This healthy mushroom recipe is easy to make and loaded with nutrition and heart-healthy fats. Enjoy it as a delicious side dish or main course!
This is the first in a series of simple side dishes with minimal ingredients and little prep. This healthy mushroom recipe with garlic and thyme takes about 30 minutes, most of which is hands-off cooking time.
Whether you’re searching for side dishes for holiday meals or quick weeknight recipes, we all need an arsenal of easy side dishes. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that once the mushrooms are in the oven, you have time to assemble the rest of your meal!
Mushrooms are hearty and meaty. Roasting them at a high temperature intensifies their rich, savory flavor. I added thyme and garlic to mushrooms, but the beauty of this recipe is that you can leave that out or swap it out with your favorite herbs and spices.
Healthy Mushroom Recipe With Garlic & Thyme
Healthy means something different things to everyone. To me, it means using ingredients that I can pronounce and eating foods in their whole form. What does that mean? Rice is rice, a mushroom is a mushroom, and butter is butter. I limit food in packages with long lists of mystery ingredients. Additionally, I also limit sugar because when I consume too much, I’m puffy, I gain weight, and my back hurts more, which is inflammation. My husband is pre-diabetic, so limiting sugar is just what’s best for us.
Don’t let the simplicity of this recipe fool you. Mushrooms are full of fiber, potassium, and antioxidants. Grass-fed butter contains healthy omega-3s and vitamins A, D, E, and K2. You might be surprised to learn that fresh herbs are nutritional powerhouses. Thyme is antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and a great source of vitamins A, C, and copper. So, not only is this a delicious side dish, but it’s one you can feel good about serving your family!
Why We Love It
- Hands off. This is mostly hands-off, giving you time to work on the rest of your meal.
- Minimal prep. Prep takes less than 10 minutes, even less if you leave out the fresh garlic.
- Nutritious. As mentioned above, this side dish fills your body with goodness!
- Versatile. You can keep it simple with butter, mushrooms, and salt or jazz it up with herbs and spices.
- Meal prep. Make a double or triple batch as part of your weekly meal prep.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For this healthy mushroom recipe, you only need mushrooms, butter, olive oil, and salt. Thyme, garlic, and pepper are optional but recommended.
- Mushrooms. Today, I used white button mushrooms, but any mushrooms work for this recipe, although the cooking time may vary by a few minutes more or less.
- Butter. High-quality, salted butter adds a buttery flavor that works well with mushrooms and helps with browning.
- Extra-virgin olive oil. A little olive oil adds flavor and helps keep the butter from burning. If you’ve ever wondered why chefs add butter and olive oil to a hot skillet, it’s because butter burns quickly at a high heat, so adding olive oil helps prevent that.
- Thyme. Because thyme and mushrooms go together like peanut butter and jelly! I add a little dry thyme to the butter mixture and garnish with fresh thyme, which doesn’t go to waste. We pick off the little leaves and eat them with the mushrooms.
- Pepper. Adding a little crushed red pepper and black pepper gives the dish a nice pop of heat. Feel free to use one or the other or none at all.
- Salt. Mushrooms need salt, and remember that salt brings out flavor. If you taste your dish and think it needs something, that something is usually a little salt. If you’re using salted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon. If not, use 3/4 teaspoon, and remember that all salt is not created equal. I use Redmond Real for most of my recipes. It has a saltier flavor than kosher salt, so my rule is to always start with less and add more.
Used In This Recipe | ||
How to Make
This recipe for healthy mushrooms is mostly hands-off. Regardless of the cooking method, fresh mushrooms always require a little prep.
- Preheat your oven to 450° on convection if you have it. If you don’t have a convection option, that’s perfectly fine. The recipe will still work.
- Prep your mushrooms. Some people leave the stems on, but I like to pop them out. To clean your mushrooms, wipe them down with a paper towel or give them a quick rinse, which I do. See the notes below about rinsing your mushrooms.
- Spread your mushrooms on a baking sheet large enough not to crowd them.
- Add the olive oil and butter to a small bowl. Microwave on defrost until the butter is just melted.
- Add the dry seasonings and minced garlic to the butter and stir to combine.
- Drizzle the butter mixture over the mushrooms and toss well, ensuring they are all well coated. I use disposable kitchen gloves and rub the butter mixture into every mushroom.
- After you’ve coated the mushrooms with the butter mixture, take the time to turn the mushrooms with the cut side down. This helps the liquid drain onto the pan and evaporate quickly instead of filling the mushroom cap with liquid. If you skip this step, the mushrooms will take longer to brown.
- Place the pan in the oven on the middle rack and cook for 20 – 25 minutes, stirring at the 15-minute mark.
- When the mushrooms are golden brown, remove them from the oven.
- Transfer the mushrooms to a serving bowl and garnish with a few sprigs of fresh thyme, if desired.
Pro tip. Every kitchen should have a box of food-safe gloves, especially for working with raw meat. You can wash your hands with gloves on, just as you usually would. I use these often to keep food from getting under my nails. This is my favorite brand, and the box lasts forever.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve this healthy mushroom recipe year-round as a side dish or appetizer.
- Mushrooms are hearty and meaty enough to be the star of the show on meatless nights.
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Add the entire batch to cooked pasta with Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs.
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Stir them in rice or couscous with any other veggies you like.
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I personally love them with eggs or added to frittata.
Helpful Tips
- People have big feelings about rinsing mushrooms. It’s usually not recommended, but wiping them down is more time-consuming and does not remove all the dirt, especially if your mushrooms are dirty. Rinsing the mushrooms can absorb excess liquid, preventing them from browning, but that’s only if you’re getting them too wet. I have never had this problem, but I rinse them very quickly.
- Remember that all ovens cook differently. My mushrooms were nice and brown at the 25-minute mark. Sometimes, I let them go a little longer, depending on how much color I want. You may have to cook them longer if you don’t have a convection oven.
- Mushrooms shrink a lot during the cooking process, so depending on how many people you’re serving, you will need to cook more than you think. The bowl of mushrooms you see in the photos is what three pounds of mushrooms look like after roasting!
- Don’t crowd the mushrooms on your baking sheet, or they will steam and not brown. Mushrooms release a lot of liquid. Spacing them out helps the liquid evaporate, allowing the mushrooms to brown more quickly. If necessary, use two baking sheets. I adored my extra large high-sided baking sheet, which was big enough to cook three pounds of mushrooms in one pan.
- The salt will concentrate in flavor since these mushrooms are cooking down by at least half their volume, so go sparingly with the salt initially. You can always add more at the end.
Variations
- Spice up the mushrooms by adding a little cayenne or crushed red pepper.
- Any dried herbs will work and can quickly change up the dish.
- Fresh parmesan cheese grated over the top is delicious!
- A little citrus at the end adds acidity, flavor, and color. I like a little lemon juice and zest.
- Fresh herbs like Italian parsley, basil, and oregano stir in at the end will add a big pop of flavor in color.
If you’ve tried my healthy mushroom recipe or any other recipe on my site, please let me know in the comments below!
Check out our vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, and low-carb recipes if you have food sensitivities! |
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Healthy Mushroom Recipe With Garlic & Thyme
Ingredients
- 3 pounds white button mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons butter (I use salted butter)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I use Redmond Real Salt)
- Fresh thyme for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450° on convection if you have it.
- Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a paper towel or a quick rinse.
- Spread your mushrooms on a baking sheet without crowding them.
- Add the olive oil and butter to a small bowl and microwave until the butter is melted.
- Add the dry seasonings and minced garlic to the butter and stir to combine
- Drizzle the butter mixture over the mushrooms and toss well.
- Turn most of the mushrooms with the cut side down so the liquid can drain off.
- Place the pan in the oven and cook for 20 – 25 minutes, stirring at the 15-minute mark.
- When the mushrooms are golden brown, remove them from the oven.
- Transfer the mushrooms to a serving bowl and garnish with a few sprigs of fresh thyme, if desired.
Notes
- If you’re using salted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon. If not, use 3/4 teaspoon, and remember that all salt is not created equal. I use Redmond Real for most of my recipes. It has a saltier flavor than kosher salt, so my rule is to always start with less and add more.
- When cleaning the mushrooms. Some people leave the stems on, but I like to pop them out. To clean your mushrooms, wipe them down with a paper towel or give them a quick rinse, which I do. See the notes below about rinsing your mushrooms.
- Remember that all ovens cook differently. My mushrooms were nice and brown at the 25-minute mark. Sometimes, I let them go a little longer, depending on how much color I want. You may have to cook them longer if you don’t have a convection oven.
- Mushrooms shrink a lot during the cooking process, so depending on how many people you’re serving, you will need to cook more than you think. The bowl of mushrooms you see in the photo at the top is what three pounds of mushrooms look like after roasting!
- Don’t crowd the mushrooms on your baking sheet, or they will steam and not brown. Mushrooms release a lot of liquid. Spacing them out helps the liquid evaporate, allowing the mushrooms to brown more quickly. If necessary, use two baking sheets. I adored my extra large high-sided baking sheet, which was big enough to cook three pounds of mushrooms in one pan.
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