🔑 Quick Answer: Pan-roasted mushrooms are mushrooms seared in olive oil over medium-high heat until they release their water and turn golden brown. This Italian-style version adds garlic, fresh thyme, toasted breadcrumbs, Pecorino, and a squeeze of lemon. It takes 20 minutes and serves two as a side dish.
Pan-roasted mushrooms are one of those simple dishes I started making on a whim and now make regularly. I started making them in Florence, and they’ve stuck with me because they’re so simple.
Why Trust Us
I’m Aida Mollenkamp. I lived in Florence for two years; my mother’s family is from Umbria, and I have spent most of the last decade working, traveling, and cooking in Italy. I’m also a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, and I test every recipe three to five times before publishing.
I serve these mushrooms alongside tagliata or toss them with mint and tagliatelle, as I learned in Tuscany. They are just as good served over polenta (without the breadcrumbs) or as a simple side.
On the travel side, our team has planned custom Italy trips for more than 10 years. Late summer into fall is mushroom season from Piemonte to Tuscany, and it’s one of the best times to eat your way through the countryside.
Best for: This works as a quick weeknight side for two, and you can scale it up in the oven for a holiday table.
Why You’ll Love It
This Italian mushrooms recipe is super easy and goes very well as a side dish with anything, or even as a main dish if you absolutely love mushrooms.
In Tuscany, mushrooms are often served as a side dish or contorno, usually sautéed with broth or white wine and served without color. Alternatively, they’re sautéed with mint and added to pasta.
This pan-roasted mushrooms recipe varies slightly from the classic Italian mushrooms side dish because we like our mushrooms to have a bit of color and char,
which we think adds more flavor and texture.
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what each ingredient brings to these pan-roasted mushrooms.
- Extra-virgin olive oil is the cooking fat, as it is in so much Italian cooking, so use a good one.
- Cremini mushrooms are one of the most common mushrooms in American markets. Porcini are the upgrade, and button mushrooms work too.
- Fresh thyme adds an herbal note that isn’t strictly traditional, but we like it. Rosemary works in its place.
- Garlic cloves go in smashed, not minced, right alongside the mushrooms.
- Toast whole wheat breadcrumbs for crunch; they’re optional. Any dry breadcrumbs work. Use gluten-free breadcrumbs to make it gluten-free.
- Pecorino is the mild, younger sheep’s milk cheese, not Pecorino Romano. Parmigiano-Reggiano is the swap if you can’t find it.
- Lemon brightens everything at the end, so squeeze half of one over the pan just before serving.
How To Make This Recipe
Here’s how to cook mushrooms in a pan so they brown instead of steaming, and the whole thing takes about 20 minutes.
- Heat The Pan: Warm the olive oil in a medium cast iron pan over medium-high heat.
- Sauté the mushrooms: When the oil shimmers, add the mushrooms and garlic, stir to coat, season with salt and pepper, and cook undisturbed for at least 5 minutes.
- Toast The Breadcrumbs: Meanwhile, toast the breadcrumbs in a second small pan over medium heat until just golden, about 5 minutes.
Stir the mushrooms occasionally and cook until they’ve released the excess water and are golden brown, about 5 to 10 minutes more. - Garnish the Dish: Remove from heat, add thyme leaves from one sprig, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cheese, squeeze lemon over the top, and serve.
Tips For Making These Italian Mushrooms
Use Any Type Of Mushroom
This recipe works for most mushrooms you’ll find at an American or Italian market: button, cremini, or porcini.
Clean The Mushrooms Well
There are many ways to clean mushrooms, but we like to use a damp kitchen towel to wipe off the caps. If you’re using a bigger mushroom with a more fibrous stem, you may want to trim the end or even peel the tougher part.
Don’t Move Them Too Much
The difference between great and not-so-great mushroom flavor often comes down to technique. Cook them over medium-high heat and move them minimally so they can brown, which maximizes flavor.
Add Some Wine If Desired
Many classic recipes for Tuscan-style mushrooms call for adding broth or wine at the end of sautéing to form a small sauce. If you want, add enough of either to cover the bottom of the pan and stir to coat. Then cook until it’s slightly reduced (there are still a few tablespoons in the pan) and the alcohol smell is cooked off, if using wine.
Make a Lot In The Oven
If you want to make a big batch of mushrooms, roast them in a single layer on a baking sheet at 450°F. Follow the technique we use for this truffled mushroom pizza.
Don’t Use Pecorino Romano Cheese
FYI, we are not calling for Pecorino Romano cheese, but rather the milder, less-aged sheep’s milk cheese known simply as Pecorino. If you can’t find it, feel free to use Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Switch It Up
For a non-traditional variation, add in red pepper flakes, fresh parsley, or even top it with pesto before serving.
What Wine To Serve With These Italian Mushrooms
A Langhe Nebbiolo or traditional Chianti has earthy, savory notes that match the mushrooms, and its acidity cuts through the olive oil and cheese. Serve it a touch cool if the room is warm.
What To Serve With These Italian Mushrooms
I serve it alongside tagliata, with Sostanza Brown Butter Chicken, or tossed with a bit of mint and tagliatelle for a simple traditional Tuscan pasta. Here are some additional mushroom recipes that are a hit:
Frequently Asked Questions
First off, let's get on the same page. You'll see mushrooms listed on a menu either by their proper name or generically as funghi (pronounced "foon-geeh" ).
Italians are very particular about following seasonality as with all things food. So, in any market, farm stand, or restaurant worth its weight, you will only find mushrooms on the menu in the late summer into fall when they're available fresh. In towns where mushrooms are prized, you'll often see people on the main piazzas selling their freshly-foraged mushrooms.
The most common mushroom in Italy is the white button mushroom, which, in its larger form, is known as a portobello. These are commercially grown in the north of Italy and are often cooked with garlic and white wine. Oyster mushrooms and chanterelles are also found in northern Italy, and the region of Trentino prides itself on its many recipes using chanterelles.
Finally, the porcini is the king of mushrooms in central Italy as it grows extensively in the Apennine mountains, which run from Parma to Umbria. Be sure to check the origin of mushrooms to make sure they're from Italy if you're buying in the country.
You'll see mushrooms used a lot in recipes that are served in the Fall and from regions that are more about the land than the sea (think Umbria, Tuscany, the Alpine regions, and even the inland parts of Sicily).
A few classic recipes that use mushrooms in Italian cooking are risotto, with polenta, marinated, sott'olio (aka preserved as part of an antipasto platter), tossed in scallopine, tossed with tagliatelle pasta, and, with Italian American dishes, as part of a Marsala sauce.
Heat olive oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then add the mushrooms and leave them alone for at least 5 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until they've released their liquid and turned golden brown, about 5 to 10 more minutes. Season them with salt and pepper as soon as they go in.
We wipe the caps with a damp kitchen towel. If you're using a bigger mushroom with a fibrous stem, trim the end or peel the tougher part.
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Pan Roasted Mushrooms Recipe, the Italian Way
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 12 ounces cremini mushrooms stemmed and halved or quartered
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs or fresh rosemary, plus one more sprig for garnish
- 3 medium garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 3 tablespoons whole wheat breadcrumbs (optional)
- 3 tablespoons grated Pecorino cheese (optional)
- 1/2 lemon for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Heat The Pan: Warm the olive oil in a medium cast iron pan (or other heavy-bottomed pan) over medium-high heat.
- Sauté The Mushrooms: When the oil shimmers, add the mushrooms and garlic, stir to coat them in the oil, season with salt and pepper, and cook undisturbed for at least 5 minutes.
- Toast The Breadcrumbs: Meanwhile, toast the breadcrumbs in a second small pan over medium heat until just golden, about 5 minutes. Stir the mushrooms occasionally and keep cooking until they've let off their excess water and turned golden brown, about 5 to 10 minutes more.
- Garnish The Dish: Remove the pan from the heat, add the leaves from one thyme sprig, sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and cheese, squeeze the lemon over the top, and serve.
