Well, that summer break sure flew by! Now, it’s time for busy, busy days! This slow cooker cheesy mushroom pasta is an easy weeknight meal to help with the craziness! I can put this is the slow cooker on days when I come straight home from work, and it is ready by 6:30 or so.

I’m already sweating just thinking about the hectic days which lie ahead the next 10 months! This cheesy mushroom pasta is perfect for teacher mamas and non-teacher mamas alike! Anything to help with a stressful school night is a winner!

If you are reading this, chances are you tight with your slow cooker. No judgies. I have 3 slow cookers and love them all! It’s a pretty commonly known fact that pasta can get really mushy in the slow cooker. A great many idealic dreams of an al dente pasta night have been ruined in a slow cooker.

Cooking Cheesy Mushroom Pasta in the Slow Cooker

It is key to not overcook your pasta – whether on the stove top or in a slow cooker. Now, even though I would love to walk in the door to a completely cooked meal, I am hesitant to leave pasta cooking all day in a slow cooker. (Also, the older I get, the more concerned I become of leaving slow cookers cooking all day.)

I would recommend setting your slow cooker for two hours. At two hours, check it. If it doesn’t seem al dente at that point, then let it keep cooking for another 20 or 30 minutes. Check it again at that point. And then repeat the steps if you feel you need to. I find one of my slow cookers cooks much faster than the others. If I walk in the door after school at 4 p.m., I can toss everything into the slow cooker and we can eat dinner around 6:30.

Cooking Cheesy Mushroom Pasta on the Stove Top

Of course, this recipe would be easy to whip up on the stove top. I would just cook the pasta until al dente (according to package directions) before mixing in the other ingredients. Next, I would allow the pasta to simmer on low just until cheese melts and pasta appears creamy.

The Hubs enjoys meat with nearly every meal so I will often toss some chicken breasts onto the George Foreman during the last 20-30 minutes while the slow cooker cheese and mushroom pasta cooks. Easy peasy. What is it with men and meat? I mean I’m a meat girl myself, but I can handle a meal or two a week without meat. I’m still trying to bring him around. Of course, I often feel like I need to prepare a meat item anyway so the girls can get their protein. And then it is a battle to get them to eat it at all, leaving me to wonder why I bother!

Can I Turn This Cheesy Mushroom Pasta Into a Vegan Pasta Recipe?

Obviously, if you are vegan, you don’t want the meat. And you don’t want the three types of cheese or the cream. I did a little Google hunt and saw there are plenty of vegan cheese choices these days that have a better reputation than before.

Also, there are options for substituting the heavy cream. However, since I’ve never attempted to change this recipe into a vegan pasta recipe, I cannot recommend this as I have no idea if it would turn out great, meh, or bleh! If you do attempt to make some vegan substitutions, please let me know in the comments how it turns out!

However, I do think I couldn’t go wrong in recommending you toss in a little spinach or sun-dried tomatoes near the end of cooking time to this mushroom pasta!

Furthermore, if you like vegetarian pasta, you would probably love my cold pasta salad!

How often does your family go meatless for a meal?