Whole Wheat Pasta with Bacon, Mushrooms, Onion
Posted: 04/23/2012
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All sorts of good stuff is packed into this hearty pasta with bacon and mushrooms, spinach and red onions. A great weeknight meal but guests will love it, too.
Pasta.
Bacon.
Mushrooms.
Wine.
Cheese.
Spinach.
Do I have your attention?
This is a simple, easy to throw together meal for any day of the week. It’s easy enough for every day but just fancy enough for guests as well.
Another great thing about this pasta dish is that you can customize it depending on what you have in the house. Just make sure you have bacon. Or pancetta. Yum!
Make sure you reserve a cup of the pasta cooking water before you drain the pasta. The starchy water is perfect for making a nice sauce for your pasta, along with the Parmesan cheese and white wine.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
All sorts of good stuff is packed into this hearty pasta with bacon and mushrooms, spinach and red onions. A great weeknight meal but guests will love it, too.
Ingredients
- 5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 large red onion, cut into slices
- 12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced or halved
- 10 ounces baby spinach
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 16 ounces whole wheat pasta (see note)
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley, chopped
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated, plus more for serving
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat for pasta. Cook pasta as directed, reserving 1 cup of cooking water before draining the pasta.
- Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Remove all but about 1 tablespoon of grease from the pan.
- Increase heat to medium-high. Add onions and season with salt and pepper; cook until onions begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are browned and onions are transparent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine, stir and scrape off any brown bits from bottom. Cook for 3 minutes or until wine is partially reduced.
- Add spinach on top; cover and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach has wilted.
- Add drained pasta to the skillet with the vegetables. Add bacon. Stir, and add pasta water as needed to create a nice sauce, about ½ cup to 1 cup.
- Remove pan from heat, and add parsley and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve with additional cheese, if desired.
Notes
- Look for short shapes such as campanelle, cellentani (pictured), elbow macaroni, gemelli, rotini, etc. If preferred, choose regular pasta (not whole wheat) or gluten-free pasta.
- If you don't have a large enough skillet to accommodate the vegetables and the pasta, put the drained pasta back into the pasta pot and add the vegetable/bacon mixture to it.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 456kcal, Carbohydrates: 64g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 325mg, Potassium: 770mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 5320IU, Vitamin C: 29mg, Calcium: 137mg, Iron: 5mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Husband’s take: He loves this. I mean…loves it. I’m a little surprised because I was thinking that there wouldn’t be enough meat, but he can not get enough of this stuff.
Changes I would make: None.
Difficulty: Easy. Have everything prepped before beginning: bacon cut, onions sliced, mushrooms washed and sliced, etc. You get the point. I even measured my wine so it was ready to pour in!
PS: How cute are these mushrooms? Let me tell you though–they got less and less cute as I was cleaning what seemed like a million of them! Don’t be lured in by their cuteness, normal-sized mushrooms taste exactly the same.
Susan says
I just discovered your blog when searching for “healthy pumpkin bread.” Well, that led me to this recipe and many others. I love this blog, the recipes, the fun way you write them, and your sense of humor! Keep up the good work!
Rachel Gurk says
Thank you so much Susan!
amy @ fearless homemaker says
oh my goodness, this looks soooo good! this is so my type of meal – i absolutely love all of the ingredients. will definitely be trying this next week – thank you for sharing!
Tracey says
Such a great combo of ingredients! My husband wouldn’t touch it with the mushrooms, onion and spinach, but more for me, right? :)