Easy Creamy Garlic Mushrooms

Creamy garlic mushrooms are an absolutely unbeatable classic. Delicious as a starter, as tapas, as a light meal on toast or as a mouth-watering sauce for pasta or meat dishes.

Creamy garlic mushrooms

There are few more classic combinations than mushrooms, garlic and cream and few dishes that are harder to resist. If this isn’t a reason to eat mushrooms at least once a week, I don’t know what is.

You can cook these garlic mushrooms with cream the same way, regardless of how you want to use them. They make a delicious light meal on toast (tone the garlic down a bit for breakfast), a fabulous starter with crusty bread for dipping, a delicious sauce for pasta or chicken.

The nutritional profile of mushrooms is quite different from that of so many other veg (OK, yes, they’re fungi. I know!). Not only are are they full of vitamin B and selenium, but they are one of the very few plant sources of vitamin D.

Mushrooms are easy to cook and prepare, but you do need to treat them right to avoid them becoming spongy, watery and bland Read my tips for cleaning, preparing and cooking mushrooms, so you get perfect intensely flavoured mushrooms every time.

A punnet of mushrooms keeps well for a week in the salad drawer of the fridge – just make a hole in the plastic wrapping to let any condensation out.

Why make creamy garlic mushrooms

• They are delightfully delicious – once you know how to cook mushrooms properly, they are intense, fully flavoured and never watery

• They’re fast – ready in about 10 minutes

• Super easy, fuss free and effortless

• Everyday ingredients available in every supermarket

Creamy garlic mushrooms ingredients

• Mushrooms – I usually buy chestnut, but any smallish closed cup mushrooms will work well here.

• Olive Oil & Butter – I like to fry in a mix of oil and butter. The butter adds flavour, and the addition of oil means you can fry at a higher temperature without burning the butter. Feel free to use all oil to make this vegan / dairy free.

• Salt & Pepper – Freshly ground black pepper and crunchy sea salt

• Garlic – Fresh plump cloves

• Cream – Double or heavy cream, or a non dairy / vegan alternative

• Wine – a splash of white wine, or if you do not have a bottle open, a drop of sherry or white vermouth. Both of these keep for longer than wine once opened, so they make a good alternative. If you don’t want to use alcohol, a splash of water with a few drops of soy sauce, liquid seasoning, or rice vinegar works well.

• Fresh Parsley – Once established, parsley grows prolifically in the garden or in a pot. If you don’t have space to grow your own, buy a bunch of flat leaf parsley from the supermarket. Keep it in the fridge in a jug of water covered with a plastic bag, where it will happily last two to three weeks.
  
  You can substitute a little of a woody herb like thyme or oregano (fresh or dried) if you prefer.

How to make creamy garlic mushrooms – step by step

Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips, so you can make this dish perfectly every time.

Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.

Step One – Prepare the mushrooms.

Wipe away any dirt with a mushroom brush or piece of kitchen paper. Trim the stalks and cut into slices about 3/4 cm or 1/4″. They are going to cook down, so don’t worry about accuracy.

Do not wash mushrooms before cooking, as they absorb water like a sponge. Cooking will take far longer and the texture will be spoilt.

Step Two – Add the butter and oil to a large heavy frying pan, melt over a low to medium heat and add the mushrooms. Leave them to sit for a few minutes. Then give a quick stir and leave a little longer.

Do not season at this stage.

As they cook down, try to spread them out as one layer, moving them as little as possible once this is done.

Step Three – When cooked, the mushrooms should be golden brown and reduced by about three quarters. Keep them cooking in a single layer, flipping when needed.

While the mushrooms are cooking, peel and finely chop or crush the garlic.

Step Four – Add the seasoning and the garlic. Stir, and allow to cook for another few minutes. If using dried herbs, like thyme or oregano, add these at this stage too.

Helen’s Fuss Free Tip

Garlic burns easily and takes far less time to cook than the mushrooms, so add it along with the seasoning when the mushrooms are nearly cooked. Burnt garlic really doesn’t taste good, so don’t add it too soon.

Step Five – Add the wine and cream and stir in. Cook for another few minutes until the sauce has thickened. Add a little more cream if desired.

Step Six – Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

Serving suggestion

Garlic mushrooms with cream are delicious on freshly made homemade bread and butter for breakfast, brunch or a light lunch.

Serve as part of a tapas spread or as a starter.

Use creamy garlic mushrooms as a topping for pasta or as a sauce for meat dishes.

Variations

• Try different types of mushrooms. Cooking mushrooms with this method, the flavour should be quite intense. A few soaked and sliced dried shiiitake mushrooms take this to another level.

• Herbs – I love these creamy garlic mushrooms with fresh parsley, but a little dried oregano or parsley works well too. Thyme is a good alternative.

• Make it vegan / dairy free – swap the butter and cream for your favourite alternative products.

• Add a little finely grated parmesan / grana style cheese for extra luxury.

• A dollop of cream cheese (such as Philadelphia) works when used instead of the cream. This makes the dish slightly less rich. Let it melt in with the liquid you add.

• Try serving on a bed of wilted spinach.

Storage

Fridge – Pack into an airtight box and reheat by frying in a little melted butter. You may need to add a splash of water or more cream to loosen the sauce.

Freezing – I do not recommend freezing the finished dish. If you have a glut of mushrooms, however, you can cook to the end of stage three, cool, pack into airtight containers and freeze. Then defrost and use to finish the dish (drain off any liquid when the mushrooms defrost) or use the mushrooms (no need to drain) in soup.

Hints and tips for cooking mushrooms

• Keep them dry – Mushrooms absorb water like a sponge and if you get them wet prior to cooking, the final flavour and texture will be disappointing. It is enough to brush or wipe them to get rid of any dirt. If you absolutely have to rinse them, do it quickly and pat them dry with a tea towel or kitchen paper.

• Cut into similar sized pieces – As always, you want them to cook evenly. You do not need to be super accurate, but using approximately the same sized pieces helps.

• Try not to crowd the mushrooms in the pan – The pan will be crowded to start with, but the mushrooms rapidly cook down and should form a single layer after the first few minutes of cooking.

• Leave them to cook – Once the mushrooms form a single layer in the pan, just leave them to cook and gently caramalize. There is no need to be nudging and stirring them all the time.

• Salt once the mushrooms are cooked – Adding the salt draws out more liquid from the mushrooms. If you add at the start of the cooking, it will prevent them from browning nicely in the pan.

FAQS

More mushrooms recipes

• Mushroom Rice – an easy one pot packed with mushrooms

• Turkey pasta bake – with ham and mushrooms

• Mushroom frittata – delicious mushroom packed low carb frittata

• Teriyaki Mushrooms – with noodles and other veggies.

• Sauce Diane – not just for steak!

• Stilton Sauce – another great steak sauce

Breakfast and brunch recipes

• Coddled Eggs – probably the best way to make eggs for breakfast – or a light meal

• Copycat Alpen Muesli – so easy and cheaper to make your own!

• Bircher Muesli – the endlessly customisable original overnight oats

• More easy breakfast recipes