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This creamy tagliatelle pasta tossed with bacon, portobello mushrooms and drizzled with a touch of truffle oil is a real winner. Add a bottle of great wine plus someone you love and you’ve got yourself a lovely date night in!
Why not serve our Bruschetta as a delicious starter to your pasta! If you prefer a robust tomato sauce with your pasta, take a look at our Tagliatelle with Pancetta, Basil and Mozzarella.
Over the years we’ve spent many date nights at home instead of going out, which is pretty typical for parents with young children. And although we missed the excitement of leaving the house and joining the buzzy world for a night we made sure the food at home was always restaurant worthy.
Special nights call for special food, right? I want my date night food to be quick and easy. But it should preferably look and taste like it came from a Michelin star restaurant.
This creamy pasta dish is something we prepare often. It combines comfort and elegance in one simple recipe.
It’s no surprise that variations of this recipe are peppered throughout this website. Pasta with pancetta and peas is one of them. Chicken and Bacon Pasta is another favourite. Or you can add a touch of tomatoes and have another tasty number in the form of Prawn Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce.
And it all starts with this basic Pasta Cream Sauce. Once you master it, there is no stopping you.
My point is this recipe is very versatile. Add any ingredients you love and enjoy your Italian inspired dinner 20 minutes later. Yes, it’s that simple.
Creamy Pasta Recipe
This pasta cooked with bacon, portobello mushrooms and This is an affiliate link.truffle oil is so straightforward, anyone can make it! Tagliatelle tossed with heavy cream, bacon, Portobello mushrooms and This is an affiliate link.Parmesan cheese.
Normally a dish like this would be made with garlic, but I didn’t want that on a date night! Instead, and to make it extra special, I drizzled the dish with a couple of teaspoons of truffle oil. You can skip the oil if it’s not your cup of tea.
Truffle oil is an ingredient impossible to describe if you’ve never had it before. After you have your first taste or a sniff, you will recognise its beautiful aroma anywhere.
Earthy and luxurious. Just the thing to take your date night into the realm of the magical.
What Truffle Oil To Buy
There are two types of truffle oil: This is an affiliate link.Black Truffle Oil and White Truffle Oil. Black tends to have a stronger, earthy flavour. This is the one I used in this recipe.
Whichever truffle oil you choose to buy, the main thing to watch out for whether or not it’s real. There are many oils on the market that are fake. They are flavoured with a synthetic flavour of truffles concocted in a lab.
The best way to tell if you are buying the real thing is to look at the ingredient list. Avoid anything that lists “truffle flavour” or “truffle aroma”.
Real truffle oil should have “truffle” in the ingredient list and better yet, truffle bits floating at the bottom of the bottle.
It’s important to mention that even real truffle oil has an expiration date, so if you don’t use it often enough it will simple stop smelling like truffles. To avoid that, I buy a very small bottle.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Pasta is amazingly simple to use, which is one reason we reach for it so often when it’s time to get a meal on the table. But it still takes some experience and attention to detail to make it really, really good. My top tips for making pasta amazing every time can be found here!
- I used fresh pasta here but quality dried pasta is just as good and will be a fair substitute. If you are up to the challenge, here is a detailed tutorial on how to make fresh pasta at home.
- I’ve used tagliatelle but other long and thick pasta shapes will do just as well. Fettuccine or linguine are other shapes I would recommend.
- Reserve some of the pasta water before draining. It can come in useful later if you need to thin out the sauce while adding a silky quality.
- Portobello mushrooms have a wonderful earthy flavour and bring so much to this recipe. You won’t get the same from common button mushrooms. If you don’t have portobello, cremini or chestnut mushrooms can be substituted.
- Since I made this for a date night I’ve skipped the garlic. But if garlic is something you cannot give up, go ahead and add 1 clove.
- Not all the truffle oil you will find in stores is the same, or even real. Check out advice above to make sure that your money is well spent, and to get that amazing flavour into your dish!
- If you leave out the truffle oil, double the amount of Parmesan cheese.
Serving suggestions
I’m pretty happy serving a pasta dish all on its own, but there are a few things you can add to make date night even more special!
A lovely Italian charcuterie platter is a stunning way to start, as is a selection of crostini or bruschetta. That’s appetizers taken care of!
Side dishes served with a creamy, hearty pasta like this should be nice and fresh. I would reach for a panzanella salad or a insalata caprese. Both are full of fresh flavours that will cut right through the creamy pasta sauce!
Storage and leftovers
As great as pasta is, it just doesn’t keep all that well as leftovers. If you do have some extra, keep it in the fridge in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container for not more than 3 days. Any longer and the pasta will get soggy.
The best way to reheat is in the microwave. Avoid freezing as the pasta will get unpleasantly soggy as it keeps absorbing the sauce.
More creamy pasta recipes
- Creamy Salmon Pasta with Mixed Greens
- Orzo Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash
- Spinach Ricotta Pasta with Lemon Butter Chicken
- Easy Carbonara
Creamy Tagliatelle with Bacon, Portobello Mushrooms and Truffle Oil
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Large pot
- This is an affiliate link.Enamel colander
- This is an affiliate link.Cast iron casserole dish
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 2-3 strips of bacon/pancetta, chopped
- 4-5 baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, optional
- 200g/1/2 lbs fresh or dried tagliatelle or linguine
- 100 ml/1/3 cup double cream/heavy cream
- 2-3 tbsp This is an affiliate link.Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 2 tsp truffle oil
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Note that fresh pasta only takes about 3 minutes to cook after the water boils.
- While pasta is cooking cook chopped bacon over medium heat in 1 tbsp of olive oil until it renders fat, drain it if your bacon is too fatty. Add sliced portobello mushrooms with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, then add minced garlic if using and cook for 30 seconds longer.
- Drain cooked pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of water you cooked pasta in. Do not rinse your pasta.
- Take the pan with bacon and mushrooms off the heat. To the pan add hot pasta, truffle oil, double/heavy cream and grated parmesan gently toss to coat.
- Your pasta will absorb the sauce very quickly. Add reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce to a silky smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If I could eat one meal for the rest of my life, this would be it!!
Hi, do you just add the cream cold?
Yes I do. It warms up by the heat of other ingredients.
I have not been able to find truffle oil in any of the grocery stores that I visited. Would an olive oil with added truffle flavoring work? Or would you just recommend using the extra parm substitute? Thank you!
I’ve never used truffle flavouring, so cannot advise. I don’t think using extra Parmesan will do the trick since the main flavour here is of the truffle.
My go to truffle pasta recipe! I also add kale and have tried it with frankfurters and quorn before and I’ve received many compliments on it! I love it more and more every time I make it 🙂
I am so happy to hear it!! I am out of truffle oil right now and I really crave this pasta. I need to get some asap!
I loved it!!
Delicious and creamy. No spare ingredients, no fuss. Essence of yumminess.
Every now and again I re-make this recipe, each time with a slight moderation, depending on what mushrooms I have at hand (and on my mood, too). Last time added some wild (porcini and boletus) mushrooms and the result was delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
My pleasure, Klaudia! Porcini and boletus are my absolutely favourite mushrooms. When I was little my parents took me wild mushroom picking when they were in season and I loved it.