Sautéed Button Mushrooms

Button mushrooms (aka white mushrooms) are juicy and full of flavor! Here’s more about this variety and recipes for cooking them to perfection.

Want to cook up some button mushrooms? This common variety is popular for its mild flavor and tender texture. This recipe for sautéing them up with garlic and smoked paprika is out of this world good! It accentuates their savory flavor and side benefit: tastes like bacon (really). Here’s how to make this incredibly tasty side dish recipe, and more about cooking with this popular mushroom variety. As if you need more reasons to love white button mushrooms!

What are button mushrooms?

Button mushrooms are a small mushroom with a round top. This variety, scientific name Agaricus bisporus, is one of the most widely consumed in the world. They’re one of the cheapest and easiest to find at grocery stores in the US. Here’s what to know about this type of mushroom:

• Button mushrooms are also known as white button or white mushrooms. They’re all one and the same!
• Button mushrooms are the same variety as the cremini (aka baby bella) and portobello! They are all different growth stages of the same mushroom. Button mushrooms are the youngest, then cremini mushrooms (aka baby bella). Portobello mushrooms are the oldest stage, and have the most meaty and developed flavor.
• What do button mushrooms taste like? Button mushrooms have a very mild flavor. They’re great raw and their flavor develops even more when sautéed and grilled. You can use them as a 1 for 1 substitute for cremini or baby bella mushrooms. Because cremini is the older variety, it has a more developed, meaty flavor.

How to store and clean them

Button mushrooms are some of the dirtiest mushrooms you’ll find: often you’ll pull them out of the package with loads of dirt stuck to them. Here are the best practices for storing and cleaning button mushrooms:

• Store the mushrooms in a paper bag in the refrigerator (not the produce drawer). You can leave them in the package they come in, but the best way to store white mushrooms is in a paper bag. Why? Paper allows them to breathe. Leave them in the main part of the refrigerator to get good airflow, not the produce drawer.
• Clean them with a quick rinse. Give the mushrooms a quick rinse to get off any dirt. Contrary to what you might think, it’s ok to rinse your mushrooms! This is a common misconception — and one we subscribed to until we did some research. Here’s the best way to clean mushrooms.

How to cook button mushrooms: basic methods

There are a few ways to cook button mushrooms: the fastest and easiest is sautéed! But there are several other methods that work well:

• Sauteed: Sauté them in butter with a spritz of lemon juice at the end. They’re incredible: smoky and meaty! Scroll down to the recipe below.
• Roasted: Try them roasted to perfection in a hot oven. Throw them in at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes, or go to Roasted Mushrooms.
• Grilled: Throw them on skewers and place them on the grill for maximum smoky flavor! Grill on medium high for about 10 minutes, or to go Grilled Mushrooms.

Best seasonings for button mushrooms

The recipe below is our favorite way to season button mushrooms. Because they have a milder flavor than the cremini, you’ll want to enhance the savory flavor with some seasonings. Here’s what we used in this recipe to make it taste beautifully smoky: almost like bacon!

• Minced garlic: Garlic and mushrooms go hand in hand
• Onion powder: An easy way to add onion flavor…without the onion!
• Smoked paprika: Also called pimenton, it adds beautiful smoky tinge that’s reminiscent of bacon here. You can use sweet paprika if you don’t have it onhand.
• Worcestershire sauce: Adds more meaty flair! You can omit if you prefer, use vegan Worcestershire, or even this quick and easy Worcestershire substitute.
• Lemon juice: Fresh lemon really takes mushrooms over the top, adding a little brightness to offset the earthy flavor.

Take a taste of the recipe below and let us know what you think!

More button mushroom recipes

The sauteed button mushrooms recipe below is great as a side dish: but want to make your fungi into more of a main dish? You can add them to pizza, pasta, soup, and more: all with great results. Here are some favorite recipes where you can use white button mushrooms in place of cremini:

• Stuffed: These Easy Stuffed Mushrooms are out of this world
• Pasta: This Mushroom Pasta with Goat Cheese and Mushroom Pasta with Parmesan are a fan favorites
• Pizza: Top your pizza pie with fungi with Mushroom Pizza or Truffle Pizza.
• Soup: Try Wild Rice Mushroom Soup, Creamy Vegan Mushroom Soup, or hearty Mushroom Barley Soup
• Risotto: Mushrooms are perfect in Mushroom Risotto
• Gourmet Quesadilla: Grill up a Brie & Mushroom Quesadilla

This button mushrooms recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free (using olive oil).

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