Mushroom Green Bean Pasta for One

This mushroom green bean pasta for one is such an easy one pot meal that’s ready in about 20 minutes. It’s got a light, creamy sauce with tender mushrooms and green beans. Serve with sausage or edamame.

[This mushroom green bean pasta recipe was originally posted in December 2018. It has been updated with an updated recipe, photos, cooking instructions, expert tips, FAQ, related recipes, and ways to repurpose/use up ingredients]

This recipe was originally pasta + Trader Joe’s haircots verts green beans with a tasty mushroom sauce and lemon. Unfortunately, this green bean side dish wasn’t available for very long, so it’s not useful anymore.

After a few years, I finally rested the recipe without the TJs green bean packet. This version is almost as easy, super tasty, and refreshing with some great vegetables and lemon juice.

The sauce is thickened with pasta water and flavored with spices and lemon juice. It’d be an easy recipe to add cream/milk to or substitute for some water for a creamy dairy option. It’s delicious in a few ways. Do what you like.

I’m excited to share two game changing tips in this mushroom green bean pasta recipe. The first steps may seem wrong, but they’re so wrong they’re right.

First, I’m starting to cook the mushrooms in water instead of oil or butter. That’s because mushrooms absorb A LOT. I learned this from Dan (What’s Eating Dan) over at America’s Test Kitchen.

See the link in the tips/substitutions section for the informative video.

Have you ever cooked them, and kept adding oil or butter to them, to see it vanish quickly? Well, again, they can absorb a lot of liquid. We start by cooking them in water to absorb, then add some butter later to flavor them.

The other trick is to add the pasta to water BEFORE it boils. Seriously. I’ve pretty much stopped boiling water then adding pasta. Just do it all together. It saves a few minutes, which I’m always a fan of.

It doesn’t change the texture or anything of the pasta, it’s awesome! I learned this trick from Lan, also from America’s Test Kitchen. Her YouTube show, Techniquely with Lan Lam is such a great watch. Link in tips section below too.

Anyways, I wanted to share a bit about why I’m making this mushroom green bean pasta a bit differently than what you may expect. Try these tips and let me know how it goes. I hope they’re as useful as they’ve been for me.

Ingredients

Scroll down to the mushroom green bean pasta recipe card for the amounts of each ingredient, but here’s a quick visual + description of what’s in this recipe.

Mushrooms: Use white button, baby portobello or your favorite mushroom. Slice them in even slices.

Pasta: Use your favorite shape, I prefer a twisty, short pasta in this mushroom green bean pasta

Water or chicken/vegetable broth: I prefer Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken flavor with water. The bouillon paste lasts a long time, and is super useful for a solo cook. Seriously, try it!

Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt: this simple seasoning combination is great with the vegetables and lemon in this recipe.

Fresh green beans

Butter: A bit of butter at the end adds lots of flavor and silkiness to this simple mushroom green bean pasta recipe. You can use olive oil too.

Lemon

Parmesan cheese

Red pepper flakes

Instructions

Scroll down to the mushroom green bean pasta recipe card for more detailed instructions. Here’s a quick overview + photos to see how to make this recipe in general.

1. Add sliced mushrooms, pasta, spices (Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt), and chicken/vegetable broth (or chicken bouillon paste + water) to pot.

2. Cover. Bring to boil. Cook on medium/medium-hi heat until al dente. Add more water if needed. You should have about ¼ cup remaining.

3. Remove any leftover water, but save it.

4. Add butter and green beans. Brown over medium heat.

5. Deglaze mushroom green bean pasta with leftover pasta water and lemon juice. Cook down until desired sauce thickness.

6. Serve mushroom green bean pasta with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes if desired. Enjoy.

PIN HERE to add mushroom green bean pasta to your recipe box. 

Serve with

You can add a link of Italian sausage with the mushrooms and pasta, then pan fry it with the mushrooms. Or cook some ground beef or turkey. Steak, shrimp, edamame, and salmon would also be good with this dish.

Or serve mushroom green bean pasta with one of these proteins:

Storage/Reheating Tips

Store leftover mushroom green bean pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week. This pasta dish wouldn’t freeze very well.

To reheat, add a splash of water or milk to pasta and microwave until warm. Stir together and enjoy.

Substitutions/Tips

Cook the mushrooms in water first. They absorb a lot of liquid, and would use up all the oil/butter. Check out this What’s Eating Dan (from America’s Test Kitchen) video for more information about mushrooms.

I don’t boil water before adding pasta, it’s a tip I learned from the A Better Way to Cook Pasta? video from Lan Lam, also from America’s Test Kitchen.

Use your favorite type of pasta in your mushroom green bean pasta, I chose a twisty noodle for the sauce to stick to.

Steam all green beans, store leftover ones in the fridge for another dish. It’ll be easier to eat them once they’re cooked!

Double the recipe for leftovers to eat for lunch or dinner.

Enjoy this mushroom green bean pasta with a steak, chicken, or steamed edamame beans for protein.

Other great add-ins: cream or milk. You may need to add a bit of flour or have softer noodles to cook it down and thicken up a bit. Add lemon zest, sausage, TVP, cream cheese, or other vegetables. Fried onions is a good garnish too.

FAQ

What sauce goes with pasta? A simple lemon sauce, tomato sauce, alfredo sauce, or a simple mushroom sauce like this mushroom green bean pasta all go great with pasta. There are so many different sauces that go well with simple pasta. How do you make pasta not stick? Properly cooked pasta shouldn’t stick. But your pasta could stick together if you don’t cook it in enough water, or overcook it. If it does get a bit sticky, add a bit of olive oil to the pasta, and stir. That should help. How can I make pasta taste better? I’ve found that pasta always tastes better with some salt, olive oil/butter, and a good sauce. It can be simple with a few ingredients, or a complicated sauce. Focus on salting it well and adding a yummy sauce.

Repurpose this pasta dish

If you ate most of the mushroom green bean pasta and have green beans leftover, serve it with a hot steak & mashed potatoes.

If you have leftover green bean toppings, add them to salads, other pasta dishes, or grain bowls.

What to do with leftover ingredients

When you’re cooking for one, you often have leftover produce, cans of whatever ingredient, etc. Here are a couple ideas on how to use up the leftover ingredients. It’ll help you save money by wasting fewer ingredients.

Did you make this mushroom green bean pasta? Leave me a comment & rating to share how it turned out!

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Mushroom Green Bean Pasta for One

This mushroom green bean pasta for one is such an easy one pot meal that’s ready in about 20 minutes. It’s got a light, creamy sauce with tender mushrooms and green beans. Serve with sausage or edamame.

Course dinner, Main Course

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes Cook Time 15 minutes minutes Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Author Rebecca Clyde MS, RDN

EquipmentMedium Pot, with lidMeasuring cups, spoonsServing spooncutting boardknife
Ingredients1 cup sliced mushrooms⅔ cup pasta1 teaspoon Italian seasoning¼ teaspoon garlic powderpinch saltpinch onion powder1 ½ cup water or chicken/vegetable broth1-2 teaspoons butter½ cup green beans (ends cut off) or a handful1 teaspoon lemon juicegrated parmesan cheesered pepper flakes
InstructionsAdd 1 cup sliced mushrooms, ⅔ cup pasta, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and a pinch of salt and onion powder to large skillet. over medium/medium-high heat.Cover with 1 ½ cup water or chicken broth (or water + ¾-1 teaspoon chicken bouillon paste). Cover with lid. Bring to a boil. Cook until pasta is al dente, or to preferred texture. About 5-8 minutes.Drain and set aside any leftover water. (you will add it back in after the mushrooms brown). Reduce heat to medium.Add 1-2 teaspoons butter and ½ cup or a handful of green beans to pan. Brown mushrooms, about 1-3 minutes.Once mushrooms are browned, add back remaining pasta water. This will be your sauce. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Simmer until desired thickness.Top with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. You can serve it as is or with Italian sausage, steak, edamame, shrimp, salmon, etc.

Notes

Instead of pan frying the mushrooms first, I cook them in water, with the pasta. This is a trick I learned from America’s Test Kitchen. It helps your mushrooms not soak up ALL THE fat! It’s genius. 

I also add the mushrooms and pasta to the water before it boils. Another trick I learned from America’s Test Kitchen. It’s easier, saves a few minutes, and still makes great pasta.

Save the leftover pasta water, it’s filled with starch to help your sauce stick to the pasta, and slightly thicken it. It’s a great pasta trick.

Use your favorite type of pasta, I chose a twisty noodle for the sauce to stick to.

Steam all green beans, store leftover ones in the fridge for another dish. It’ll be easier to eat them once they’re cooked!

Double the recipe for leftovers to eat for lunch or dinner.