Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated mushrooms are such a great appetizer and can be served with just about any menu. With the addition of onion, carrots, bell peppers and garlic, these mushrooms are so flavorful.

Marinated Mushrooms

Zesty and flavorful, these marinated mushrooms have the perfect balance of sweetness, saltiness and acidity. The mushrooms are still firm and not slimy at all. I love the addition of the vegetables – onion, carrots, bell peppers and garlic. They pair so well with the mushrooms.

They are the perfect appetizer, either served on their own, part of a charcuterie board or even added to other recipes, like many Russian salads, pasta salads, or even cooked with chicken, pork or steak.

What Mushrooms Are Best For Marinated Mushrooms?

A bowl full of fresh white button mushrooms

Any variety of fresh mushrooms can be used for marinating. The most common ones available in grocery stores are cremini (baby bella) mushrooms or white button mushrooms. However, you can use any kind that you like.

I prefer finding mushrooms that are smaller in size, that way, I keep them whole. They look really cute and pretty when they are whole and I think the texture is better too. If you use bigger mushrooms, cut them in half or into quarters.

Adding Vegetables To Marinated Mushrooms

Vegetables make the mushrooms much more flavorful and add different textures and colors to the mushrooms. My favorite combination is onion, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic. You can simplify it by just adding garlic and onion. You can also add some hotter peppers, like jalapeños or even spicier varieties to kick up the spice level of the mushrooms.

What Spices Are Used in Marinated Mushrooms?

I this recipe, I use a combination of black pepper, ground and whole mustard seeds, ground coriander, dry bay leaves to flavor the mushrooms. You can also add dry herbs, like parsley, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, etc. You can, of course, omit any of the spices that I used and create your own flavor variations.

How To Prepare Marinated Mushrooms

Tutorial of how to prepare marinated mushrooms with onion, carrots, bell pepper and garlic.

This is such a simple method. Place all he ingredients except the vinegar and oil into a large skillet or pot, bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes.

The mushrooms and vegetables don’t become too soft or mushy, they are still firm but cook together enough for the flavors to start to meld and the mushrooms and vegetables to soften. I love that the mushrooms don’t get too slimy and still have a bite to them when you bite them.

Remember that the mushrooms will get significantly smaller as they cook. I always use my 3 quart deep skillet and all the mushrooms don’t even fit into the skillet in the beginning. As soon as the mushrooms cook for a few minutes, they get smaller and I add the remaining mushrooms and they have enough time to cook through with the rest.

Adding the vinegar and oil at the end of cooking keeps the marinade bright and fresh. If you add the vinegar at the beginning of cooking, a lot of it will cook off as the mushrooms are cooking, so it’s important to add it at the end.

Adjusting the Flavor of the Mushrooms

This is a very simple base recipe. You can add more vinegar if you want the mushrooms to have more acidity and brightness. You can add more or less sugar and salt.

Instead of the distilled white vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, red or white wine vinegar, etc. for different flavor variations. You can also use different oils, like sunflower oil, olive oil, avocado oil, etc.

You can add more dry or fresh herbs, like parsley, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, dill, etc.

Storing Marinated Mushrooms

This batch will fill about 2 (32 oz) glass mason jars. I fill the jars with the mushrooms and vegetables and them pour in the liquid that the mushrooms were cooking in until the jars are filled to the top with the marinating liquid. Discard the excess liquid.

Store the marinated mushrooms in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. Garnish with fresh herbs before serving.

Close up shot of marinated mushrooms in a bowl
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Marinated Mushrooms

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5 from 3 reviews

Marinated mushrooms are such a great appetizer can be served with just about any menu. With the addition of onion, carrots, bell peppers and garlic, these mushrooms are so flavorful.

  • Author: Olga’s Flavor Factory
  • Yield: 2 (32 oz) jars 1x

Ingredients

Scale

32 oz fresh mushrooms (cremini, baby bella, button, etc.)

1–2 onions, peeled and sliced

1 carrot, grated

1 bell pepper, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 1/2 Tablespoons salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 Tablespoons whole black peppercorns

1/2 – 1 Tablespoon mustard seeds

1–2 dry bay leaves

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, etc.)

1/4 cup oil (olive oil, sunflower oil or avocado oil)

fresh herbs, optional (dill, parsley, rosemary, thyme, etc)

Instructions

Clean the mushrooms and cut the bigger mushrooms in half or into quarters. Prep all the vegetables (onions, carrot, bell pepper and garlic). 

In a large deep skillet, dutch oven or pot, place the mushrooms, 2 cups water, all the vegetables and spices, except the vinegar and oil. 

Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes. The mushrooms should be just cooked through, but still firm.

Turn off the heat and pour in the vinegar and oil. You can eat the mushrooms right away, but they will have a lot more flavor if you let them marinate for 12-24 hours. Refrigerate when the mushrooms have cooled to room temperature. I usually transfer the mushrooms to 2 (32 oz) glass mason jars. Fill the jars to the top with the liquid that the mushrooms were cooked in. Discard excess liquid. 

Garnish the mushrooms with fresh herbs before serving. 

Marinated mushrooms can be kept in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

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14 Comments

  • Helen

    Made those mushrooms yesterday. Waited overnight to make sure. I followed recipe to the dot. Came out very delicious just like I remembered from my childhood 🙂 thank you for sharing



  • Julie

    I have not made this yet, I am making it today. 2 cups of water is just a speck of water in the bottom of my All-Clad pot. Is the intent to essentially “steam” most of the mushrooms and veggies? Also, the additional 1/2 cup oil and vinegar combined – maybe 1/2.” I am actually going to half this recipe and fill 2 pint jars rather than 1 Qt jar, and it just doesn’t seem this will be enough liquid to cover in jars. I hope this is correct.

    • olgak7

      Yes, it will “steam” the mushrooms, not completely submerge them. I have not tried halving the recipe, which I actually don’t recommend, because it may not work out well.

  • Lara

    Great recipe! I’ll try it. Can you reuse the marinate – so that as you take mushrooms from the jar to consume, fresh blanched mushrooms And any extra spices for the taste are added? Thanks!

  • Maddy

    Once again, your recipe is a flavor game changer! I bought a jar of Eastern European style marinaded mushrooms years ago and was disappointed in the texture but have been looking to recreate the recipe at home ever since. This recipe was it! I used a rice steamer to first gently steam the mushrooms, then I collected the water to use back in the recipe. The mushrooms retained excellent consistency throughout the whole process and taste wonderful! Thank you and I look forward to trying more of your recipes soon.



  • Meg

    I made this yesterday and my liquid is a dark brown color, not clear like yours. My mushrooms were white mushrooms so I don’t know why it turned black.

  • E. Richard Osterhout

    Absolutely fantastic mushrooms. I gave this same recipe since you started your blog. We have them at our Easter dinner with Russian Ham. Rich

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