Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions (2024)

FAQs

Do you saute onions or mushrooms first? ›

Do You Sauté the Onions First? To keep the onions from cooking in the mushroom juices, wait to add the onions until the mushrooms have released their excess liquid and almost all of that liquid has evaporated. Once you get there, add the onions and let them sauté and brown in the fat alongside the mushrooms.

Olive Oil + Butter.

Sautéed mushrooms with butter have their benefits, but so do sautéed mushrooms with olive oil. I use both oil and butter for a dynamic duo that pairs searing (oil) with rich, satisfying flavor (butter). (I also use both in my Sauteed Spinach.)

Add sliced onions and Worcestershire sauce and cook, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until edges start to get a little brown. Add mushrooms and cook for an additional 5-8 minutes depending on the size of the mushrooms and your preference for doneness. Whole mushrooms will take the longest.

Boiled mushrooms brown faster and more evenly than raw; you don't have to wait for them to cook down, so you don't have to worry too much about crowding the pan. As long as they eventually make contact with a hot, oiled skillet, boiled mushrooms will brown nicely.

Cooking onions longer at a lower heat results in soft and golden brown onions. This breaks down the natural sugars, so the onions taste extra sweet. We recommend using butter for the best flavor.

Never salt the mushrooms before cooking. Salt draws out moisture and will therefore make them extremely mushy. We want a nice meaty delicious bite to them with color and texture, so salt at the end always.

This is the big one: Do not salt the mushrooms too early in the cooking process. Salting too early often draws out too much of the inherent moisture or liquid, which can be a bit overwhelming if you're a mushroom newbie making a large batch.

Sautéing on High or Low Heat

"Medium-high heat is the way to go with mushrooms. You want their liquids to slowly evaporate while they caramelize," says Norton. High heat can burn mushrooms, while low heat will make them cook in their own liquid, she says. You also want to be mindful of the pan.

Set a large heavy, non-reactive pan over medium-high heat. Add butter and olive oil and swirl as it melts to reduce splatter. Once the oil is hot, add mushrooms and sauté until the liquid is released and evaporated and mushrooms are slightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Season with garlic salt, pepper, and minced garlic.

Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until all the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms start to turn dark reddish-brown with golden spots, 5 to 8 minutes more.

Do you add water when sauteing mushrooms? ›

My foolproof method for making perfectly cooked and beautifully brown mushrooms every time. Adding water into the mix causes the air pockets in the mushrooms to break down, resulting in floppier and denser slices.

Heat oil and butter in a medium to large pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms leaving space between. Cook mushroom for 3-5 minutes before turning. Stir and allow mushrooms to finish cooking for a couple more minutes.

The stems of large portabella, while technically edible, can be woody and fibrous and are usually discarded (or used to flavor stock). Likewise, the dark black gills can be eaten, but they'll turn your food a nasty, murky, scuzzy brown, so it's best to scrape'em out.

Yes, you can eat the stems of edible mushrooms, but you may not always want to. Some mushrooms have flavorless stems that are very woody, making them tough and unappealing to eat. In these cases, it's better to remove the stems before cooking the mushrooms and use them in other ways.

The mushroom stayed pretty much the same. It got a little bit tougher, but just 57%, which compared to the other stuff is not much at all. It was good at the end of the 40 minutes of cooking; you can't overcook it.

To help cooks avoid burning their garlic, a lot of recipes call for sautéing other aromatics first, like onions, carrots, and celery, and then adding the garlic for the last few minutes.

If sautéing more than one vegetable at a time, what vegetables do you sauté first? Start with the hardest vegetables first, such as sweet potatoes, carrots, or cauliflower. Onions also need quite a while to cook, whereas zucchini and squash need less time, and garlic needs even less.

This is the big one: Do not salt the mushrooms too early in the cooking process. Salting too early often draws out too much of the inherent moisture or liquid, which can be a bit overwhelming if you're a mushroom newbie making a large batch.

The first step is to heat your pan before you add oil. It's best to start on medium-high heat if you're using stainless steel or medium heat if you're using a nonstick pan. If you're using stainless steel, start with the pan dry, and let it heat for a moment before adding oil.