Mushrooms come in several varieties, many of which have a meaty and dense texture. This quality makes them perfect for vegetarian dishes that need bulking up. In addition to their earthy flavor, they come with numerous health benefits.
They’re rich in selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin D. They’re low in calories and fat as well. Because they’re a good source of B vitamins, they can help maintain a healthy nervous system. Some studies have linked mushrooms to decreased tumor growth, improved immunity, and weight loss benefits.
Here are some of our favorite mushroom-based recipes from around the web!
Mushrooms are great in Italian dishes, and this recipe from Gimme Some Oven is a great example. It calls for a variety of mushroom types, along with carrots and celery, and is loaded with flavor because of this.
Pho is a popular Vietnamese dish, and this simplified take from Love & Lemons is spicy, delicious, and loaded with noodles, shitake mushrooms, and bold flavors. It makes a great dinner for a chilly night.
As this recipe proves, you don’t need beef to make stroganoff. You can use regular button mushrooms for this one, or add some baby portabello mushrooms to make it even meatier. It only takes 15 minutes to get this dish on the table, so it’s perfect for a weeknight meal.
Tinned Tomatoes, the blog of a Scottish vegetarian, brings us this great breakfast dish that uses mushrooms, spinach, and feta cheese. These flavors combine to make a great pie worth waking up to.
You can’t go wrong when you stuff something with macaroni and cheese. That’s especially true with this recipe from How Sweet It Is. It uses big portabella caps and stuffs them with creamy, homemade mac and cheese.
Polenta is a ground cornmeal, popular in Italian dishes. If you’ve never had it, this is a great place to start. Two Peas in Their Pod add butter, milk, and plenty of parmesan cheese for a creamy, satisfying dinner on a chilly night.
A vegan Alfredo? Yes, it can be done, and the creamy delicious results of this recipe from Hot for Food will leave you wholly satisfied. The creamy texture comes from a common vegan trick for cheese: cashews. You’ll also use cremini and portabello mushrooms, white wine, spinach, and herbs to give this dish loads of flavor.
Mushrooms in chili? Don’t knock it until you try it. This recipe from Hummusapien recommends serving it with jalapeno cornbread, and we couldn’t agree more.
This Indian recipe uses a coconut cashew base, which lends a creamy and cooling texture to the many spices of a traditional curry. The recipe doesn’t specify which mushroom variety to use, so get creative or stick with easy and inexpensive button mushrooms.
Mushrooms are a perfect vegan burger ingredient, giving the patty a juicy, meaty bite (minus the meat!). This one from I Love Vegan also uses black beans and brown rice, which is a great source of minerals like phosphorus and selenium, as well as fiber.
Looking for an alternative to your holiday stuffing? This vegetarian mushroom stuffing is a delicious option, and no one will miss the meat. It calls for chanterelle mushrooms, but if you can’t find those in your local store, a gourmet blend will work just find.
Fannetastic Food brings us this entry, that’s sure to be a favorite at your table, whether you’re vegan or not. The “cheese” texture and flavor comes from cannellini beans and nutritional yeast. Its nutritional profile is elevated even further with the inclusion of kale and bok choy.
There’s nothing quite like a Philly cheesesteak, and some Philadelphians would likely balk at the idea of swapping the meat for portabello mushrooms — that is, until they tried this recipe. The key to bringing out the best flavors of these mushrooms, according to Oh My Veggies, is adding a bit of red wine while cooking.
Julia suggests this as a side dish accompaniment to grilled meats. However, you could also serve this deceptively simple delight over rice for a vegetarian entrée.
Stuffed mushrooms should be a staple for all vegetarians, and a regular dish for meat eaters too. This version from Taste Love and Nourish stuffs the caps with summer vegetables like zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes, topped with red pepper flakes and cheese.
Mushroom risotto always makes for a creamy treat. This recipe from Minimalist Baker includes leeks to change things up. It’s vegan, so there’s no cheese, but arborio rice is creamy enough on its own!
