Blue Cheese and Mushroom Pasta

This savory Blue Cheese and Mushroom Pasta features penne noodles bathed in a creamy blue cheese sauce loaded with tender mushrooms. Blue cheese lovers won't be able to help sopping up every last drop of this incredible sauce infused with heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and of course, plenty of pungent blue cheese crumbles. Best of all, this easy dinner can be served in under 30 minutes!

There is just something immensely comforting about the taste of blue cheese. Its savory and slightly pungent flavor is the perfect highlight on a cold winter evening. Let it melt away in a cream sauce and then pour it over tender penne noodles? Now you really have my attention!

Blue Cheese Pasta Ingredients

I recommend buying a quality brand of blue cheese for this pasta dish since blue cheese is the star of the sauce. Being from Wisconsin, I like to think we know a thing or two about making the best cheese, so I always gravitate towards Wisconsin cheese brands.

Since the blue cheese sauce is essentially an infused alfredo sauce, I thought about using fettucini noodles for this recipe. You are welcome to do so. However, I felt that hollow penne noodles were perfectly designed to drink up the savory sauce. Both work exceptionally well when making this blue cheese pasta.

I also used sliced baby bella mushrooms in this dish, but if you are feeling a little more exotic feel free to substitute wild mushrooms instead. You can typically buy them dried in the grocery store, then you simply rehydrate them in water.

How to make it

Prepare the pasta noodles by cooking them in a large pot of boiling salted water according to the package instructions. The bulk of this recipe is describing how to make your blue cheese pasta sauce.

Using a large skillet or saute pan, melt butter over medium heat and add chopped onions. Saute your onions until almost tender then add the mushrooms to the skillet as well. Continue cooking until the mushrooms and onions are both tender, then add the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.

The chicken broth is added next. Not only does it add liquid to the sauce, but equally importantly it is used to deglaze the burnt bits from the bottom of the pan. This adds a lot of flavor to the sauce. Bring the heat to medium-high while doing this. Once at a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer.

Finish the blue cheese pasta sauce by adding heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, fresh thyme, and half of the blue cheese. Stir to combine and let your sauce simmer for 15 minutes to thicken. Finally, add salt and black pepper to taste.

Add your cooked pasta to a plate and top with blue cheese sauce, and the remaining blue cheese crumbles. Alternatively, the pasta can be tossed with the sauce in the skillet or large bowl.

Customize your blue cheese pasta recipe

Beyond changing the type of mushrooms used, there are a variety of additional ingredients that can be added to bend the flavor your preferred way. Try any of the following additions:

• Stir in fresh baby spinach with the cooked pasta and blue cheese saauce.
• Top this creamy pasta dish with crushed walnuts or pine nuts.
• Garnish with green onion rather than parsley.
• Add cuts of tender steak.
• Replace the chopped onion with sweet caramelized onions.
• Add some heat with crushed red pepper flakes.

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