Here is a perfect busy night dinner that can be on your table within 20 minutes. How great is that?

This linguine, bacon, and mushroom pasta recipe is loaded with crispy bacon and mushrooms. The creaminess of the pasta balanced well with it. The parmesan cheese gives it that perfect final touch.

linguine, bacon , and mushrooms

Pasta is the easiest dish to prepare and is full of surprises on how quickly a great recipe can be on your dinner table.

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The perfect plate of simplicity and comfort.

Shall we dive in on the easiness of this recipe? While bringing the salted water to a boil you can start cooking the bacon and the mushrooms.

By the time the linguine is al dente,  your bacon and mushrooms are ready. Assembling this dish takes seconds.

In this Article

Ingredients needed to make your linguine mushroom recipe

Thick slices of bacon – the meatier the best as you will have less fat rendered.

Crimini mushrooms – the star of this dish. Ensure they are all the same size for even cooking. You can use regular white mushrooms if crimini are not found.

Linguine pasta – perfect with this dish, although you can also use fettuccine or spaghetti rigati.

Eggs – to create the sauce that will bind the pasta and your bacon mushrooms. Do not skip this step, and please read further for more on the egg cooking process below.

Salt and pepper – your seasoning. Be generous with the pepper and cautious with the salt.

Parmesan cheese – gives it that final touch to your pasta.

linguine pasta with mushroom on a serving plate

Equipment Needed

Check out Giangi’s favorite Kitchen Essentials, gadgets, and cookware!

Large pot for cooking the pasta

Large skillet

Whisk

Chef’s knife

Large bowl

Serving bowl

Cooking with raw eggs: Fear not.

As you can see in the recipe we are using raw eggs. Fear not. As soon as you add the hot linguine, the egg cooking process starts and by the time you add the hot bacon and mushroom, the eggs are cooked.

Toss the pasta generously with the egg and then add the bacon mushroom sauce. If it is too dry add a few drops of cooking water to bring back the creamy sauce that you want.

Adding the bacon sauce prior will break down the sauce, giving you clumps of egg instead of a milky, creamy, velvety sauce.

Cooking tips and step-by-step on how to make mushroom linguine

As with all my recipes, please have all your ingredients ready before starting on your recipe.

  • Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a roaring boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente.
  • Meanwhile, in a large skillet, add the sliced bacon and start to become nicely crisp, and some of the fat is rendered.
  • At this point add the sliced mushrooms and saute until the bacon is crispy and the mushroom nicely golden. Season with salt at the last minute after tasting. The bacon is salty and you do not want to oversalt it.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the parmesan cheese and a couple of grinds of pepper.
  • The pasta should be al dente and ready to drain at this juncture. Reverse a cup before draining.
  • Place the hot pasta directly over the egg-parmesan mixture and mix well until all the pasta is covered with the mixture. if it is dry, add some cooking water to thin the sauce.
  • Add the bacon and mushroom and mix well.
  • Place your cook pasta into a serving bowl and generously grate more parmesan cheese.
linguine past with bacon and mushroom on a serving plate

Pro Tips

  • Start cooking the bacon at low heat. This process will allow natural bacon fat to render while not burning the bacon. This will produce nice and crisp morsels.
  • Do not add salt to the mushrooms while you are cooking them. The salt activates the natural juices of the mushroom to come out, leading to soggy mushroom slices versus crisp. Season with pepper when done.
  • Reserve some of the cooking pasta to add to the pasta if too dry. The water contains all the starch necessary for binding.

I do not use much salt besides the boiling water to cook the pasta. Why?

  • The bacon is naturally salted, and more of the salt flavor comes out when brought to a crisp.
  • The parmesan cheese is salty as well

Of course, taste as you go along, but once the boiling water and the linguine are perfectly salted, there is very little need for more salt.

linguine, bacon, mushroom in a white plate

What to serve with your Linguine, Bacon, and Mushroom dinner

Italian, have courses and it is an amazing experience when you have a meal together. Like the French, it is a time to stop, relax and enjoy each other. There is so much pleasure in an hour lunch or a long dinner. And there is always so much to talk about.

To have the Italian dining experience, I suggest you use this pasta dish as a Primo Piatto, or first course, and prepare the following as Secondi, or second servings.

Secondi piatti

  • If meat is more what you crave, why not make Veal Piccata. Easy, too, and super delicious.

Dessert

  • Besides a great cup of espresso, trust me, you want a cup, finish with a delightful  Affogato al Caffee to end a perfect dinner.

Options or Substitutions

If you do not reserve the pasta cooking water, you can always use some chicken broth or heavy cream. The heavy cream will give it a rich creamy mushroom pasta for you and your family.

Adding couple of cups of fresh spinach to your bacon pasta it is always fun. You can add them to the mushrooms skillet or to the egg mixture and allow the heat of the pasta to cook them and welt them.

You may be tempted to add garlic, but in Italy, garlic is used in the oil and tossed and not eaten in your pasta. The heavy flavor will alter this delicate sauce, and I strongly advise you against it as it is not authentic Italian.

The only pasta where you can use garlic, is pasta aglio e olio.

Leftovers and storage

Place any leftover pasta in a glass airtight container, and store on your refrigerator up to two days.

To reheat, place in a skillet, add a couple of tablespoons of water and a dot of butter and reheat over medium-low until the pasta is warm.

linguine, bacon and mushroom pasta in a serving white bowl

Frequently Asked Questions

Are linguine and fettuccine the same?

Linguine has fewer ingredients than fettuccine. Linguine is made with water and semolina flour, while fettuccine is made with semolina, eggs, and some durum wheat. Also, the fettuccine is larger in shape than the linguine.

Why do we not salt the mushroom during the cooking process?

The salt activates the natural juices of the mushroom to come out, leading to soggy slices versus crisp—season with pepper when done.

What does al-dente mean?

Al dente means to the bite. In cooking terms, it means draining the pasta 1-2 min before the suggested manufacturing time. This is done when you have to finish a pasta dish with a sauce, and the cooking process will continue. Removing it a few minutes early will make the pasta perfect and not mushy when ready to eat.

Why do we save a cup of cooking water?

The cooking water contains all the starch from the pasta while cooking. Saving some of the water will allow you to thin any sauce you may have that has thickened. The starch in the water will carry on the pasta flavor and not break down the binding process between the pasta and the sauce.

If you enjoy this linguine, bacon mushroom recipe, you may want to try my other recipes.

Turmeric Linguine with Shrimp and Saffron Sauce

Linguine Pasta, Radicchio and Pecorino Romano

Ricotta, Arugula, Pine Nuts and Penne Pasta

Penne Alla Vodka

Ragu Alla Bolognese

Linguine, Bacon, and Mushrooms

5 from 1 vote
linguine, bacon, and mushrooms
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Author: Giangi Townsend
Pasta is the easiest dish to prepare and full of surprises on how quickly a great recipe can be on your dinner table. 
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Ingredients 

  • 4 slices of thick bacon, sliced into ¼ to ½ inch slivers
  • 4 cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thinly
  • 1 pound linguine pasta
  • 2 eggs
  • salt and pepper, salt and pepper
  • 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, 3
  • parmesan cheese, grated and optional

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to packaging direction for “al dente”, or 1 to 2 minutes less than it normally would take. Reserve some of the cooking water.
  • Meanwhile in a skillet over medium high heat add the bacon and start browning. Once some of the fat of the bacon has rendered, add the mushrooms and sauté until the bacon is crisp and the mushrooms nicely golden. Season with salt and pepper at the last minute before serving.
  • In a large bowl whisk the 2 eggs. Add the parmesan cheese and a couple of grinds of pepper (optional). Once the pasta is ready add it to this bowl with the eggs and stir well, adding some of the cooking water to keep moist. Coat all the linguine well. Add the bacon and mushrooms to the bowl and stir until all well incorporated.
  • Serve in warm plates with more grated parmesan cheese if so desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 563kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 245mg | Potassium: 416mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 148IU | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2mg

Giangi’s Kitchen provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as a registered dietician does not calculate them.

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