Sherry Mushrooms are a delicious tapa or side dish. They're also a fabulous addition to polenta, rice, pasta, steak, chicken, and so much more.
With essentially two ingredients, you can make a mushroom dish that's deeply flavorful, rich and over the top delicious.
Sherry Mushrooms are very simple, yet incredible!
These mushrooms can stand on their own as an appetizer -- a tapa, if you will. They're perfect to serve with a few other small plates like Bruschetta with Champagne Grapes and Grilled Olives. It's always so much fun for guests to have a few different dishes to sample.
I love them as a side dish, too. Mushrooms are great alongside grilled steak or chicken.
They can also be a wonderful, earthy ingredient to enhance a number of other dishes.
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Key Ingredients
- Crimini or Button Mushrooms - I tend to use the Crimini mushrooms because they have a slightly earthier flavor that I love. Both will be fantastic, though, and you can also make this with other mushrooms like portobello, Oyster or Shiitake. Be sure to was the mushroom very well, and to save time you can purchase pre-sliced mushrooms. (Pre-sliced mushrooms still need to be washed!)
- Cream sherry - Made from green grapes, the sherry adds a wonderful nut-like sweet flavor. If you'd prefer a less sweet flavor, use dry or medium sherry. In this recipe it's used to deglaze the pan once the mushrooms have caramelized. It lifts all of the delicious bits of mushroom that are stuck to the bottom of the pan, bringing them back into the mix for ultimate deliciousness.
How to Make Them
- Over high heat, preheat a large sauté pan that’s coated with olive oil. Tip: Just like cooking Oyster mushrooms, or really pretty much any mushroom variety, it's very important to get the pan super hot before you sauté. (This, along with cooking them in batches, is how to achieve that beautiful golden caramelization.)
- Add the the mushrooms in batches, 4 cups at a time, and cook until they have shrunk quite a bit, and golden brown, stirring from time to time. Turn the heat Remove the mushrooms and add them to a bowl. Repeat the process until all of the mushrooms are cooked. Add all of the mushrooms back to the pan.
- Reduce the heat to low pour in the sherry to deglaze the pan. Return the heat to high and use a wooden spatula with a flat edge to loosen any mushrooms bits from the bottom of the pan. Mix and sauté until the sherry has evaporated just about completely.
(More detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Variations
Sherry Mushrooms are simple to make, with essentially two ingredients -- and they're delectable as they are. That said, there are many fun ways to mix them up with additional flavors.
Here are a few ingredients you can add to the mushrooms to change them up a bit.
- Adding garlic to the mushrooms is always a hit. If you add roasted garlic, it'll give it a subtle sweet flavor, which blends really well with the sweetness from the sherry. If you add raw garlic, it'll add a nice kick. I'd add it to the pan before the mushrooms and let it soften.
- Any sort of onion, especially shallots, would be a delicious addition.
- You can add all sort of fresh herb, like thyme, rosemary, tarragon, sage, parsley, or any combination thereof.
- Want to make it richer? Use butter instead of olive oil, or a blend of the two.
What can you add Sherry Mushrooms to?
- Mix them into polenta.
- Add a little cream or cashew cream, and they'll become a mushroom pasta sauce.
- Top small toasts with them and serve it as an appetizer.
- Mix them into savory pie fillings.
- Toss them into salads.
- Add them to a stir fry.
- Top your pizza with them.
Serving Suggestions
If you'd like to serve the mushrooms as a side dish, below are a handful of of dishes that would be excellent with them.
Can you make them ahead?
Absolutely! Sherry mushrooms will keep well in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for a couple of days. You can heat them in a sauté pan, the oven or microwave.
More Must-Try Mushroom Recipes
Enjoy! I hope you love these Sherry Mushrooms as much as I do.
Sherry Mushrooms Recipe
Ingredients
- about ⅓ cup olive oil for the pan, divided
- 2½ pounds (about 16 cups) Crimini or Button mushrooms, washed and dried, sliced or quartered
- 1 cup cream sherry
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Coat a large sauté pan generously with olive oil, and place it over high heat.
- Add the the mushrooms in batches, 4 cups at a time, and cook until they have shrunk quite a bit, and are golden brown, stirring from time to time. Remove the mushrooms and add them to a bowl. This should take about 10 minutes per batch. Using some of the oil each time, repeat the process until all of the mushrooms have been sautéed. Add all of the mushrooms back to the pan.
- Reduce the heat to low and deglaze the pan with the sherry. Return the heat to high and use a wooden spatula with a flat edge to loosen any mushrooms bits from the bottom of the pan. Mix and sauté until the sherry has evaporated just about completely.
- Season generously to taste with salt and pepper. (Here's How to Season to Taste.)
Sarah - A Beach Home Companion
What wonderful timing, I was just looking for a good mushroom recipe to throw in pasta and pair with pinot noir. Thanks for this!
valentina
You are so welcome. Enjoy! 🙂
angiesrecipes
Simplicity at its finest! I would love some too.
valentina
Thank you, Angie! 🙂 ~Valentina
Mimi
This is exactly how I love to make sautéed mushrooms! Sometimes I use a little cognac and flambé, but sherry is fabulous as well. My husband loves these on steaks, and I’ve served them chopped on a baked Brie before. Incredible. I’m so glad I finally learned to love mushrooms!
valentina
Cognac sounds amazing! I'm trying that next time for sure. And on brie sounds delectable! Thanks, Mimi. 🙂 ~Valentina
Kim Lange
OMG! I could make a meal out of these mushrooms for dinner. They look gorgeous! Happy New Year Valentina!! Pinning!
valentina
Thank you so much, Kim! I made a meal of them myself. 🙂 ~Valentina
David @ Spiced
Wow, these mushrooms look amazing, Valentina! As soon as I saw that top photo, I immediately wanted a huge bowl of risotto topped with these mushrooms. Talk about a delicious comfort food meal! Love the sherry twist here!
valentina
Thanks, David! Mushroom risotto happens to be my favorite risotto ever. 🙂 ~Valentina
John / Kitchen Riffs
Such a nice, easy dish. Sounds super tasty, too. Thanks. And Happy New Year!
valentina
Thanks so much, John. Happy New Year to you and yours! 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
I'm such a big mushroom fan so this is right up my alley! I could seriously put this on everything....or eat straight outta the pan as is 😉
valentina
Oh my gosh, isn't everything better right out of the pan!? Thank you, Dawn. 🙂 ~Valentina
David Scott Allen
Lovely, Valentina! We love mushrooms and I love having a new method for cooking them.
Happy New Year! I love counting on and receiving your posts!
valentina
Awww thank you so much, David. Right back atcha. I always look forward to seeing what you're cooking, and reading your stories. 🙂 ~Valentina
David Scott Allen
You are so sweet, my friend! I made these mushrooms on Saturday and serve them over sautéed chicken breasts, and added a little tarragon to the mushrooms. Just fantastic!
valentina
So great, David! I really love tarragon with mushrooms. Perfect! Now I wish I was having your chicken for dinner. 🙂 ~Valentina
Marissa
Happy New Year, Valentina!
I love all of your good ideas for using these mushrooms, but I would gladly make a meal of them alone. They looks so rich, juicy, and loaded with flavor!
Christina Conte
I'd throw these on top of toast which has melted mozzarella on top! What a dreamy lunch!
valentina
Yum! Sounds perfect, Christina! 🙂 ~Valentina
Katerina
I would love these as tapas or alongside a good steak! They look absolutely amazing, Valentina!
valentina
Sooo good with steak! Love it. Thanks so much, Katerina. 🙂 ~Valentina
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
These look so amazing! I love that color on the mushrooms which means awesome flavor! I'll take some of these over a bowl of creamy polenta! 🙂
valentina
They're amazing with Polenta. Good call. Thanks, Kathy! 🙂 ~Valentina
Liz
Oh, boy, what a delicious, versatile recipe! I tend to just wing it when sauteing mushrooms, but having your recipe will help make sure they're delicious every single time! Have a great weekend!
valentina
Hope you had a great weekend, Liz. Thanks so much! 🙂 ~Valentina
Kerry
Your recipe for mushroom polenta cake looks delicious and includes this sherry mushroom recipe, but I’m assuming 2.5 pounds of mushrooms makes way more than the 1.5 cups needed for the polenta cake. Can you please advise how to scale this recipe for the polenta cake?
valentina
Hi Kerry, Thanks so much for writing in. Yes, you will likely need less than the mushroom recipes makes -- however, mushrooms (especially when they're caramelized), will shrink a ton when they're cooking. I think if you cut the recipe half it should be approximately the right amount. I'm sorry I can't be more exact, and I appreciate this question. I will figure it out to get the exact measurement for the Polenta Cake and edit it in ASAP. I hope this helps and that you and that you love the recipe. 🙂 ~Valentina
Patti
Can I prepare these ahead.
valentina
Hi Patti, Thanks for writing in. Yes, you can make them ahead. I would wouldn't make them more than 2 days ahead of time. Let them cool completely before putting them in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you're ready to reheat them. Enjoy! 🙂 ~Valentina