Creamy Mushroom & Beef Penne
2x the delicious portions!
- Milk
- Wheat
This elevated-yet-crowd-pleasing stovetop mac ’n’ cheese has all the creamy cheesiness and tender pasta you crave, plus yummy extras: browned ground beef, savory sautéed mushrooms with caramelized onions, and fresh herby hits of parsley and thyme. Plus it’s ready to please your crowd (or just a few with leftovers to spare!) in a quick 35 minutes. This recipe is double the typical servings, providing 4 servings and 8 servings for a 2 person and 4 person box respectively.
Ingredients
2 unit
Onion
8 ounce
Button Mushrooms
8 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
12 ounce
Penne Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
1 teaspoon
Dried Thyme
1 cup
Mozzarella Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
5 teaspoon
Red Wine Vinegar
2 unit
Beef Stock Concentrate
2 tablespoon
Worcestershire Sauce
¼ ounce
Parsley
20 ounce
Ground Beef
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
Not included in your delivery
1.5 tablespoon (tbsp)
Sugar
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (we used a 6-quart pot). Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and thinly slice onions. • Trim and slice mushrooms into 1⁄4-inch-thick pieces. (Skip if your mushrooms are pre-sliced!) • Pick parsley leaves from stems; roughly chop leaves.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, preferably high-sided, pan over medium-high heat. Add beef* and cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes (6-8 minutes for 8 servings). • Turn off heat; transfer to a large bowl. Wipe out pan. TIP: If there’s excess grease in your pan, carefully pour it out and discard.
• Once water is boiling, add penne to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. • Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water (2 cups for 8 servings), then drain. (Keep empty pot handy for Step 5.)
• While pasta cooks, heat a large drizzle
of oil in pan used for beef over medium- high heat. Add onions and mushrooms;
cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and softened, 8-10 minutes. TIP: If browning too quickly, reduce heat to medium. • Add vinegar, thyme, garlic powder, and 1⁄2 TBSP sugar (1 TBSP for 8 servings); cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are caramelized, 1-2 minutes more. • Season with salt and pepper.
• In pot used for pasta, combine Worcestershire sauce, stock concentrates, cream sauce base, and 3⁄4 cup pasta cooking water (1 1⁄4 cups for 8 servings). • Return pot to stovetop over medium- high heat. Cook, stirring, until sauce has thickened slightly, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. • Stir in mozzarella until melted.
• To pot with cheese sauce, add drained penne, beef, and onions and mushrooms. Stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper. • Serve pasta directly from pot, family style! Garnish with parsley.
Ground Beef is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many enjoyed the dish, but some found the vinegar and Worcestershire sauce overpowering. Consider reducing these for a milder taste.
- Ease of prep: Generally easy to make, though a few found managing the large quantity challenging when cooking and mixing.
- Suggestions: Try using Italian sausage instead of ground beef for more flavor. Consider baking the dish to help thicken the sauce.
- Portions: This double-sized recipe makes plenty, with many reporting abundant leftovers. Great for meal prep! 🍲
- Texture: Some found the sauce didn't thicken well. Adding extra cheese or briefly baking the dish may help improve consistency.
Reviews from our home cooks
One of the best and easiest meals we've had! We will order this anytime it's on the menu!
It's so amazing. I ordered 2 servings. It easily made 5 big portions!
Perfect meal that lasted me a week. Added a little more seasonings to it to make it perfecto. Keep em coming.
I loved this and my kids also loved it and they are not a fan of mushrooms!
The mozzarella did not melt into the sauce and the cheese sauce did not thicken. After mixing everything (sauce, pasta, beef, onions&mushroms) together I added mini mozzarella pearls to help thicken. I also poured everything into a glass baking dish and baked at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Reminds me of beef pasta hamburger helper but elevated love it
Great for those who love pasta but not tomatoe sauce!
This recipe is delicious. I wish it came in the size for two people rather than the crowd size.
The vinegar and worcestershire sauce left a slightly strong taste. My husband actually liked it which doesn't always happen when I fix something new.
Huge quantity made it hard to manage all the pasta/sauce while cooking, mixing, but very Delish.
