Whole Wheat Pasta with Bacon, Mushrooms, Onion
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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!
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
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.
Jennifer | Mother Thyme says
I love my pasta dishes and this one is definitely going on my menu for dinner! Great combination of ingreadients!
amanda @ fake ginger says
All my favorites in one dish! Come cook for me tonight!
Kitchen Belleicious says
love the new look of the blog and the pictures! They are incredible- speaking of- this pasta is divine
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
I love the look of this pasta dish, Rachel. Definitely worth a try in my kitchen sometime soon! :) Thanks for sharing!
Kathryn says
Ooh you definitely have my attention! I love pasta dishes like this that are quick to pull together but are really tasty.
Karriann says
I love everything about this dish! Looking at the photos make me sooo hungry. Thanks for the recipe :)
“Happy Cooking”
Autism United says
HAHA too funny about the little mushrooms, they are pains to clean.
Great looking pasta idea, thanks for sharing.
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
Yes please! and that pasta is so cute. I’ve never used that one.
Julie @ Table for Two says
mmm best combination of ingredients! i love them all! this looks so good..i want that whole pan ;)
Christina @ This Woman Cooks! says
I loooove pasta dishes like this. Bring on the bacon!
Tara @ Chip Chip Hooray says
Ohhhh man, yum. I can totally see how this would be addicting! I feel like this is one of those dishes where I’d go back to the pan and sneak just a biiiit more with my fork. ;)
Ley Willis says
lost me at mushrooms… but everything else looks delicious! I’ve found that in my aversion to mushrooms, i can just add a tiny bit more of everything else and they aren’t missed… definitely trying this soon
Rachel says
This would still be great without the mushrooms–but I’m a mushroom lover :)
kelley {mountain mama cooks} says
This looks great! I love easy pasta dishes, they are my go to during the week. And how can you go wrong when bacon is involved? :)
Blog is the New Black says
If only I could get my fiance to eat mushrooms!
Mackenzie @SusieFreakingHomemaker says
I am dying over your pictures – they are so pretty, and this dish just looks fantastic. I am trying this one – my husband will love it!!