Name: Sauteed Mushrooms with Garlic Butter
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 16 min
Total time: 21 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lb baby bella mushrooms (halved or thickly sliced); 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick, cut in pieces); 1 tbsp minced garlic (jarred, or 3 cloves); 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper

Mushrooms, butter, garlic, salt and pepper. That’s it. Sauteed mushrooms with garlic butter aren’t complicated, but there are a couple of tricks to cooking them right, and once you have them down you’ll make these every time there’s a pack of mushrooms in the fridge. I could honestly eat them straight out of the pan with a fork. They’re also the easiest way to make a steak dinner at home taste like a steakhouse dinner.

Mushrooms smothered in butter are a restaurant favorite: sauteed mushrooms are found on menus everywhere, served by themselves or piled on top of chicken, steak or burgers. I’ve worked in enough kitchens to know that butter is the secret to making them well, so don’t skimp on this front either.

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What You Need

I used baby bella (cremini) mushrooms instead of white button mushrooms because they have more flavor and brown more easily. You’ll need about 1 1/2 pounds of mushrooms, a half stick of butter, a tablespoon of minced garlic, and some kosher salt and black pepper.

Cut baby bella mushrooms with butter and minced garlic

I’ll confess that I used a jar of minced garlic here. It’s simply what I had on hand, and believe me, in a pan full of butter and mushrooms, no one will know the difference. If you’d rather use fresh garlic, mince 3 cloves, which is roughly the same amount.

Cut the Mushrooms Thick

Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and cut off the stem ends. Slice the mushrooms fairly thickly (halves for the small ones; thick slices for the larger ones). If you slice the mushrooms thin, they will shrink down to slivers as they cook. Thickly sliced mushrooms still have a nice meaty, juicy center when they’re done.

How to Saute Them

The biggest mistake people make when sauteing mushrooms is using too small of a pan, resulting in too many mushrooms per square inch of pan real estate. Instead of getting beautifully browned mushrooms, you’ll end up with sad, gray, rubbery ones because they’ll steam instead of saute. So use the largest pan you’ve got! Put the mushrooms and the butter in the pan together over medium-high heat.

Thick cut mushrooms and butter in a large skillet

Give the mushrooms a stir every now and again while they bubble away in the butter. They will release quite a lot of liquid, but don’t be put off and don’t drain it. This should take about 5 minutes, and it’s where most people give up too soon, so stick with it!

Mushrooms bubbling in butter and their own liquid

Another 8 to 10 minutes and the liquid will cook off and instead of sautéing you’ll start to fry the mushrooms in the butter. Wait until now to salt them, otherwise you’ll pull even more water out of them and slow the process down. You want them deep golden brown and a little crispy around the edges.

Golden brown sauteed mushrooms in the skillet

Once they’re browned, stir in the garlic, salt and pepper and cook about another minute, until fragrant (adding the garlic last keeps it from burning and getting bitter). Then transfer everything to a plate, scraping all of that garlic butter out of the pan too. You’ll want some bread on hand for it!

What to Serve Them With

Steak, naturally, but also pile them onto burgers, spoon them over grilled or pan seared chicken, toss them with pasta, or fold them into an omelet come brunch time. At the holidays they’re an easy side dish that cooks in one pan, so it never fights the turkey for oven space.

Storing Leftovers

Store leftover mushrooms in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. The butter will firm up when they’re cold, which is normal. Reheat them in a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes and they’re just as good the next night.