Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts & Chestnuts

Browned mushrooms, golden Brussels sprouts and tender chestnuts come together in a creamy white wine sauce for a wonderfully flavoursome pasta dish.

Some of the chestnuts are mashed directly into the sauce, giving it a naturally silky texture. Nutritional yeast, nutmeg and a squeeze of lemon or lime round off this autumn combination.

The separately pan-fried Brussels sprouts are especially delicious, with their toasted flavours providing a lovely contrast to the creamy sauce.

Allergens

Contains mustard and, when using conventional soy sauce, soy. Gluten depends on the spaghetti, soy sauce and oat cooking cream used. Depending on the product, vegetable stock and vegan butter may contain other allergens, such as celery or soy. Please check the ingredient lists of your chosen products.

At a glance

⏱️ Total preparation and cooking time: approx. 40 minutes
🍽️ Servings: 2 generous portions
Special touch: Mashed chestnuts make the sauce creamy; pan-fried Brussels sprouts add toasted flavours

The Brussels sprouts are briefly blanched, then fried until golden brown. The chestnuts naturally thicken the sauce, while white wine and nutritional yeast give it a savoury depth.

Ingredients

For the pasta and Brussels sprouts

• 220–250 g spaghetti
• 300 g fresh Brussels sprouts
• 1 tbsp olive oil or vegan butter
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small pinch of nutmeg

For the mushroom and chestnut sauce

• 250 g chestnut mushrooms (brown button mushrooms)
• 150 g cooked, peeled chestnuts
• 1 small onion or 2 shallots
• 2–3 garlic cloves
• 100 ml white wine (preferably dry)
• 150 ml oat cooking cream, or up to 200 ml if preferred
• 150 ml vegetable stock
• 2½ tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp medium-hot mustard or Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp lemon or lime juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil or vegan butter
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Optional: ½ tsp dried thyme or a few fresh thyme leaves

To serve

• Fresh parsley
• Black pepper
• Optional: extra nutritional yeast

How to make it

1. Prepare the Brussels sprouts

Trim the Brussels sprouts, remove any outer leaves as needed and cut the sprouts in half.

Blanch in boiling salted water for about 4 minutes, then drain, briefly rinse under cold water and drain thoroughly.

The drier the Brussels sprouts are before frying, the better they will brown.

2. Fry the Brussels sprouts until golden

Heat the olive oil or vegan butter in a large frying pan.

Place the halved Brussels sprouts in the pan cut-side down and fry over medium-high heat for about 4–6 minutes, until nicely browned.

Turn them only towards the end. Season with salt, pepper and a small pinch of nutmeg.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Brown the mushrooms

Slice the mushrooms, finely dice the onion and chop the garlic.

Heat the oil or vegan butter for the sauce in the same pan.

Fry the mushrooms over fairly high heat for about 5–7 minutes, until their released liquid has evaporated and they begin to brown.

Add the onion and fry for about 2 minutes.

Then add the garlic and thyme, if using, and fry briefly.

4. Add the chestnuts and white wine

Roughly mash about 100 g of the chestnuts. Cut the remaining 50 g into larger pieces.

Stir the mashed chestnuts into the mushrooms and fry briefly.

Pour in 100 ml white wine and let it reduce for about 1–2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

5. Make the creamy sauce

Add the vegetable stock, oat cooking cream, nutritional yeast, mustard and soy sauce, and stir thoroughly.

Simmer over low to medium heat for about 5–7 minutes.

Occasionally press the chestnuts against the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon so that they partly break down and make the sauce creamier.

Add the remaining chestnut pieces.

Season to taste with salt, black pepper, nutmeg and 2 tsp lemon or lime juice.

If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little water or, later, some pasta cooking water.

6. Toss in the spaghetti

While the sauce is simmering, cook the spaghetti al dente in plenty of salted water.

Reserve about 150 ml of pasta cooking water before draining.

Add the spaghetti to the mushroom and chestnut sauce and toss thoroughly.

If needed, add a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water until the sauce coats the spaghetti beautifully.

7. Plate up

Divide the creamy spaghetti between plates and arrange the fried Brussels sprouts on top.

Serve with fresh parsley, freshly ground black pepper and a little nutritional yeast, if you like.

For extra freshness, finish with a few more drops of lemon or lime juice.

Serving suggestion

Serve the spaghetti straight away, while the sauce is lovely and creamy and the Brussels sprouts still have a little bite.

The toasted flavours of the Brussels sprouts, the savoury mushrooms and the mild, nutty chestnuts complement one another beautifully.

For a slightly richer sauce, increase the oat cooking cream to 200 ml. Add a little pasta cooking water as needed to achieve your preferred consistency.

A small autumn salad makes a lovely accompaniment to the creamy pasta: