Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Every cook needs a good easy creamy mushroom sauce recipe. It’s perfect stirred through pasta and fantastic on grilled steak.
If you love this easy mushroom sauce recipe, try our Creamy Lemon Butter Sauce.
Creamy mushroom sauce is a staple in my kitchen repertoire. We eat it on steak, over chicken breasts, stirred through pasta and over pork tenderloin. It’s easy to make without any fancy ingredients and turns out delicious, every time.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter and Olive oil. I used salted butter and extra-virgin olive oil.
- Mushrooms. I used portabellini/chestnut mushrooms/cremini mushrooms but use any mushrooms you like.
- Fresh garlic cloves. I always prefer using fresh minced garlic but use whatever you have in the house.
- Fresh thyme. Other herbs like oregano, rosemary and parsley can be substituted.
- Cream. Heavy cream/whipping cream. For a dairy-free mushroom sauce, use a vegan cream option or use more of your favorite alternative milk mixed with cornstarch to thicken.
- Milk mixed with cornstarch.
- Fresh lemon juice.
- Salt and black pepper.
- Fresh parsley, for garnish (optional).
How to make creamy mushroom sauce?
- Brown the mushrooms: Melt butter and olive oil together in a large frying pan or skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms then fry until golden brown. For deeper flavor, it’s important to let the mushrooms brown well. This is where a larger skillet is more useful as the mushrooms can cook in a single layer. If you don’t have a large pan, the mushrooms might sit in their liquid a little longer, that’s not a problem though. Simply let that evaporate and cook until golden brown. Add garlic and allow to cook for another 30 seconds.
- Make the sauce: Reduce to medium heat then pour the cream into the pan and bring to a simmer. Stir in the milk and cornstarch mix. Simmer the sauce until thickened and any flouriness has cooked off. (If you prefer, you can omit the cornstarch mix and reduce the sauce down to thicken. You might need to start with more cream though as this will result in less sauce, overall.) Season with lemon, salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.
Can I make mushroom sauce ahead?
Yes, you can. Make the sauce as instructed then allow to cool completely. Transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Leftovers can be stored this way too. Reheat over medium heat in a saucepan until hot and bubbling. You could microwave the sauce but stir it every 30 seconds to prevent it from splitting. I wouldn’t advise freezing this sauce as it is likely to split once thawed.
Serving Suggestions
This is an incredibly versatile sauce and makes a great easy dinner stirred through al dente pasta (it also makes a mean pasta bake) but is equally delicious on pork chops, chicken and steak. We also love this on thick slices of sourdough toast for a simple breakfast or brunch.
- Pasta Bake or creamy mushroom pasta. Add a splash of pasta water to thin the sauce slightly and help it cling to the pasta. Add crispy bacon bits for the ultimate weeknight bacon and mushroom spaghetti.
- Creamy Mushroom Pork Chops.
- Creamy Mushroom Chicken.
- Grilled steak.
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 5 cups portabellini/chestnut mushrooms, halved/sliced approximately 500g/ 1 pound
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 cup cream
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tsp cornstarch
- 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice to taste
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Pre-heat a large skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the olive oil and butter then add the mushrooms to the pan with the thyme.
- Allow the mushrooms to fry until golden brown then add the garlic and fry until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.
- Whisk the cornstarch into the milk.
- Reduce the heat then pour in the cream and milk and allow to simmer gently for 5-10 minutes until the sauce has thickened and cooked through.
- Season with lemon, salt and pepper, to taste, and add the parsley.
- Serve with steak, chicken or stirred through pasta.
Nutrition
Why did my sauce split?
With the use of cornflour in this recipe, your mushroom sauce shouldn’t split as there is starch keeping the water and fat molecules together. A sauce splits when too much water has evaporated and there is nothing for the fat to emulsify with. To save a split sauce, simply whisk in a few tablespoons of water to restore the balance between water and fat.
Why is my sauce lumpy?
It could be that you didn’t whisk the corn flour and milk well enough before adding it to the sauce. Whisk with a wire whisk until smooth and add a little more stock/water.
Why is my sauce pale in color?
If you didn’t allow the mushrooms to brown well, the end result will be a paler sauce. There’s nothing wrong with this but if you prefer a more golden sauce, make sure to allow the mushrooms to brown properly before adding the liquid. Also take care not to over-crowd the pan, rather frying the mushrooms in batches. Some mushroom varieties are also more pigmented. Button mushrooms are very pale in comparison to portabellini/chestnut mushrooms so it could also be the type of mushroom you used.
So good!
Super delicious and fun to make! My family and I loved it!!!
easy and tasty side dish
lovely sauce