Caramelized Mushrooms – How to Make Savory Caramelized Garlic Mushrooms

Caramelized mushrooms are one of my favorite side dishes.  Who doesn’t love the delicious taste of these slowly cooked mushrooms that take on a lovely caramel color and a boat load of amazing flavor.

This recipe is super easy to make and a must have addition to any side dishes recipe collection.

Cooking mushrooms this way requires a bit of technique, since this vegetable has a high water content and releases juices while cooking. But don’t just settle for raw mushrooms on salads when you can get the amazing flavor that this dish delivers.

There are so many ways to use this versatile vegetable and caramelizing them is one of my favorite things to do.

I love to caramelize onions and other vegetables that have an innate sweetness. It allows that sweet taste to come to the front and gives the vegetable a much different taste.

Mushrooms are another great veggie that is perfect for caramelization and it’s a lot easier than you might think.

Making Caramelized Mushrooms

Mushrooms have a lovely earthy flavor on their own, but add in some balsamic vinegar.

Mine was flavored with rosemary for extra flavor. I also used a generous helping of garlic and some brown sugar cooked in butter and oil to release the natural sweetness and take the flavor to a whole new level.

The secret to cooking good caramelized mushrooms is to leave them alone.  Seriously.   Put them in the pan and walk away.

Go have a glass of wine and catch up on the day with hubbie. Watch some TV. Whatever…  Just don’t hover over the cooking pan!

If you stir them too often or crowd them, they will steam. You do not want to serve a soggy mess of cooked mushrooms that look like something that might be served on the top of a bad pizza.

What you want are rich flavorful mushrooms that have caramelized from undisturbed cooking, and leaving them alone to cook does this.

My husband loves caramelized mushrooms.  He is fond of them cooked any way that I do them but really raved about these. We have them often as a simple side dish and they are just plain amazing on top of a good burger.

Tasting caramelized mushrooms

The mushrooms are just full of flavor, not at all soggy and worth the patience required in cooking.  (I find it hard not to mess with things when they are on the stove!)

The taste is a combination of the earthiness of the mushrooms, the savory taste of balsamic vinegar, all finished off with the sweetness of the brown sugar.

Try them. They will become a favorite, for sure!

Enjoy!

For a reminder of this recipe for garlic caramelized mushrooms, just pin this image to one of your Pinterest Cooking Boards.

Yield: 4

Savory Caramelized Garlic Mushrooms

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This recipe for savory caramelized garlic mushrooms gives the earthy taste of mushrooms a naturally sweetened boost.

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb white mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1 tablespoon of rosemary infused olive oil ( or normal olive oil and a tablespoon of fresh rosemary)
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. Clean the mushrooms with a paper towel. The just need a gentle wipe. Cut into quite thick slices
2. Add butter and oil to a pan and heat over medium high and allow it to get hot. Add the mushrooms to the pan being careful not to crowd the pan, and walk away for about 4 minutes. (well okay...peek a bit to make sure they don't burn, but don't disturb them or stir them.)
3. Turn the mushrooms and cook another 4 minutes undisturbed.
4. Stir in the crushed garlic and cook until it is fragrant but be careful not to burn. Garlic can burn very easily. Cook for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar, stir a bit, and continue cooking. Now you can stir occasionally, or just shake the pan from time to time to coat.

Notes

Each serving has 4 WW Freestyle points

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1/4 recipe
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 104Total Fat: 6.6gSaturated Fat: 2.3gUnsaturated Fat: 3.9gCholesterol: 7.8mgSodium: 233.8mgCarbohydrates: 11.2gFiber: 1.4gSugar: 6.6gProtein: 3.9g

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