A great pasta night does not need exotic ingredients, a long shopping list, or complicated techniques, just a few staples cooked well. This Olive Garden Creamy Mushroom Sauce pairs two kinds of mushrooms with a simple cream sauce enriched with plenty of Parmesan. The result is a creamy, earthy sauce that tastes indulgent over fettuccine, spooned over polenta, or served with pan-seared chicken. It all comes together on the stovetop in a few simple steps, so a restaurant-style dinner is within reach on any weeknight.

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Creamy sauce with mushrooms served with fettuccine.

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Olive Garden builds this sauce on a classic Italian idea: a few simple ingredients, treated carefully, can taste rich and complex. Two varieties of mushrooms give the sauce its body and flavor, while a cream base thickened with a quick roux and finished with Parmesan gives it its smooth texture.

Fettuccine is the usual partner because the wide ribbons hold plenty of sauce. The sauce is just as good over polenta or pan-seared chicken.

What makes the Creamy Mushroom Sauce so good?

A good pasta dish doesn’t need to be complicated or use exotic ingredients to give you rich, complex flavors. The Olive Garden Mushroom Sauce recipe proves this Italian culinary tradition by pairing two varieties of mushrooms with a simple cream sauce enriched with plenty of Parmesan cheese. The result is a creamy, earthy sauce that goes great over pasta, polenta, or pan-seared chicken for an easy meal that tastes more than a little indulgent. So, pour yourself a glass of wine, grab a fork, and enjoy before it’s all gone!

Ingredients and their roles in the recipe

For prepping the mushrooms, you’ll need:

White button mushrooms – a namesake for the dish. Button mushrooms add a mild flavor and a tender consistency, especially after simmering.
Baby portobello mushrooms – have a stronger, earthier flavor than white button mushrooms and a denser, chewier texture.
Water – cooks the mushrooms without caramelization.

For the Olive Garden Creamy Mushroom Sauce, you’ll need:

Unsalted butter – provides richness and cooks out the AP flour to form a roux. Using unsalted butter lets you control the sauce’s saltiness.
All-purpose flour – cooks with the unsalted butter to form a roux to thicken the sauce.
Heavy cream – the sauce base. Heavy cream provides a smooth texture and a decadent mouthfeel.
Half-and-half – increases the sauce volume without making it too heavy.
Parmesan cheese, shredded – contributes a nutty, salty flavor which gives the sauce more depth and complexity.

For plating the dish, you’ll need:

Fettuccine pasta, cooked according to the directions on the package – is the carb component of the dish. The wide ribbons of pasta give the sauce more surface area to cling to than spaghetti, but linguine and tagliatelle are also good choices.
Olive Garden Mushroom Sauce (from above) – a creamy, earthy sauce that goes well with pasta or over polenta.
Parsley, minced – adds some color and a touch of freshness to the sauce.

Mushrooms, butter, cream, parmesan, flour, parsley, and fettuccine.

How to prepare the dish at home

To prep the mushrooms:

Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and dry well.
Cut both types of mushrooms into quarter-inch slices.
Place the sliced mushrooms in a skillet and add just enough water to cover.
Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms are cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain the cooked mushrooms well and set aside.

To prepare the Olive Garden Mushroom Sauce:

Melt the unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Once the butter is melted, sprinkle in the AP flour and stir frequently for about two minutes.
Whisk together the heavy cream and half-and-half and slowly add to the skillet while stirring.
Continue to stir to break up any lumps until the liquid starts to thicken.
Sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese and stir until it melts.
Add the cooked mushrooms and stir to heat through.
Taste the sauce and add salt, if needed.

To plate Olive Garden Creamy Mushroom Sauce over pasta:

Plate the cooked fettuccine.
Spoon the Mushroom Sauce over the top.
Garnish with minced parsley, and serve immediately.

Making mushroom sauce and serving it over pasta.

What to serve with this pasta dish

Complete your meal by making some of the other great Olive Garden copycat recipes below.

Olive Garden Stuffed Mushrooms – Start your meal off right with a couple of Stuffed Mushrooms. These cheesy beauties have been a restaurant favorite for years, and now you can bring them into your kitchen with this copycat recipe. The secret to this recipe is adding clams and their juice for a briny flavor that goes great with the earthiness of the button mushrooms.

Olive Garden Blue Amalfi Cocktail – When you want a drink with a bit of tang and a whole lot of style, you can’t go wrong with an Amalfi Cocktail. This ocean-blue drink combines vodka, lemonade, and blue curaçao for a simple-to-make, dangerously easy-to-drink cocktail that’s the perfect warm-weather cooler.

Olive Garden Pumpkin Cheesecake – Finish your meal with a sweet treat. This Pumpkin Cheesecake was a limited-time menu item at the restaurant, but you can make it anytime you want with this copycat recipe. The cream cheese and pumpkin puree filling with a homemade gingerbread crust transforms a standard cheesecake into a seasonal favorite.

Storing and reheating tips

Refrigerator Storage: You can store the pasta and sauce together in an airtight container, but keeping the cooked pasta and sauce in two separate containers makes reheating easier. The sauce will last up to three days in the fridge.

Freezer Storage: You can freeze the pasta and sauce in an airtight container for up to a month, but the texture will suffer, and the dairy in the sauce may separate. Thaw the pasta and sauce in the fridge overnight, then stir well before reheating.

Reheating Instructions: If you stored the Olive Garden Mushroom Sauce and pasta separately, heat the sauce in a pan over low heat. Stir frequently to prevent it from burning, and if it seems a little dry, add a splash of half-and-half. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a simmer and dunk the cooked pasta into the simmering water for about a minute or until hot. If you stored the pasta and sauce together, place a serving in a bowl, cover, and heat for 60 seconds. Stir and continue to heat in 30-second bursts until hot.

Creamy sauce with mushrooms served with pasta.

Love Olive Garden sauces? Try these copycat recipes

Check out more of my easy sauce recipes and the best copycat Olive Garden recipes right here on CopyKat!

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