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Creamy mushroom sauce made with both wild, dried porcini mushrooms and your choice of fresh mushrooms, all of which in wine and cream base. This makes for an irresistible sauce that can be added to any pasta dish, chicken, steak, or eaten on its own with a slice of fresh bread.
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Creamy Mushroom Sauce is popular throughout Eastern Europe
Have you heard about mushroom picking? It ‘s super popular in Europe. In the fall we would all get up at the down and go to the forest to pick up fresh, wild mushrooms.
Sometimes it would be a competition among the family members…who would find more mushrooms? However, forests were full of poisonous mushrooms so there always had to be someone in a crowd (ie, a parent) who was a real specialist in edible mushrooms.
Every family had at least one member who was really good at identifying mushrooms. That’s how deep this tradition was incorporated into families’ lives.
I personally couldn’t wait for the fall to get out into that crisp autumn air and go mushroom picking. Aside from the adventure of it all, the best part was that after we came back home we would enjoy the most delicious creamy mushroom sauce.
What mushrooms can be used in the mushroom cream sauce
I grew up in Poland and we have plenty of mushrooms called ‘Bolete’ in our forests (which I have never seen in the US). But there were also plenty of porcinis and chanterelles.
We would use these boletes and porcini for an easy wild mushroom sauce, or we would dry them to use later on for Christmas for pierogi, uszka, kapusta or bigos.
Chantarelles were separated. We could make the creamy mushroom sauce just from the chanterelle, or use them in pierogi or scrambled eggs.
Because it is not very easy to find fresh bolete or porcini in the U.S. you can substitute any variety of fancy mushrooms. I’ve seen fresh porcini mushrooms in high-end grocery stores, so if you happen to have them then you can make a porcini mushroom sauce, but it’s optional.
Or you can use dried porcini mushrooms with some other kinds of easily found mushroom, like shitake, portabello or crimini (that’s what I did in this recipe). Scroll down for a full printable creamy mushroom sauce recipe.
How to Make Mushroom Sauce
This is a very easy recipe. The only thing to keep in mind is that if you do use dry mushrooms you’ll need to factor in a bit more time.
- First, the dry mushrooms should soak for about 15 minutes beforehand, and then they’ll have to cook for about 45 minutes. (do not discard the water). Other than that, this recipe is quick and easy.
- In the saucepan you’ll sauté the onions and then add mushrooms from the meatiest ones to the softest ones: Portobello first and cook for about 5 minutes, then crimini (or Baby Bella) and cook for another 3-4 minutes and lastly the shitake with dry mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes.
- Then add wine and let it cook for a couple of minutes until almost fully absorbed.
- Now you will use some of the water from cooking the dry mushrooms. Just be mindful that the sand and dirt are at the bottom of the pot so do not stir it. Using a fine strainer, add about a ½ cup up to 1 cup to the pan to create a sauce and cook for about 20 minutes until all the mushrooms are soft (add more water if needed)
- Lastly, add creme fresh and cook for one minute. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley and you are ready to serve.
How to Use Creamy Mushroom Sauce
You could use this creamy mushroom sauce in so many different ways. Here are a few of my suggestions:
- On top of mashed potatoes (YUM!);
- With pasta (in my opinion, any short pasta would work best like farfalle, penne or rigatoni);
- On top of any chicken (e.g., this roasted chicken, or slow cooker chicken);
- On top of pan-seared Ribeye steak (e.g., I made this recipe with a cheese sauce, but you could use the mushroom sauce instead);
- On top of pork chops (e.g., I made garlic butter mushrooms with this bone-in pork chops but you could substitute this wild mushroom cream sauce); OR
- On top of stuffed cabbage – In Poland, people often serve stuffed cabbage with mushroom sauce instead of tomato sauce (it is so good!).
Other Recipes with Mushrooms
- Wild Mushroom Risotto with Bacon & Leeks
- Truffled Butternut Squash and Mushroom Soup
- Black Bean Mushroom Burger
- Open Face Mushroom Sandwich
- Mushroom Pesto Toast with Fontina Cheese
Here’s your printable recipe
Creamy Mushroom Sauce with Wild & Fresh Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Dry Porcini mushrooms
- 2 Portabello mushrooms big, cut into small slices
- 3.5 oz Shitake mushrooms sliced,
- 1 lb Baby Bella mushrooms 16 oz. box, sliced
- 1 Onion large, chopped
- 1/4 cup White wine
- 1-2 tablespoons Creme fresh (it's milder than sour cream, but you can use sour cream or splash of heavy cream)
- 1-2 tablespoon Ghee butter or olive oil for sautéing the mushrooms
- Fresh Italian parsley for garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, soak the wild dried mushrooms with 2 cups of water for 15 minutes, then cook for about 45 minutes until they are soft;
- Into a large sauté pan, add butter or oil and onions, sauté for about 3-4 minutes;
- Add Portabello mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes;
- Then add Baby Bella mushrooms and sauté for another 3-4 minutes;
- Add Shitake mushrooms and cooked porcini mushrooms and sauté for another 2-3 minutes;
- Pour wine over mushrooms and let cook for about 3-4 minutes, until almost fully absorbed;
- Using a strainer, add about 1/2 cup up to 1 cup of water from the pan where you had cooked dried mushroom to create a sauce;
- Cook for another 20 minutes, until all the mushrooms, are soft; (add more water if needed)
- Season with salt and pepper (you may want to season it as you go);
- Add creme fresh and parley and serve immediately.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on March 15, 2015, and since was updated to provide additional information.
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Ha! I have been hooked on your creative and delicious recipes since trying your rice with spinach and feta– I’ve made that 3 times already & feel healthy eating it. It is SO good! Thank you for the kind words. (Relo companies would try Mother Theresa’s patience.). Can’t wait to try this wild mushroom sauce this week. The only mushroom picking I’ve ever done is at the market so your childhood sounds vastly more interesting! : )
I’m so glad to hear that you like my spinach rice so much :). Let me know how did you like the mushrooms when you make them 🙂
This mushroom sauce looks seriously TOO good.. I love that you used creme fraiche and a variety of mushrooms. Beautiful!
Thanks Thalia! I appreciate it 🙂
Homemade mushroom sauces always taste so much fresher and better than store bought. Will have to try this!
I couldn’t agree more Lisa 🙂
Omg I love mushrooms sooo much but it had literally never occurred to me to make a sauce out of them! It seems like there are so many possibilities here. Makes me want to run to the store and see what varieties of mushroom I can find.
Trust me you’ll love this sauce. I can’t stop eating it 🙂
I just love all those mushrooms! This sauce sounds absolutely perfect paired with pasta. Yum!
Absolutely. Pasta and this musrhoom sauce goes together really great 🙂
This looks like a super flavorful sauce. I would have thought of using it with chicken or pasta, but not over potatoes as you suggested. I love that idea! And how good would this be over steak. Yum!
Trust me on that Vicky. Mashed potatoes with this mushroom sauce are to die for 🙂
What a flashback of the days randomly picking mushrooms with family, yes I’ve experienced it as well! Loving the varieties of mushrooms you’ve used Edyta!
Wasn’t the best family activity ever? I loved it 🙂
W omlecie byłby ten sos super!
Hello. I used to pick mushrooms with my father, in the woods around Poznan. He was an expert! And no matter how hard I tried, he always found ten times more than I did! Kurki (chanterrelle), prawdziwki, podgrzybki (my favorite), rydze, sowy, zielonki …. Ah, the good, old times. Nowadays, I buy dried podgrzybki and prawdziwki in my polish store in Philadelphia. I make the traditional mushroom soup for Christmas Eve with them. And mushroom sauce, too. This year I will use your recipe. Thank you.
That’s awesome!!!! I hope you’ll like it! Smacznego 🙂