For the final Chef's Notes post of the year, I wanted to share something very special with you. If you are looking for the perfect hors d'oeuvre for your Christmas party, New Year's Eve, or just for a romantic evening, look no further. Mushrooms on toast with herbed cream cheese is exactly the thing for you, as long as you like mushrooms. Let's take a look at what may just become your new favourite snack and your go-to party treat.
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The Toast
You obviously can't have mushrooms on toast without toast. So, first up, we need to toast some bread. The bread I use for this is Promise Gluten-Free Sourdough. You can use any bread you want but don't cheap out. Please, don't use regular white bread for this. It deserves better.
Buy a loaf of sourdough or a baguette or something like that. Cut the bread into quarter-inch (1 cm) thick pieces. I like to cut the crusts off, though you don't have to. Put the bread on a sheet pan, drizzle or brush it with olive oil, season it with salt and pepper, then bake at 400°f for about twelve minutes or until the bread is golden brown and crisp. The bread should be crunchy on the outside but soft in the middle. In total, you want eight little triangles for this recipe.
Mixing The Cream Cheese
The second part of this dish is cream cheese. Usually, when I do this, I use ricotta rather than cream cheese, but ricotta can be expensive, and cream cheese makes a good, cheaper option. However, if you want to use ricotta, the recipe is the same. You can also skip this step altogether if you'd like and buy some herb and garlic cream cheese, though I find it tastes better if you mix it yourself.
To make the herbed cream cheese, allow half a cup of cream cheese to soften at room temperature for about thirty minutes. Add a half teaspoon of each fresh chopped rosemary and thyme and a quarter teaspoon chopped garlic to the softened cream cheese. Mix well and set aside.
Cooking The Mushrooms
The final component of Mushrooms on toast with herbed cream cheese is, of course, mushrooms. The mushrooms that I used are a small portabello, three large creminis and a few oyster mushrooms. In total, it worked out to be a half cup of each mushroom after they were cut.
Thinly slice the creminis, dice the portobellos, and pull the oyster mushrooms apart. The idea is to cut the mushrooms into different shapes to create a variety of textures. You can use whatever types of mushrooms you'd like, but you should try and cut them all differently.
Cooked along with the mushrooms are a quarter cup of minced onion, one teaspoon of minced garlic, and half a teaspoon each of chopped thyme and rosemary.
Cooking the Mushrooms
To cook the mushrooms, heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add in one tablespoon each of butter and olive oil. Once the butter melts and starts to foam, add in the onion and cook for three minutes or until the onions start to soften. Add in the mushrooms and garlic. Cook for four to five minutes or until the mushrooms start to brown.
Add in the herbs, and season with salt and pepper. The mushrooms are done when they are tender and lightly browned. There should be no excess moisture in the bottom of the pan. If there is, it means that your pan wasn't hot enough, or you added too many mushrooms for the pan's size. If you want to double this recipe, either use a larger pan or cook the mushrooms in batches. For more tips on getting the best sear on your ingredients, check out my post on why it's important to preheat your pan.
Mushrooms on Toast With Herbed Cream Cheese
To assemble the hors d'oeuvre, spread a layer of the cream cheese on a piece of toast, top with a few spoonfuls of the mushrooms. Put the mushrooms on toast on a platter, drizzle lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle some thyme leaves around. Serve warm.
You can also make this with two full pieces of bread and serve it as it is for breakfast or top it with a fried egg. It is also great for lunch served with a salad.
Recipe
Ingredients
Toast
- 2 slices sourdough bread crusts cut off, and cut into four triangles
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Cream Cheese
- ½ cup cream cheese room temperature
- ½ teaspoon rosemary
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon garlic
Mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup minced onion
- ½ cup pulled Oyster mushrooms
- ½ cup diced Portabello mushrooms
- ½ cup sliced Cremini mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon chopped rosemary
- ½ teaspoon chopped thyme
Instructions
Toast
- Put the bread on a sheet pan and drizzle or brush with olive oil. Season the bread with salt and pepper, then bake at 400°f for 12 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. It should be crisp on the outside and soft in the middle.
Cream Cheese
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese with the herbs and garlic. Mix well.
Mushrooms
- Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the olive oil and butter. Once the butter melts and starts to foam, add in the onion and cook for 3 minutes or until the onion softens.
- Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until the onions brown.
- Add the herbs, and season with salt and pepper.
Mushrooms on toast with herbed cream cheese
- Spread the cream cheese evenly on the eight pieces of toast.
- Divide the mushrooms evenly among the toast then plate them on a platter.
- Drizzle with a little olive oil and granish with some thyme leaves.
- Serve warm.
Final Thoughts
Like the Caramelized Pear and Blue Cheese Tarts from a few weeks ago, Mushrooms on Toast with Herbed Cream Cheese are among my most popular hors d'oeuvres. The combination of earthy mushrooms, crispy toast, and creamy herbed cheese is genuinely hard to beat. Now, you can make it at home whenever you want.
If you're looking for more holiday entertaining ideas, pair these with a holiday charcuterie board for a spread that will impress any guest. Enjoy!
Anonymous says
That was great info, I usually make mushrooms on toast as an easy meal for Friday or Saturday night, I like the cream cheese mixture idea, I will try and add it next time. Thank you
Chef Ben Kelly says
Thank you very much. I'm glad you liked it.