Creamy Mushrooms

This creamed mushroom recipe gives you rich, creamy mushrooms in just minutes. Despite the name it doesn’t contain any cream, but it still tastes surprisingly indulgent. We have lots of recipes for mushroom lovers, but despite its simplicity (or perhaps because of it) this one is especially comforting.

Ingredients for Creamy Mushrooms

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

• Mushrooms: Mushrooms’ deep, savory umami flavors and meaty texture work well in creamy sauces like this one.
• Butter: Butter combines with the flour to make a roux for thickening the sauce, and also adds to the rich creaminess of the sauce’s flavor.
• Flour: Flour is used as a thickener in this dish, giving the sauce a lush texture.
• Milk: Milk provides most of the liquid to make the sauce, combining with the roux to become thick and smooth.
• Evaporated milk: While regular milk provides the sauce with much of its body, it’s the evaporated milk that makes it taste rich and creamy.

Directions

Step 1: Par-cook the mushrooms

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Place the mushrooms in a large stock pot, and add just enough water to cover them. Bring the pot to a boil. Give it a stir, then reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer the mushrooms for 3 minutes or until they’re tender. Drain the mushrooms well.

Step 2: Make the sauce

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven. Stir in the flour to make a smooth paste, then gradually whisk in the milk and evaporated milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, cooking and stirring for 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Stir in the salt and mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes or until the mushrooms are heated through.

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Creamy Mushroom Variations

• Try other mushrooms: This recipe calls for ordinary button mushrooms, which are inexpensive and widely available. Other mushrooms work equally well. Cremini or baby bella mushrooms are very similar to button mushrooms, but their darker color shows to good advantage in the sauce. Sliced portobellos are another good choice, though if the gills are mature you should scrape them out with a spoon to keep them from discoloring the sauce. More exotic options like porcini, chanterelles and morels also benefit from a creamy sauce, though you might prefer to saute those in your butter before making the roux.
• Add garlic and onion: These creamy mushrooms are excellent as is, but their flavor is relatively low-key. That means they’re very versatile, but it also gives you some latitude to crank up the flavor. Onions and garlic pair beautifully with mushrooms, so those are an easy starting point. Saute two finely minced onions in the butter before you add the flour, and then add three to four cloves of garlic (or more, to taste) for 1 minute before mixing up the roux. The sauce won’t be quite as smooth, but much more flavorful. Substitute onion powder and garlic powder, if you wish.
• Bring on the herbs and spices: A number of herbs and spices can improve the flavors of this dish. A tiny pinch of nutmeg, for example, makes any creamy sauce taste creamier. Saffron adds a vivid yellow hue and a pungent, earthy flavor that elevate the dish noticeably. Fresh herbs ranging from parsley and chives to thyme, rosemary and fresh sage all go nicely with mushrooms. If you’re serving the mushrooms as part of a larger meal, this is an opportunity to tweak their flavor to complement the other dishes.

How to Store Creamy Mushrooms

Any leftover mushrooms should be transferred to an airtight food storage container and refrigerated. The sauce will be thicker when you reheat the mushrooms, but adding a spoonful or two of milk will help loosen it to its original consistency.

How long will my creamed mushrooms keep?

Like most leftovers, your creamy mushrooms will keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Can I freeze my creamy mushrooms?

Yes, you can package them into meal-size or single-serving bags or containers and then freeze them. They’ll keep for up to 3 or 4 months, depending how well they’re wrapped, before they begin to deteriorate. The sauce may separate slightly when reheated, or look to have an uneven consistency. Stirring as you reheat the mushrooms will fix that.

Creamy Mushroom Tips

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Can I make this recipe with dried mushrooms?

Yes you can, though you may want to scale it down a bit (dried mushrooms are pricey). Rehydrate the mushrooms in just enough room-temperature water to cover them, until they’re just soft. Strain off the soaking water. Boil the water down to about ¼ cup and add it to the sauce, then slice the mushrooms and add them as well.

Why is there no cream in these “creamed” mushrooms?

In a word, it’s because heavy cream is…heavy. Evaporated milk creates a similar impression of creaminess, but it’s way lower in calories and saturated fat. Bonus: it’s shelf stable so you can keep a can in your pantry for when the craving strikes.

How should I serve my creamy mushrooms?

There are lots of options. You can eat them as-is from a bowl, as a creamy mushroom soup. As a first course or light lunch, spoon them over buttered toast, top them with shredded cheese and melt the cheese under your broiler. For a more filling meal, serve them over pasta or soft polenta. As an appetizer, bake or buy little hollow puff pastry shells (vol au vents) and spoon your mushrooms into them. Crib the necessary details from our recipe for chicken vol au vents.