Mushroom corn pasta in a bowl.

September 8, 2022

• Pasta & Noodles

Mushroom Corn Pasta

Ready in less than 30 minutes on the stove, this mushroom corn pasta is a simple weeknight recipe. You can use fresh, canned or frozen corn.
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This 10-ingredient sweet corn pasta with sauteed mushrooms comes together in a pot for the penne and a skillet for everything else. This filling pasta dish is fragrant with garlic, scallions and Parmesan. The best part is that it’s ready in less than 30 minutes, so add it to your weeknight rotation along with my favorite lemony mushroom spaghetti and sweet corn pesto pasta, assuming you’re into mushrooms and corn.

Mushroom corn pasta in a skillet.

Late summer to early fall, tomatoes get all the attention when it comes to pasta. And it’s for good reason that with such a bounty we all should have burst tomato pasta on repeat, but take a break from tomatoes and reach for a few ears of corn. You don’t have to leave those kernels on the cobs and you don’t need to grill them either. Slice the corn off the cobs and sauté it in a skillet. It will end up crisp and cook to a golden yellow in just a couple minutes.

Why You Need This Recipe

Corn and mushrooms pair so well together. I love the earthy mellow flavor of mushrooms with corn. By adding pasta, you turn what could be a vegetable side dish into a full-fledged main course.

It’s quick and easy. Pasta, mushrooms and corn all cook fast on the stove. This recipe involves very simple prep and limited cook time.

This is healthier compared to other corn pasta recipes. Often times you will see creamy sauce with corn, but you can stick with olive oil, skip butter, and add some of the pasta cooking water in the skillet towards the end of cooking to lightly coat everything. Also, mushrooms are way more interesting than any cream sauce.

The Ingredients

Ingredients including mushrooms, corn, penne, garlic, scallions, parmesan and parsley.

This is what you need:

  • Pasta: Penne is my go-to shape for this recipe. In general, I recommend other short pastas such as orecchiette and fusilli. You can use gluten free varieties.
  • Mushrooms: Sometimes called baby bellas, cremini mushrooms are slightly more mature white mushrooms and have a nice earthy taste. You can buy them whole or sliced.
  • Corn: I use a sharp chef’s knife to slice the corn kernels off 2 cobs This ends up being about 2 cups of corn.
  • Scallions are green onions that act like light onions and fresh herbs at the same time.
  • Garlic is very important to give a base flavor to this dish. And mushrooms and garlic just belong together!
  • Parmesan is lovely stirred into this pasta dish once it’s ready. You can also use grated pecorino or a combination of both. To make this recipe vegan, use nutritional yeast.
  • Parsley: With any pasta, it’s always a good to add chopped herbs to layer in more different but subtle flavors. If you have fresh basil or chives, they would be great in this pasta too.
  • Olive oil: Since this recipe is simple with so few ingredients, use high quality extra virgin olive oil for the best taste.
  • Salt & pepper season the pasta, but make sure to taste it and add more seasoning as needed to suit your taste.

Optional Additions

  • Red pepper flakes: If you want some heat, sprinkle on red pepper flakes for spicy heat.
  • Fresh lemon juice: Serve the pasta with a lemon wedge on the side or squeeze lemon juice in when you add the cheese and herbs for a smidge of citrus.

Do You Need To Use Fresh Sweet Corn?

No. Corn season has a limited timeframe, so you can use canned corn. Just rinse it off after you dump it out of the can. Make sure to thaw frozen corn before cooking it. Since frozen corn will have more water content, the texture won’t be as crisp as fresh corn or canned corn. Also, you may not need as much pasta cooking water to simmer in the skillet.

How To Make Mushroom Corn Pasta

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot until al dente according to package directions in boiling salted water. Save a half cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta in a colander.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Pasta simmering in a pot on the stove. Olive oil warming in a skillet on the stove.

3. Sauté the mushrooms and corn until the mushrooms are browned and caramelized, and the corn is bright yellow, about 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the white scallions, garlic, salt and pepper. Give them about 30 seconds to turn fragrant.

Saute the mushrooms and corn in the skillet. Then stir in the white scallions, garlic, salt and pepper.

5. Fold in the pasta and pour in the reserved pasta water. Let it bubble and evaporate and coat the penne.

6. Stir in the scallion greens, Parmesan cheese and parsley. Season with more salt and pepper as desired.

Stir the pasta and reserved cooking water into the sauteed mushrooms and corn. Then fold in the scallions greens and Parmesan.

Serving

Pair the pasta with a simple arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette. If you want a more filling salad, go for an Italian chopped salad instead. The pasta is best eaten warm, right when it has finished cooking. Just spoon it into individual bowls or onto plates.

Leftovers

If you have leftovers, they can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Warm them in a skillet on the stove over medium heat with a little olive oil. Or you can rewarm them in the microwave.

If you want to eat this like a pasta salad, serve it cold, straight from the fridge and add baby greens and a splash of vinaigrette.

Mushroom corn pasta on a plate.

More Easy Pasta Recipes

Eggplant Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes
Sheet Pan Gnocchi and Roasted Veggies
Antipasto Pasta
Chickpea Pasta with Spinach
Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
Lemon Pepper Spaghetti
Tomato Corn Orecchiette
Roasted Broccolini Zucchini Pasta Salad

Let me know if you make this mushroom corn penne. Please leave a comment and rate this recipe. Thanks!

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Mushroom corn penne in a bowl.

Mushroom Corn Pasta

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Paige Adams
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Sauté
  • Cuisine: Italian
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

Ready in less than 30 minutes on the stove, this mushroom corn pasta is a simple weeknight recipe. You can use fresh, canned or frozen corn.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 ounces penne pasta
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 ears corn, kernels sliced off (about 2 cups)
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan plus more for serving
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta in a colander.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and corn and sauté for 5 minutes until the mushrooms start to brown and caramelize, and the corn turns bright yellow.
  3. Stir in the white scallions, garlic, salt and pepper, cooking until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  4. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking water, stirring the penne into the mushrooms and corn and letting the water bubble and evaporate.
  5. To finish the pasta, stir in the scallion greens, Parmesan and parsley.

Notes

Use short pasta shapes for this recipe such as penne, orecchiette or fusilli.

You can use canned corn or frozen corn instead of fresh. The recipe calls for 2 cups corn kernels. For canned corn, drain and rinse it. For frozen corn, thaw it before you saute it. Since frozen corn has more water content, it will not turn out as crisp and you may not need as much pasta cooking water.

To make the pasta vegan, use nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan cheese.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Warm them over medium heat in a skillet with a little olive oil. Or rewarm them in the microwave.

You can eat leftovers cold as a pasta salad. Add baby arugula or spinach and toss in vinaigrette.

Keywords: corn pasta

Let me know if you've made this recipe.

Share a photo and tag @lastingredient on Instagram.

Recipe and Photography by Paige Adams

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  1. Made this tonight using gemelli pasta, frozen corn and added a pinch of red pepper flakes. It was delicious!

    ★★★★★

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