Oyster mushrooms can be a little underwhelming, but after cooking over a wood fire or a few minutes in the smoker they get a depth of flavor that'll make you think twice about passing up the next flush you find. The aroma turns the mushrooms rich and meaty that's perfect for a simple bowl of noodles. Today we'll go over a few different oyster mushroom pasta recipes you can make with them.

A bowl of oyster mushroom pasta with garlic, oil and hot chili. — Mushroom pasta aglio olio.

This is an especially good way to use golden oyster mushrooms and late fall oyster mushrooms (Sarcomyxa serotina). Elm oysters can work well too, but you'll need to remove the woody stems.

It also works with regular oyster mushrooms or mushrooms from a store. King oyster mushrooms work too, although I usually prefer to cook them as mushroom "scallops".

My favorite version is a simple pasta with garlic, oil and chili described in the walk through. That said, you can use them in just about anything, and we'll briefly go over using them in tomato and cream-based pastas too. All of the recipes are demonstrated in the video.

How To Make It (Step-By-Step)

First the mushrooms are smoked. Cooking them over a wood fire will give the strongest flavor and is what I recommend. A pellet grill smoker can work, but gives a milder flavor.

Smoking oyster mushrooms in a pellet smoker. — Smoking mushrooms in a pellet smoker.

Mukitake or fall oyster mushrooms cooking on a wood fire grill. — Smoking mushrooms on a wood fire.

After cooking, the mushrooms cooled and sliced into ½ inch strips or bite sized pieces. A few garlic cloves (the best you can find) are sliced very thin.

Slicing lung oyster mushrooms into strips. — Slice the mushrooms into strips.

The mushrooms and garlic are added to a cold pan with olive oil and cooked slowly until the garlic is light golden.

Cooking oyster mushrooms and garlic in a pan. — Cook the mushrooms and garlic on opposite sides of the pan.

Cooking sliced garlic cloves until light brown. — Cook the garlic until light brown.

Next crushed red pepper flakes and a handful of greens are added, then the pan is deglazed with a splash of wine.

Adding crushed red pepper flakes to a pan of mushroom pasta. — Add the crushed red pepper flakes.

Deglazing a pan of mushroom pasta with white wine. — Deglaze the pan with white wine.

Finally the cooked pasta is added to the pan along with a splash of pasta water and some chopped fresh herbs like thyme.

Adding cooked pasta to a pan of mushrooms, garlic and oil. — Adding the cooked pasta.

Adding chopped fresh herbs to a pan of mushroom pasta. — Add chopped fresh herbs like thyme.

Everything's cooked together for minute for the flavors to meld and finished with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Finishing a mushroom pasta with extra virgin olive oil. — Finish the dish with extra virgin olive oil.

Twirling cooked pasta into a bowl. — Twirl the noodles into a bowl.

Cheese is not traditional here, but it's fine to add some if you want, especially pecorino.

A finished bowl of smoked oyster mushroom pasta. — Serve the pasta as-is or add cheese.

Creamy Oyster Mushroom Pasta

The smoked mushrooms lend their flavor to a creamy sauce really well. For a creamy sauce for two, finely chop a small shallot and a clove of garlic and cook with 4 oz smoked oyster mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup dry white wine and reduce by half. Add ¼ cup chicken stock, reduce again, then ½ cup heavy cream, simmer until thickened and toss with 6 oz cooked pasta. You can add a handful of spinach at the end and serve it with parmesan cheese.

Smoked Mushroom Arrabiata Pasta

Tomato also pairs well with smoky flavors. A favorite pasta of mine I learned from a Chef from Lazio is arrabiata. Translating to "angry pasta", it should be quite spicy.

A bowl of spicy oyster mushroom pasta arrabiata. — Spicy oyster mushroom pasta arrabiata.

To serve two people, cook 2 large thinly sliced garlic cloves in 2 tablespoons of oil until light golden. Add 1 tablespoon sliced sage, cook for a minute, add 4 oz chopped smoked mushrooms and a generous ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup dry white wine, add 1.5 cups pureed canned, peeled tomatoes and simmer until thickened. Finish the sauce with one tablespoon of unsalted butter and 6 oz cooked pasta. Sometimes I add pecorino cheese.

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5 from 1 vote

Smoked Oyster Mushroom Pasta (Vegetarian)

A simple pasta of smoked oyster mushrooms with garlic, extra virgin olive oil, chili and herbs. 2 other variations to try are described in the video.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: oyster mushroom pasta recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 362kcal

Author: Alan Bergo

Cost: 5

Equipment

1 Wide 10 inch skillet
1 Pasta pot

Ingredients

6 oz cooked dried spaghetti or other long noodles
1.5 tablespoons light olive oil
2 small anchovy filets optional
3 large cloves garlic
4 oz oyster mushrooms
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1-2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or fresh savory to taste
Small handful spinach lambsquarters or other greens, such as chopped parsley
¼ cup dry white wine
Splash of pasta cooking water as needed
1.5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil to finish
Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

Season the oyster mushrooms with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt. Smoke the mushrooms by cooking over a wood fire until wilted and browned, or by cooking in a pellet smoker at 225 F for 15-20 minutes for a milder flavor. Cool the mushrooms and cut into ½ inch slices.
Slice the garlic into very thin slices.
Put the garlic and mushrooms on opposite sides of a cold 10 inch pan or cast iron skillet. Drizzle the garlic with the oil, then cook on medium heat until the garlic is light golden. Add the chopped anchovy filets if using and crush with a spoon.
Stir the mushrooms and garlic together, add the crushed red pepper flakes and deglaze the pan with the wine.
Add the handful of greens if using, along with the herbs, pasta and a splash of pasta water. Cook for a minute, mixing the pasta with the ingredients to coat. Add the extra virgin olive oil and mix.
Taste the seasoning and adjust for salt and chili and adjust until it tastes good to you.
Separate the pasta between two warmed bowls, mounding the noodles up and distributing the ingredients from the pan evenly between them. If you want, you can garnish it with grated cheese but it’s not traditional.

Video

Notes

There's many variations of this pasta, another one I like is adding a large spoonful of tomato sauce, about ¼ cup, making it somewhere in between arrabiata and aglio olio.

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