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.
This creamy pasta dish is something we prepare often. It combines the 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.
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.
Creamy Pasta Recipe
This pasta cooked with bacon, portobello mushrooms and truffle oil is so straightforward, anyone can make it!
Tagliatelle or fettuccine tossed with heavy cream, bacon, Portobello mushrooms and Parmesan cheese. You can also use linguine instead.
I used fresh pasta here but good quality dried pasta is just as good and will be a fair substitute. However if you are up to the challenge, here is a detailed tutorial on how to make fresh pasta at home.
Since it’s a date night pasta dish I’ve skipped the garlic. But if garlic is something you cannot give up, go ahead and add 1 clove.
Instead of garlic flavour 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 intoto the realm of magical.
What Truffle Oil To Buy
There are two types of truffles oil. 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 you choose to buy, the main thing to watch out for whether or not it’s real. There are many oil 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”.
The 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.
More Creamy Pasta Recipes to Try:
- Creamy Salmon Pasta with Mixed Greens
- Orzo Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash
- Spinach Ricotta Pasta with Lemon Butter Chicken
This recipe was originally published in 01/2015. Updated and republished in 02/2021
Creamy Tagliatelle with Bacon, Portobello Mushrooms and Truffle Oil
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp 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 freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 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 ½ 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
Melissa Kindt says
If I could eat one meal for the rest of my life, this would be it!!
Jody says
Hi, do you just add the cream cold?
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Yes I do. It warms up by the heat of other ingredients.
Jojo says
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!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
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.
Jade says
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 🙂
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
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!
Klaudia says
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!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
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.
Kel says
Hello Julia! Thank you for this recipe.
I love mushroom and truffle oil. 🙂
This is a simple recipe but grand in taste.
Awesome! I just prepared one and i hope my kids will like it too.
vikalinka says
Thank you so much for your feedback, Kel! Let me know if the kids liked it!! Truffle oil is an acquired taste but mine love it too!
Diana says
Hello!!! I tried your recipe last night and my husband LOVED it 👌💕 So we decided to cook a bigger batch for a family potluck. I did 5x the amount of what you originally have but it didn’t turn out the same 😣 My husband said it’s lacking the bacon flavor. I’m thinking of cooking more bacon tomorrow and add them to the pasta, what do you think? Will this work? I really need your help 😣 Thank you!
vikalinka says
Hi Diana, this is a really good question and it might come as a surprise but pasta is actually quite difficult to get just right when cooked in big batches. The main reason is because it needs A LOT of seasoning, mainly salt. My husband used to not add enough salt and everyone in the family would say the pasta dish tasted bland although he used my recipes. Try adding more salt and parmesan cheese but go lightly on truffle oil as it might be overpowering. Adding more bacon is also a good idea but if the pasta itself lacks seasoning, it won’t make a big difference. Let me know how it goes! Best, Julia
Diana says
Thank you so much Julia! Will try to work on it later and let you know 😉
vikalinka says
You are welcome. I hope it goes well. Enjoy your potluck!
Lisa says
Having just returned from a fabulous honymoon in Tuscany we wanted a recipe to use our truffle oil that we brought back and to have a meal to remind us of our lovely trip…..this was AMAZIN G!! Thank you x
vikalinka says
Aw that is so sweet! Congratulations on your wedding, Lisa! X
Rachel says
Hello! I look forward to making this recipe, it’s sounds heavenly.
I live in the rural United States and must rely upon ordering rare supplies. What brand(s) and supplier(s) would you recommend for truffle oil?
vikalinka says
Hi Rachel, I live in the UK, so our suppliers are very different. I try to stay away from recommending brands I am not familiar with as it got me into trouble in the past. I would just look for a good quality truffle oil…usually you will see small bits of truffle at the bottom of the bottle. If they are not there, it often means the flavour is artificial. I hope this helps.
Polly says
I made this today with fresh homemade tagliatelle. It was awesome! I used pancetta but bacon would be great too. Thanks for the recipe!
vikalinka says
Sounds delicious, Polly, I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it!
anita says
this recipe looks delicious!! Do you mind sharing where the plates are from?? they are beautiful
vikalinka says
Thank you, Anita! The plates are from Anthropologie. 🙂
Mom's Dish says
Wow, this dish looks amazing. I will crave it from now on.
vikalinka says
Thank you, Natasha! You know it takes less than half hour to throw together. 😉
Laura says
Oh this is pasta perfection, love the mushrooms and truffle oil!
Nguyet says
Bacon, cream, and truffle oil are some of my favorite indulgent ingredients. Having them all in one dish sounds incredible.
vikalinka says
It does sound too good to be true, doesn’t it!
Lucy says
It’s amazing how life goes past so fast and yet so slow sometimes… My son is starting school in September and I can’t picture my baby in school at 5 years old – yet my daughter went at 4 1/2! I would love some date nights – with no family in the UK we have no in-build babysitters!
PS: pasta looks awesome. I will have to just eat it with my eyes for the time being though!
vikalinka says
No babysitters needed when you have home date nights. Get on it, Lucy!! 😉
Elena says
I have had dishes with truffle oil but never prepared them myself. Can you tell me if you use white or black truffle oil in this recipe?
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
I’ve used black truffle oil here but you can use either, Elena.