Creamy Steak Pasta Recipe (With Mushroom and Whisky Sauce)

Steak in pasta. A divine coupling.

Our Creamy Steak Pasta recipe is gearing up to be your new favourite pasta dish, especially if you're looking to spoil that special steak enthusiast in your life.

This sophisticated, yet very approachable dish, showcases the perfect blend of comforting ingredients: Chunky pasta, succulent steak slices and a creamy, punchy mushroom and whisky sauce.

Plus, we're unapologetically generous with the Parmesan cheese. Is there even such a thing as too much Parmesan? Don't be silly.

Check out the simple step-by-step photo instructions below, and you'll breeze through this recipe like a pro in under 30 minutes.

Key ingredient notes and substitutions

**Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full list of ingredients.

Rump steak (Or Sirloin steak in the USA)

We always choose rump for its robust flavour and balanced fat content. It's a cut of steak that, when cooked properly, remains tender and juicy.

Feel free to use porterhouse or ribeye. Or, treat yourself to fillet if your budget allows. Avoid the tougher cuts like flank and skirt steak.

Cook the steak how you like it. We prefer medium to medium-rare, but it might not suit everyone's taste.

You can choose to cook the steak with a griddle pan, skillet (frying pan) or even a barbecue outside.

It's also the perfect dish to use up any leftover steak from a barbeque.

Mushrooms

Choose your favourite mushrooms, whether it's chestnut, cremini, portobello or shiitake. Make it yours!

We usually choose button mushrooms. We half the larger ones and the little ones go in whole.

Whisky

No need to be fancy - grab whatever's on hand, be it blended whisky, single malt or even a bourbon.

Just a friendly heads up: If you're eyeing those single malts and they're not yours, better get the owner's approval first. Joking! (I'm not joking.)

Onion

Use your preferred onion whether it's red, white, brown, sweet or even shallots. Aim for around 180g (6 oz) of chopped onion as a rough guide.

Double cream/Heavy cream

We're fully committed to the ultimate creamy experience by sticking with the heavyweights of cream - Double, or heavy.

If you prefer a lighter touch, you can go for whipping cream or single cream. It just won't be as rich.

Dijon mustard

This recipe calls for Dijon mustard because of its smooth texture and subtly tangy flavour.

If you want to swap, go for wholegrain mustard, stone ground mustard or brown mustard. English mustard can be too strong and your everyday 'hot dog mustard' won't give the right flavours we're looking for.

Parmesan cheese

We appreciate that Parmesan can sometimes come with a hefty price tag.

In that case, don't hesitate to explore alternatives such as Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano Reggiano or Piave, all of which offer a similar hard and robust cheese flavour.

Oil

The oil is purely for frying. Use your go-to oil, whether that be vegetable, sunflower or olive oil.

How to make Creamy Steak Pasta: Step-by-step

1. Massage oil onto both sides of the steak and season to your liking with salt and black pepper.

2. Heat a frying pan (skillet) or griddle pan over medium-high heat.

3. Once the pan is hot, add the steak and cook to your liking.
   
   As a rough guide, aim for 4 minutes on each side for a medium-rare steak and 5 minutes per side for a medium steak. This may vary depending on the thickness of the steak.

4. Transfer the steak to a plate and cover it with foil. Set aside to rest.

5. In a large pot of water, cook the pasta following the package directions until al dente. Make sure to generously season the pasta water with salt. As a guide, you will need just under 1 tablespoon of salt for this amount of pasta.
   
   (You can start on the sauce while the pasta cooks)

6. IMPORTANT: Before draining the pasta in a colander, reserve at least ½ a cup of pasta water.
   
   It's easy to forget, place a measuring cup in your colander as a reminder before you start cooking.

7. While the pasta is cooking, start on the creamy steak sauce. Combine the cream, half a teaspoon salt, black pepper, dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar in a bowl. Stir and set aside.

8. Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan (large skillet). Once the butter is melted, add the onion and fry for 4 minutes over medium-low heat until the onions are soft.

9. Add the garlic and sugar, cooking them with the onions for an additional 2 minutes or until lightly browned and caramelised.

10. Next, add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they turn golden brown, which should take about 4 minutes.

11. Increase the heat slightly and pour in the whisky. Cook until the whisky is almost entirely evaporated, approximately 2 minutes.

12. Add the creamy pasta sauce you prepared earlier. Stir through and cook for 2 minutes until heated through. Remove the pan from the heat.

13. Now, add the grated parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley. Stir through.

14. Add the drained, cooked pasta and gently combine it with the sauce.

15. Pour in the reserved starchy pasta water until the pasta reaches your preferred consistency. We typically use the entire ½ cup.

16. Slice the rested steak into strips. If you like, set aside a few pieces of sliced steak to arrange on top of the plated pasta.

17. Place the pan with pasta back on the stove over medium-low heat.

18. Add the steak strips to the pasta and gently stir it through. Keep moving the pasta around until it's heated through.

19. Serve piping hot, adding an extra flourish of chopped parsley, an extra sprinkle of grated parmesan and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Variations

• Add grated lemon zest.

• For extra garlic flavour, sprinkle the steak with garlic powder.

• Crumble blue cheese on top of the pasta.

• Add sun-dried tomatoes.

• Drizzle with balsamic glaze.

• Swap the parsley for basil or Italian seasoning.

• Do a steak spaghetti by swapping the chunky pasta for spaghetti or linguini. The same goes for a steak fettuccini.

Serving suggestions

• Enjoy with a glass of red or white wine.

• A side salad like Taboule, Simple Jerusalem salad, Panzanella Toscana or Rainbow salad.

• A side of garlic bread.

Storage and reheating

Storage: Store any leftover creamy steak pasta in an airtight container in the fridge. It is advisable to consume it within 2-3 days for optimal freshness.

Reheating: Reheat the pasta gently on the stovetop over low to medium heat to prevent the cream sauce from separating. If it thickens upon reheating, you can add a splash of milk or cream to restore its consistency.

Freezing: Creamy pasta dishes, especially those with dairy-based sauces, can be challenging to freeze.

Freezing may alter the texture and the sauce might separate upon thawing. If you decide to freeze it, do so without the steak and consider reheating it on the stovetop with fresh steak when you're ready to enjoy it.

Cooked steak generally doesn't freeze well, so it's best to prepare that part fresh.

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