How to Sauté Mushrooms - Tastes Better from Scratch (original) (raw)

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Learn how to sauté mushrooms to caramelized perfection, in butter and oil in only 15 minutes. Perfect for serving with steak, pasta or as a side dish.

A plate of sauteed mushrooms with a spoon.

I'm convinced that learning how to sauté mushrooms correctly can convert anyone to appreciate their deliciousness! Whether you're looking to cook mushrooms for steak, stew, pasta, or as a side dish this simple tutorial will take your mushrooms from soggy to restaurant-quality delicious and in 10 minutes or less.

Pro Tips:

Clean & Cut: Wipe off excess dirt with a damp towel or give mushrooms a quick rinse and dry. Cut bigger mushrooms into similar-sized pieces. Don't cut them super thin as they will shrink up while cooking. Meaty pieces cook best!

Small Batches: Do not, I repeat DO NOT overcrowd your pan. This is one of the main reasons for soggy, unappetizing mushrooms. Allow plenty of room for a good sear and turn sparingly. Trust me on this one.

Turn up the heat: Turn the heat up to medium-high and allow time for your oil/butter to get hot before adding the mushrooms. Keeping the heat up will help moisture evaporate quickly giving you a beautifully caramelized mushroom. If mushrooms are giving off lots of moisture keep the heat going until it's gone.

Ingredients Needed:

Mushrooms: White mushrooms saute beautifully as do creminis, shiitakes, morels and other wild mushrooms.
Oil/ Butter mixture: The combination of oil and butter allows for cooking at a high temperature and brings flavor.
Salt and Black Pepper: For flavor! Find more variations below.

The ingredients needed to sauté mushrooms, including mushrooms, butter, oil, salt and pepper.

Clean and slice mushrooms by slicing into similar size pieces. Don't cut them too thin, as they will shrink while cooking.

Sliced mushrooms piled on a cutting board.

Heat oil and butter in a medium to large pan over medium-high heat.

A cast iron skillet with oil and butter heating in it.

Add mushrooms leaving space between.

Mushroom slices in a hot pan, in a single layer, spaced apart.

Cook mushroom for 3-5 minutes before turning. Stir and allow mushrooms to finish cooking for a couple more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Large mushrooms can take a little extra time.

Mushrooms sautéing in a skillet.

Deglaze and Season:

Deglaze: After a good sauté you'll notice some bits of the mushroom clinging to the bottom of your pan. There's a whole lot of flavor there that can be infused back in by a simple deglaze. To capture the flavor add a splash of liquid at the end of the cooking process and stir it all up. Simply, add a few tablespoons of water, wine, stock, cream, or sherry to the pan after the mushrooms are done cooking. Keep the temperature up and stir until the liquid evaporates. Et voilà

Sauteéd mushrooms deglazed in a cast iron skillet, and ready to eat.

Flavor Variations:

Garlic and herbs: Turn heat down to medium-low and add last minute of cooking. Wonderful herbs to try are thyme, parsley, and rosemary.
Shallots: Add minced shallots about halfway through the cook.
Mushrooms and Onions: Add 1 large sliced onion and an additional tablespoon of olive oil to the pan cooking a few minutes before adding mushrooms. Stir occasionally. Cook may take a few extra minutes. Add garlic and seasoning the last minute of cooking. You want the onions to be translucent, slightly browned, and soft. There should also be no excess liquid left in the pan.

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:

To Make Ahead: Mushrooms can be sauteed ahead of time and stored covered in the fridge for 3-4 day. Reheat in a skillet until warm.

To Freeze: Freezing may change the texture of sauteed mushrooms. After cooking, freeze mushrooms flat on a cookie sheet. Once completely frozen transfer to a freezer-safe container. Thaw and reheat in a pan over medium heat.

Serve with:

Smother this Steak, mix into a tasty Breakfast Skillet, Breakfast Casserole or omelette, add to Spaghetti sauce, Beef Stew, or serve as a side to Pork Chops with Creamy Mustard Sauce.

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▢ 1 pound fresh mushrooms
▢ 2 Tablespoons olive oil
▢ 2 Tablespoons butter
▢ Freshly cracked pepper and salt, to taste
Clean mushrooms and cut with a knife into similarly shaped thick pieces, if desired. Do not cut the mushrooms thin.
Add butter and olive oil to a pan. Heat over medium-high heat.
Once butter is melted and the mixture is hot, add mushrooms in small batches allowing room between mushrooms. Avoid crowding the pan. Allow mushrooms to cook, without stirring for 3-5 minutes.
Stir only occasionally allowing mushrooms to finish cooking completely for another few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook time varies depending on the size of the mushroom. If the mushrooms give off a lot of liquid, keep cooking until the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are browned on both sides.
Serve warm over steak, in pasta, or as a side.

To Make Ahead: Mushrooms can be sauteed ahead of time and stored covered in the fridge for 3-4 day. Reheat in a skillet until warm.

Deglaze: Add a few tablespoons of water, wine, stock, cream, or sherry to the pan after the mushrooms are done cooking. Keep the temperature up and stir until the liquid evaporates.

Flavor variations:

Garlic and herbs: Add last minute of cooking. Wonderful herbs to try are thyme, parsley, and rosemary.

Shallots: Add minced shallots about halfway through the cook.

Mushrooms and Onions: Add 1 large sliced onion and an additional tbs. of olive oil to the pan a few minutes before adding the mushrooms. Stir occasionally. Cook may take a few extra minutes. Add garlic and seasoning the last minute of cooking. You want the onions to be translucent, slightly browned, and soft. There should also be no excess liquid left in the pan.

Calories: 137kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 56mg, Potassium: 362mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 175IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Published August 11, 2021

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.