Spaghetti with Creamy Mushroom, Beef, & Balsamic Sauce ~ Spaghetti covered in a creamy sauce of mushrooms, ground beef, tomatoes with a hint of balsamic.I started collecting recipes at around age eleven. I don’t know if there were any cookbooks in my mom’s house, I honestly can’t remember. But one Sunday after reading the comics, I started clipping coupons and noticed there were recipes in some of the ads/coupons. I begun cutting out any recipe that looked even remotely decent to my unsophisticated palate. I still have some of these recipes today. There are a staggering amount of recipes that require a can of cream of this or that. Please, don’t get me wrong; some of my most favorite recipes call for several cream of cans. They are part of the long list of comfort foods. But I am happy to say my palate has evolved beyond the condensed cream of cans.
I still clip recipes, but now I have fifteen print magazine subscriptions, online newsletters, and so many more things to clip from. My single envelope to hold these recipes has grown into over a dozen three-ring binders completely organized like any cookbook would be.Why do I share this with you? Well this recipe is one of those that once upon a time I clipped, put in my notebook, cooked, adapted, and have made my own. I have been making this recipe for several years now, but I knew that it was a recipe that I had once clipped. The task was formidable. I needed to find the clipped recipe and hope some kind of evidence existed to indicate where I had taken it from so I can properly cite my source. As a person who has been in education and academia, there is nothing worse than plagiarism.
When I located the recipe in one of my notebooks, I, of course, had eliminated all evidence of where it was from. I cut so closely around just the recipe. But, luckily, I have been reading the same magazines for years to recognize their particular fonts and layout. I took to the internet to verify my guess and I was right, this was taken from Real Simple Magazine. Their recipe is delicious, but since I can’t just follow directions, I have altered it over the years and mine is delicious too. Enjoy.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound dry spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion; diced
- 1 pound button mushrooms , thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic , finely chopped
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 14.5- ounce can diced tomatoes , undrained
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp . dried marjoram
- 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves , roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp . balsamic vinaigrette
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
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Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.
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Drain and return the pasta to the pot.
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While the pasta cooks, brown the ground beef in a large pan.
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Season it with salt and pepper.
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Drain any rendered fat and place the beef in a bowl, set aside.
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Heat the oil in the same pan over medium heat.
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Add the onions and cook for two minutes then add the mushrooms and garlic, cook for an additional five minutes.
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Return the beef to the pan and mix well.
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Add most of the parsley (reserving a small amount as a garnish) and marjoram.
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Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute.
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Reduce heat to low.
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Add the balsamic vinaigrette and the cream; mix well.
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Toss with pasta and garnish with Parmesan cheese and the remaining parsley.
32 Comments
Lynne
July 28, 2014 at 7:30 amThis sounds delicious, a bit like a stroganoff
Michelle
July 28, 2014 at 3:39 pmLynne, think of it as an italian version of stroganoff. 🙂
Lori
July 28, 2014 at 7:56 amI love this!!!! I have most all of the ingredients in my pantry all the time, the only thing I would have to make sure I had Is the ground beef and the heavy cream, but I bet you can also use half and half and still get a fairly same result. I love mushrooms and they are especially good for women for fighting breast cancer so I try to eat them almost every single day. I will definitely be making this very soon!!
Michelle
July 28, 2014 at 3:40 pmLori, yes, half and half would work well. I did not know that about mushrooms, another reason to love them. Best wishes to you.
Lori
July 28, 2014 at 5:05 pmLooks so yummy, I am making it tomorrow night!!! Best wishes to you as well, love your blog!! Your writing is exceptional, flows beautifully!
Rachel
July 28, 2014 at 11:20 amI make spaghetti all the time, I’l have to try this take on it though because it sounds and looks delicious!
Michelle
July 28, 2014 at 3:40 pmRachel, it is really decadent with the cream. It’s fantastic!
Kim
July 28, 2014 at 12:24 pmThis looks delicious. I could easily make a vegetarian version by doubling the mushrooms.
Michelle
July 28, 2014 at 3:41 pmKim, easily this could be turned vegetarian. More mushrooms is never, ever a bad thing.
thelesleyshow
July 28, 2014 at 12:49 pmThis looks delicious, I love mushrooms like I love my kids, they are insanely amazing. I also love what you’ve done with this Weebly blog.
michelle
July 28, 2014 at 3:42 pmThank you Lesley. I love my little blog. It’s been fun and I understand the love for mushrooms.
Chrissy
July 28, 2014 at 12:58 pmThat sounds and looks amazing!
Michelle
July 28, 2014 at 3:43 pmThank you Chrissy.
Betty
July 28, 2014 at 2:10 pmThis looks so good, I am going to have to try it.
Michelle
July 28, 2014 at 3:44 pmThank you Betty. 😉 You will love it.
Melissa
July 28, 2014 at 2:23 pmThis. Looks. Heavenly. It sooo feeds my pasta addiction!
Michelle
July 28, 2014 at 3:46 pmOh Melissa, I know that addiction well.
Azirkah
July 28, 2014 at 3:21 pmHi there… How much onion? It’s mentioned in the method but is not in the ingredient list. I would guess 1 small yellow, 1/4 inch diced, but if you could clarify that would be great. Thanks!
Michelle
July 28, 2014 at 3:48 pmAzirkah, thank you for catching that. It’s 1/2 of one medium yellow onion; diced, I shall fix that straight away.
Azirkah
July 28, 2014 at 4:03 pmExcellent, thanks for the quick reply! =)
Cindy Gordon
July 29, 2014 at 5:53 amI am passing this along to my MIL. She will love this dish. Thanks for sharing.
Michelle
July 29, 2014 at 4:59 pmThank you Cindy. Hope she loves it. I certainly did! Even my “I hate mushrooms” 4 year old enjoyed it.
Amber Nelson
July 29, 2014 at 6:10 pmNow that spaghetti looks very fancy. And delicious! Would love to try it.
Michelle
July 30, 2014 at 1:25 amAmber, it looks fancy, which usually means hard to make, but it is really quick and simple. Hope you enjoy it.
Erren
July 30, 2014 at 2:12 amLooks fantastic and the photos are amazing!
Michelle
July 31, 2014 at 8:29 pmThank you Erren.
Amands
August 14, 2014 at 8:01 pmI made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly. It was SO good! Even our 2-yr-old daughter ate it, and she doesn’t usually like tomatoes and mushrooms. I did cut the mushrooms a little smaller. I used ditalini pasta which made it easier to eat. Thanks for the recipe; it will be repeated for sure!
Michelle
August 19, 2014 at 2:39 pmThank you Amanda. I am so happy to hear that your pickiest of eaters enjoyed it. I don’t think I could cut mushrooms small enough to hide from my 4-year old.
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Apostille Pasadena
December 21, 2019 at 11:05 pmThis looks delicious. I want to try to make this soon.
Jenn
August 9, 2020 at 2:28 pmHi! I just want to make sure….this is balsamic vinegarette, like the salad dressing, and not balsalmic vinegar, right?
Michelle De La Cerda
August 9, 2020 at 3:06 pmYes, a vinaigrette not straight balsamic. That would be incredibly overwhelming.