Creamy Beef Penne
Creamy pasta made with ground beef, mushrooms, and olives. This pasta comes together quickly and makes an easy, satisfying dinner for the whole family.
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 16 oz penne pasta, 1 standard pasta packet
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1⅓ cups heavy cream
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- ½ cup sliced olives
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 4 tbsp tomato sauce
- Salt & black pepper, to taste
- Dried basil, to taste
- Mozzarella, for topping
Method:
Start Cooking- Cook penne according to package directions in salted water. Drain and set aside.
- Heat avocado oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it apart as it cooks.
- Add mushrooms, olives, tomato sauce, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Stir and cook 3–4 minutes until mushrooms soften.
- Pour in heavy cream and sprinkle in dried basil. Cover and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
- Add cooked pasta to the sauce and toss until everything is well coated.
- Sprinkle mozzarella over the top. Serve warm. Bon appétit.
Kitchen Tools:
Notes:
From the kitchen
- You can use any pasta shape you like – penne works great for holding the creamy sauce.
- You can swap the ground beef for chicken if you prefer.
- If using chicken, feel free to skip the tomato sauce for a lighter, creamier flavor.
- Add spinach for extra greens.
- Swap mozzarella for parmesan or provolone.
- Like heat? Add crushed red pepper.
- Prefer lighter? Replace part of the cream with milk or half-and-half.
- Use rotisserie chicken instead of beef if preferred.
- Serve warm, straight from the pan.
- It’s great on its own or with a simple green salad.
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Nutrition:
Calories: 1083 kcal | Carbohydrates: 91 g | Protein: 38 g | Fat: 63 g | Saturated Fat: 28 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 24 g | Trans Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 170 mg | Sodium: 442 mg | Potassium: 946 mg | Fiber: 5 g | Sugar: 7 g | Vitamin A: 1298 IU | Vitamin C: 2 mg | Calcium: 120 mg | Iron: 4 mg
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Penne pasta
WHY WE LOVE IT
Creamy, beefy, mushroomy, and olivey – this pasta brings all our favorite flavors together in one comforting bowl.
A LITTLE STORY
Penne pasta, named for its quill-like shape (from the Italian penna, meaning “pen”), has a birthdate unlike most pastas: March 11, 1865. That’s when Giovanni Battista Capurro patented a machine in Genoa that could cut pasta diagonally without crushing it, a task that had previously been done slowly by hand with scissors.
DID YOU KNOW?
The hollow tubes and angled ends of penne are perfect for capturing creamy sauces, chunky mixtures, and baked pasta dishes. You can find smooth (penne lisce) or ridged (penne rigate) versions, as well as smaller mezze penne or larger pennoni shapes, all great for holding onto flavor.