$10 Vegetarian Morel Mushroom & Onion Alfredo

A cozy, budget-friendly pasta dinner made with our freshly foraged morel mushrooms!

There is something so rewarding about turning a basket of hand-picked forest mushrooms into a warm, comforting family meal. After spending last weekend exploring the woods and collecting beautiful morel mushrooms, we decided to make one of the easiest and most affordable dinners ever — a creamy vegetarian morel mushroom and onion Alfredo pasta that fed our family of five for around $10 total!

This recipe is rich, earthy, cheesy, and packed with flavor while still using simple grocery staples like jarred Alfredo sauce and penne pasta. It is proof that delicious meals do not have to cost a fortune.

Why We Love This Recipe

• Budget-friendly family dinner
• Vegetarian and filling
• Uses freshly foraged morels
• Ready in about 30 minutes
• Creamy comfort food everyone loves

Morel mushrooms have such a rich, nutty flavor that they instantly make even the cheapest ingredients taste gourmet. Pair them with sautéed onions, creamy Alfredo sauce, and melted cheese and you have an unforgettable meal.

Ingredients

• 1 package penne pasta
• 1 jar Great Value Alfredo sauce
• 2 cups fresh morel mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1 medium onion, sliced thin
• 1–2 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella or parmesan work great)
• 2 tablespoons butter or oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Clean Morel Mushrooms

Because morels grow wild, they often hide dirt and little forest visitors inside their hollow centers.

To clean them:

1. Slice mushrooms in half lengthwise
2. Rinse gently under cool water
3. Pat dry with paper towel

Try not to soak them too long or they can become soggy.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the Pasta

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the penne pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Step 2: Sauté the Onions

In a large frying pan, heat butter or oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook until soft and golden brown.

Step 3: Cook the Morels

Add the cleaned morel mushrooms to the onions and sauté for about 5–7 minutes until tender and fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.

The smell at this stage is absolutely incredible — earthy, buttery, and rich. This is a great sautéed morel mushroom recipe as well. 

Step 4: Add Alfredo Sauce

Pour the jar of Alfredo sauce into the pan and stir well. Let everything simmer together for a few minutes so the mushroom flavor blends into the sauce.

Step 5: Mix Everything Together

Add the cooked penne pasta to the sauce mixture and stir until evenly coated.

Step 6: Add Cheese

Sprinkle shredded cheese over top and stir until melted and creamy.

Serve hot with extra pepper and parmesan if desired.

Tips for Making This Meal Even Cheaper

• Use whatever pasta is on sale
• Buy store-brand Alfredo sauce
• Add leftover vegetables from your fridge
• Serve with homemade garlic toast
• Freeze extra morels during mushroom season

Foraged morel mushrooms can actually sell for a surprising amount of money, sometimes up to $50 per pound in some areas, which makes meals like this feel extra special.

Final Thoughts

This morel mushroom Alfredo turned out rich, comforting, and restaurant-worthy while still staying incredibly affordable. There is just something magical about cooking with ingredients you gathered yourself in the forest.

If you have never gone morel hunting before, this recipe is the perfect reward after a successful day outdoors. Delicious food always tastes better when it comes with memories attached.

Would you try cooking with wild morel mushrooms?

Small Space, Big Rewards: Starting Our Patio Garden Journey

There’s something incredibly rewarding about stepping outside and seeing food growing right beside your home. This year we decided to start a patio garden filled with vegetables, pollinator-friendly flowers, and even cat grass patches for our indoor cats. Even though we don’t have a large yard anymore, we do have two decent-sized patios, and one of them gets amazing sunshine for most of the day. That was all the motivation we needed to get planting.

Gardening and maintaining plants is a great activity to get the kids outside and busy. Teaching them this skill is not only fun but a great way to encourage the next generation of green thumbs. Take a look at these great frugal ways to get the kids outside this summer!

Our goal was simple:

• Grow food
• Save money
• Support bees and hummingbirds
• Create a relaxing outdoor space
• Give our indoor cats a safe little taste of nature

And honestly? It’s already becoming one of my favorite parts of spring.

Why Patio Gardening Is Perfect for Families

A lot of people assume gardening requires a massive backyard, expensive raised beds, or endless time. That simply isn’t true anymore. Patio gardening allows families, apartment dwellers, and renters to grow an impressive amount of food in containers, vertical planters, buckets, and railing boxes.

You can grow:

• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Herbs
• Lettuce
• Strawberries
• Cucumbers
• Beans
• Green onions
• Spinach
• Kale
• Flowers for pollinators

All from a patio.

Container gardening also makes maintenance easier because:

• There’s less weeding
• Watering is more controlled
• Plants are easier to monitor
• You can move containers to follow the sun
• It keeps produce accessible and organized

For busy families, that’s a huge win.

Growing Cat Grass for Indoor Cats

One of the most fun additions to our patio garden has been growing cat grass patches for our indoor cats. Cats absolutely love nibbling on fresh grass, and it can help with digestion, enrichment, and reducing boredom indoors.

We planted shallow trays filled with:

• Wheat grass
• Oat grass
• Barley grass
• And just plain grass

The cats get supervised outdoor patio time while enjoying their little patches of greenery, and it’s honestly adorable watching them roll around beside the planters like tiny jungle cats.

Cat grass is:

• Easy to grow
• Inexpensive
• Fast growing
• Pet-safe
• Perfect for patios and balconies

You can even keep multiple trays rotating so there’s always fresh grass available.

The Vegetables We Started Growing

This year we started with some of the easiest and most rewarding patio vegetables.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are patio garden superstars. Cherry tomatoes especially do incredibly well in containers with lots of sun. They grow vertically, produce heavily, and taste so much better fresh off the vine.

Peppers

Peppers love heat and sunshine, making them perfect for containers on a sunny patio. Bell peppers, jalapeños, banana peppers, and mini sweet peppers all thrive in pots. 

Lettuce (coming soon)

Definitely going to add some lettuce to the patio because we love salads and sandwiches and go through so much lettuce. At $8 for 3 heads of romaine I think it’s best we look at reducing the cost by growing our own. 

Cucumbers (Coming Soon!)

I’m currently researching vertical cucumber growing because patio space is limited. Using trellises, cages, or hanging systems allows cucumbers to grow upward instead of sprawling everywhere.

Vertical cucumber gardening:

• Saves space
• Improves airflow
• Reduces rot
• Makes harvesting easier
• Keeps patios tidy

It’s one of the smartest ways to maximize small-space gardening.

Flowers That Help Bees and Hummingbirds

One of the biggest goals for our patio garden was creating a space that supports pollinators. Bees and hummingbirds are essential for healthy gardens, and adding flowers helps attract them naturally.

Some of the best patio flowers for pollinators include:

• Petunias
• Marigolds
• Nasturtiums
• Lavender
• Bee balm
• Salvia
• Zinnias
• Cosmos
• Sunflowers
• Fuchsia

Not only do they help pollinate vegetables, but they make the patio feel vibrant, colorful, and alive.

Watching hummingbirds zip around while bees buzz through flowers makes the whole garden feel magical.

The Best Vegetables for Patio Gardening

If you’re just starting out, these are some of the easiest and most productive patio vegetables to grow:

Best Patio Vegetables

1. Cherry tomatoes
2. Lettuce
3. Spinach
4. Kale
5. Peppers
6. Green onions
7. Radishes
8. Cucumbers (vertical)
9. Bush beans
10. Strawberries
11. Herbs like basil, parsley, cilantro, and mint
12. Zucchini in large containers
13. Swiss chard
14. Peas with trellises
15. Carrots in deep pots

Many of these plants continue producing throughout the season, which means ongoing savings on groceries.

How Growing Your Own Food Saves Serious Money

Groceries are getting unbelievably expensive lately. Fresh produce prices can be shocking, especially in Canada during certain seasons. Growing even a small amount of your own food can cut grocery costs more than people realize.

Here’s how patio gardening saves money:

• Herbs can cost $3–$5 per tiny package at stores
• Tomato plants can produce dozens of tomatoes
• Lettuce regrows multiple times
• Peppers continue producing for months
• Cucumbers can become extremely high-yield
• Seeds are cheaper than constantly buying produce

Even a small patio garden can easily provide hundreds of dollars worth of food over a growing season. Use amazing products like That Yucca Stuff to keep your plants thriving and producing by keeping the roots well watered. 

And beyond the financial savings, there’s something deeply satisfying about cooking with ingredients you grew yourself.

Tips for a Successful Patio Garden

Choose the Sunniest Spot

Most vegetables need at least 6–8 hours of sunlight daily.

Use Good Potting Soil

Container plants need nutrient-rich, well-draining soil.

Don’t Forget Drainage

Always use pots with drainage holes to prevent root rot.

Water Consistently

Containers dry out faster than garden beds, especially during hot weather.

Feed Plants Regularly

Vegetables growing in containers benefit from fertilizer throughout the season.

Grow Vertically

Trellises and hanging systems help maximize tiny spaces.

Mix Flowers with Vegetables

Pollinators help increase yields while making your patio gorgeous.

More Than Just Gardening

What started as a few containers on a patio is quickly becoming one of our favorite family projects. It’s relaxing, educational, budget-friendly, and surprisingly rewarding. The kids get excited checking plant growth, the cats enjoy their grass patches, and the patio feels more peaceful and alive every single day.

You don’t need acres of land to grow food.
You just need a little sunshine, a few containers, and the willingness to start. If you are looking to step up your gardening no matter how much experience you have check out these great garden tips!

And honestly? There’s nothing better than stepping outside and picking dinner right off your patio.