This rich and flavorful mushroom ragù is one of the most delicious and versatile plant-based recipes I know how to make. It's something I make often and almost always have some in my freezer because there is no end to the list of ways you can use it.
A ragù is traditionally an Italian meat based sauce that's most commonly served with pasta. This version replaces the meat with mushrooms for an incredibly rich and versatile meatless ragù that can be spooned over pasta, potatoes, polenta, or eggs. Use it to make the most incredible mushroom pizza and white mushroom lasagna. Add mushroom ragu to soups or stews, spread over bread or toast, tuck it into homemade ravioli or flatbread, and spread over sandwiches.
In short, mushroom ragù is a mushroom lovers dream. Below you'll find the mushroom ragù recipe of course, but also plenty of ideas for how to customize it to your personal tastes and several delicious recipes and ideas for how to use it.
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Ingredients
- Dried porcini or shiitake mushrooms. What's the difference? Shiitake mushrooms have a meatier flavor, porcini mushrooms have a more earthy flavor. Shiitake also tend to be less expensive than porcini. Either works just as well in this recipe, or even a combination of both.
- White button, cremini, or portobello mushrooms. What's the difference? White button, cremini, and portobello mushroom are the same mushroom at different ages. White button are the babies, cremini (also sometimes called baby bellas) are the teenagers, and portobello are the adults. As this mushroom matures, it looses some of its water content, so white button are the most mild flavored and portobello mushrooms have the strongest flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil.
- Salt and pepper.
- Better Than Bouillon. Better Than Bouillon is a concentrated flavor base that can be used in a variety of ways. I almost always have at least 3 or 4 (sometimes more) flavors of Better Than Bouillon in my refrigerator that I mix into water and use in place of stock or broth in soup, sauces, or in the liquid used to cook rice and other grains. You can almost always find the basic flavors, chicken, beef, and vegetable, in any supermarket. For some of the other flavors, you might need to order online. In this recipe I like to use one of these four flavors: the mushroom base, the chipotle base, the sofrito base, or the adobo base (as seen in the photo above).
- A shallot or small yellow onion
- Tomato paste. I love to buy tomato paste in a tube rather than in a can because I so rarely need an entire can of tomato paste and the stuff in the tube stays fresh in the refrigerator for weeks. It tends to be more concentrated than canned tomato paste, so you might want to use a bit less than what's called for in whatever recipe you're making, including this one.
- Garlic.
- Sumac. I've been using sumac for years to add a bright, lemony flavor to all sorts of dishes but almost always have to order it. But, I've been please to notice it in a couple different supermarkets over the past several months. Perhaps yours is one of them. If not, this is the brand I order on Amazon.
- Ground cumin.
- Crushed red pepper flakes. This is optional, especially if you're sensitive to spicy food and already using one of the chili pepper flavored options of Better Than Bouillon. And, of course, if you really love spicy food, add as much as you like.
- Crisp, off-dry or dry white wine. (An off-dry wine is one that has some residual sugar but it's not nearly as sweet as a sweet white wine.) My go-to is Sauvignon Blanc but other good options are Verdejo, Albarino, Gruner Veltliner, or Bordeaux Blanc. Two other good options are Pinot Grigio and Soave. This recipe only uses a cup, so pick something you'll also want to drink!
Additions and substitutions
Substitutions for some of the ingredients in this recipe:
- Don't want to cook with alcohol? No problem. Just skip the step where the wine is added (no need to replace it with another liquid) and add ½ teaspoon of sugar along with the spices. Immediately after cooking, add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice. The sugars and flavors of white wine add a touch of sweetness, acidity and complexity to this dish. You'll get something similar from that pinch of sugar and splash of vinegar or lemon juice.
- If you can't find sumac and don't want to order it: Add a tablespoon or so of lemon zest in place of sumac.
- Instead of Better Than Bouillon: The advantage of using Better Thank Bouillon is that it's a way to add concentrated flavor without adding too much liquid. A good alternative is to pour one cup of a good quality, flavorful stock or broth into a saucepan and set it over high heat. Allow the stock to boil until most of the liquid has evaporated and the stock has reduced to about ¼ cup. Remove the saucepan from the heat and use this in place of Better Than Bouillon.
- Use other kinds of mushrooms: Feel free to use any kind of mushrooms you like in this recipe! The mushrooms used in this recipe were chosen because they are so easy to find and relatively inexpensive. But if you're lucky enough to have access to oyster mushrooms, black trumpets, chanterelles, or any other kind of mushrooms, use whatever you like.
Delicious additions to mushroom ragù:
- If you happen to have some mushroom powder (lucky you!) add some of that along with the other spices to intensify the mushroom flavor.
- Fresh tomatoes are another delicious addition to mushroom ragù but only if they are in season. Peak of the season tomatoes will add bright, fresh flavor while bland off-season tomatoes will water the ragù down without adding anything. Dice the tomatoes and add them along with the mushrooms.
- Make it creamy! Stir in some heavy cream or cashew cream at the end of cooking for a gorgeous creamy mushroom sauce that's incredible over everything from pasta to chicken, to thick pieces of toast. (To make cashew cream let 1 cup of raw cashews soak for 30 minutes in 1 cup boiling water then dump it into a high-speed blender and process until smooth.)
- Add some curry flavor by adding your favorite curry powder along with or instead of the ground cumin. This version is especially good with the addition of cream (as suggested in the bullet above) and served with warm naan for dipping.
- Add cheese. Add some shredded parmesan cheese at the end of cooking, stirring it around just long enough for it to melt or just sprinkle it over the top of the ragù before serving.
- Add fresh herbs. Immediately after cooking, toss in a handful (or more) of whatever fresh herbs you like to add plenty of bright, fresh flavor.
- Drizzle with truffle oil. As you'll see in the photo below, I did just this, drizzling the bowl of freshly cooked mushroom ragu with some white truffle oil just before serving. Absolutely delicious!
Step-by-step photos and instructions
Add the dried mushrooms to a bowl and pour about 2 cups of boiling water over them. Let them soak while you prep the other ingredients.
Gently clean the fresh mushrooms by wiping them down with a damp paper towel.
Chop the fresh mushrooms into pieces that are roughly the size of peas or beans and spread them out on a baking sheet. Drizzle the chopped mushrooms with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Roast the mushrooms in the oven until they are dark, well-reduced (shrunken), caramelized, and slightly crisp, about 35 minutes.
Line a strainer with cheesecloth or paper towels and set it over a bowl. Pour the dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid into the strainer.
Use your hands to squeeze excess liquid out of the mushrooms to extract all the flavorful juices.
Measure out 1 cup of the soaking liquid and stir in the Better Than Bouillon base.
If using shiitakes, cut away and discard the stems. Chop the mushrooms into pieces that are about the same size as the chopped fresh mushrooms.
Add some olive oil and diced shallot to a large skillet or cast iron braiser pan. Cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, garlic, sumac, cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, and some ground black pepper and cook while stirring for about a minute to open up the flavor of the spices.
Pour in the wine and cook until nearly all the liquid has evaporated.
Add all the mushrooms and the reserved mushroom soaking liquid.
Turn the heat to medium-high and let the ragù simmer until the broth has reduced by a little more than half. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if you like.
Scoop the mushroom ragù into a serving bowl and top with fresh herbs and a drizzle of truffle oil if you like. The herbs and truffle oil are 100% optional - I just find them delicious. (See the list above for more flavorful additions.)
Serving suggestions
There are literally hundreds of ways to use mushroom ragù. It's one of those core recipes that can be eaten on its own and enhance so many different kind of dishes. What follows is a list of ways I've used it over the years.
3-Cheese mushroom pizza with truffle oil and herbs. This is the kind of pizza you make when self care means an evening at home tucked in with rich and cozy, deeply comforting, simple-meets-decadent, cheesy, saucy mushrooms on a soft and chewy homemade pizza crust dripping with truffle oil and roasted garlic.
Mushroom lasagna. This creamy, flavorful meatless mushroom lasagna is comfort food 101. It's made by layering mushroom ragù with pasta, velvety parmesan béchamel, rich and savory mushroom ragù, and melted parmesan cheese.
Spoon mushroom ragù over polenta, mashed potatoes, or crispy fried potatoes. A bowl of crispy fried potatoes topped with mushroom ragù is seriously one of our favorite meals. I almost always top it with a drizzle of truffle oil. SO good!
Stir a bit of cream and cheese into mushroom ragù to make this silky, cheesy, creamy mushroom pasta. My favorite is homemade fresh fettuccine noodles or pappardelle. The wide noodles have plenty of surface area for the creamy mushroom sauce to grab onto.
More ways to use mushroom ragù:
- Stir it into scrambled eggs, spoon it over fried or hard boiled eggs, or fold it into an omelette. Or use it to make a mushroom frittata.
- Stir it into soup and stews. A few of my favorite recipes to add some mushroom ragù to: Rotisserie chicken soup, vegan broccoli cheese soup, black bean tomato soup, and vegetarian chili.
- Sprinkle it over a tray of nachos - I've added it to these chicken and chimichurri nachos and now I'm not sure I'll ever make those nachos without it. Also, for super meaty vegan nachos, stir it into vegan taco meat.
- Spread it onto sandwiches or over thick slices of crusty bread, or toast. Want to really blow your mind? Add it to your next grilled cheese.
- Use it as a filling for homemade ravioli. OR, purchase the ravioli and use it as a sauce.
- Serve it with flatbread and marinated feta.
If you have other ideas, I'd love to hear them and so would many other people who find themselves reading this post! Drop them in the comments below!
Storing and freezing mushroom ragù
Mushroom ragù will keep well in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Every time I make mushroom ragù I purposely make extra just to put some in the freezer for another day. My future self is always so super grateful to my past self for doing so.
Allow frozen mushroom ragù to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or defrost it in the microwave. If the container you've frozen the ragù in is water-tight, you can also place it in a bowl of hot water to thaw it on the countertop relatively quickly.
Mushroom ragù makes an excellent camping recipe because you can pack frozen containers of mushroom ragù into your cooler which will help keep everything cool even as it slowly defrosts. And, don't forget dessert! Try this Dutch oven chocolate cake on your next camping trip! + More camping recipes.
More recipes for mushroom lovers
- Tofu and Mushrooms in Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
- Cheesy Stuffed Mushroom Dip
- Curried Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Fried Mushrooms
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Garlic and Mushrooms
- Mushroom & Noodle Stir Fry with Strawberries and Chicken (or Tofu)
- Beef and Barley Soup with Roasted Mushrooms and Bacon
+ Subscribe to my newsletter for new and exclusive recipes in your in-box every month! As a full time traveler, living, working, cooking, and baking from a 5th wheel RV, it's also where I share our experiences of life on the road.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #alittleandalot on Instagram.
📖 Recipe
Mushroom Ragù
This rich and flavorful mushroom ragù is one of the most delicious and versatile plant-based recipes I know how to make. It's something I make often and almost always have some in my freezer because there is no end to the list of ways you can use it.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce dried porcini or shiitake mushrooms
- 1 pound white button, cremini, or portobello mushrooms
- ⅓ cup (66 grams) + 2 tablespoons (25 grams) extra virgin olive oil, divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon Base (see links below for recommended varieties)
- ½ cup (75 grams) diced shallot or yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon sumac (or lemon zest)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ to 1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1 cup (236 ml) dry or off-dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
Instructions
- Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour 2 cups boiling water over them. Let the mushrooms soak for 30 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Place a rack on the top third of your oven and preheat it to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Cover the bottom or a rimmed baking sheet with a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- Use a damp paper towel to gently clean the fresh mushrooms. Slice them into ¼-inch slices then chop the slices into pieces that are roughly the size of a pea or a bean. Spread the chopped mushrooms out on the baking sheet, drizzle with ⅓ cup olive oil, and sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir the mushrooms, olive oil, and salt around on the baking sheet, then spread them out in an even layer. Roast the mushrooms in the oven until they are dark, well-reduced, and slightly crisp, about 35 minutes.
- Line a strainer with cheesecloth or paper towels and set it over a bowl. Pour the dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid into the strainer. Use your fingers to squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer to extract all the flavorful juices. Measure out 1 cup of the soaking liquid and stir the Better Than Bouillon base into the soaking liquid. Set aside.
- If using shiitakes, cut away and discard the stems. Chop the softened dried mushrooms into pieces that are about the same size as the chopped fresh mushrooms.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the diced shallots to a large, heavy skillet or cast iron braiser (see link below). Set it over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the shallots are soft and translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, minced garlic, sumac, cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper to the pan with the shallots. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute longer to open up the flavor of the spices.
- Pour in the wine and cook, stirring every now and then, until nearly all the liquid has evaporated.
- Add all the mushrooms and the reserved mushroom soaking liquid to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced by a little more than half. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if you like.
Notes
Regardless of how I'm using this ragù (scroll up for a list of ways to use it), I generally like to drizzle it with some truffle oil and sprinkled with a handful chopped fresh Italian parsley or other fresh herbs.
Mushroom ragù freezes well (scroll up for more information about storing the ragù) so every time I make this I try to make extra just so I can tuck some into the freezer for another day.
Recommended Products
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Caraway Non-Stick Ceramic Baking Sheet - Naturally Slick Ceramic Coating - Non-Toxic, PTFE & PFOA Free - Perfect for Baking, Roasting, and More
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Better Than Bouillon Culinary Collection: Adobo, Italian Herb, Smokey Chipotle & Sofrito Base 8oz (4 Pack, 1 each) Bundle with PrimeTime Direct Teaspoon Scoop with BTB Authenticity Seal in a BTB Box
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Better Than Bouillon Premium Mushroom Base
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Cento Double Concentrated ORGANIC Tomato Paste - 2/ 4.56 oz tubes
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M-COOKER 3.8 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Braiser Pan with Lid,Covered Cast Iron Casserole Dish, Shallow Dutch Oven with Lid
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
½ cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 267Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 311mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 4g
Sarah says
Oh my - I made this for our weekly meatless Monday meal and it was delish! I loved the mix of mushrooms and the sauce was so rich and flavorful, we didn't even miss the meat. Went perfectly with pappardelle noodles. Will be making again and again!
RebeccaBlackwell says
I am so happy to hear that you and your family liked this recipe Sarah! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me. I truly appreciate it!