shredded Parmesan Cheese?
The problem with pre-shredded cheeses is that they often come with anti-caking agents that inhibit the cheese from sticking together.
This basically keeps the cheese from melting and turning into a sauce—which is the opposite of what we’re trying to do here!
Buying a block of parmesan cheese is actually the same price as pre-shredded cheese, so I would stick with the block of cheese for this recipe.
Do I Have To Use Whole Milk?
I did use whole milk for this recipe for the fat content and flavor, but if you only have nonfat or 2% milk, that will still work for this recipe!
Plus, you can also substitute the heavy cream for half-and-half if that is what you have on hand, or if you want to save on some calories.
Can I Use Other Pasta Noodles?
Linguine is traditionally used for an alfredo sauce, but the beauty about pasta is that you can switch up any sauce or pasta shape you’d like! I would actually love to try this recipe with a shell noodle; I think it would be delicious!
What Is Linguine?
Linguine is a long noodle that is flatter in shape, which makes it different from spaghetti noodles.
Why Do I Need To Add Flour To The Sauce?
Flour is used in this recipe as a thickening agent. A lot of sauces start with butter and flour (called a roux) to ensure that the sauce thickens.
If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, you can use arrowroot powder or cornstarch instead of flour.
Why Do I Need To Add Salt To My Pasta Water?
One of the best tools chefs have in their kitchen is adding salt to their cooking water. Adding salt to the water perfectly flavors the pasta noodles.
If you haven’t tried it, go ahead and try and see how much it changes the flavor profile of your dish!
How To Make Copycat Olive Garden Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Step 1
Assemble your ingredients.
Cook pasta according to package instructions. Salt the water before boiling.
Cook the mushrooms. You can either add butter or water to a skillet before cooking the mushrooms until they are seared. Remove the mushrooms from the skillet and set them aside.
Step 2
Add the butter to the skillet. Chop the garlic cloves (or use a garlic press if you have one) and add the garlic to the skillet.
Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant and almost browned.
Step 3
Once the garlic is almost browned, add the flour and whisk it to make a roux. Add the heavy cream, milk, and parmesan cheese.
Use a whisk to combine everything until the sauce starts to simmer, then take it off the heat.
Step 4
Strain the pasta noodles and add the mushrooms and alfredo sauce into the pasta pot.
Step 5
Serve in a large bow and enjoy!
Copycat Olive Garden Creamy Mushroom Sauce
This recreation of the classic Olive Garden creamy mushroom sauce is sure to have your dinner guests asking for more!
Ingredients
- 1 package linguine pasta noodles
- 2 cups sliced button mushrooms
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Salt the water before boiling.
- Cook the mushrooms. You can either add butter or water to a skillet before cooking the mushrooms until they are seared. Remove the mushrooms from the skillet and set them aside.
- Add the butter to the skillet. Chop the garlic cloves (or use a garlic press if you have one) and add the garlic to the skillet. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant and almost browned.
- Once the garlic is almost browned, add the flour and whisk it to make a roux. Add the heavy cream, milk, and parmesan cheese. Use a whisk to combine everything until the sauce starts to simmer, then take it off the heat.
- Strain the pasta noodles and add the mushrooms and alfredo sauce into the pasta pot.
- Serve in a large bow and enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 580Total Fat: 43gSaturated Fat: 26gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 125mgSodium: 587mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 17g
Up Next: Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
