Learn how to make a creamy mushroom sauce at home.

I am a complete sucker for sauce. Forget the healthy vegetables on the side or even the protein on the plate. Give me a bowlful of just about any sauce with a generous portion of chips and I’m in seventh heaven.

If you happened to be vegetarian and/or are avoiding gluten, this is a splendid recipe.

What type of mushrooms do you use in mushroom sauce?

In the photos I used the chestnut variety but white mushrooms, Chanterelles, Portobellos and Cremini will also do.

Substitutes for Sherry

Port, Madeira and Marsala can be used instead of sherry in this recipe. Some people don’t like alcohol in their food and have been known to use apple cider, vanilla extract, orange or pineapple juice. My two cents? If you’re not going to be using sherry or the equivalent, don’t try to add those aforementioned dodgy items to your sauce. Take the safe route and use stock/broth instead. See below.

Mushroom Sauce Recipe Variations

The mushroom sauce you’ll find below is simply one variation of this easy and highly adaptable recipe. I took the simple route but you can make the flavours more complex by frying finely chopped shallots to the garlic, use more than one mushroom variety mentioned above and use stock/broth.

Bigger quantities

You can make bigger quantities of the sauce; all you have to remember is the ratio – 50% sherry and 50% cream.

Just mushroom sauce

Substitute the sherry with stock/broth if you don’t want alcohol in your food, e.g. 50% stock/broth and 50% double cream.

Healthier sauce

10% sherry, 80% stock and 10% single cream or crème fraiche.

Low-Fat Mushroom Gravy

Use low-fat spray along with 10% sherry, 90% vegetable/chicken or beef stock.

Mushroom Flavour Matching Ideas

If you’re feeling adventurous you could add one of the following items to your sauce to jazz things up a bit.

• Anise
• Almonds
• Anchovies
• Bacon
• Cheese (any blue cheese, e.g. gorgonzola, Gruyere and Parmesan)
• Chestnut
• Ham
• Pancetta
• Truffle
• Walnut

Herbs and Spices to Add to your Mushroom Sauce

Keep things simple by just adding one of the following below.

• Black Pepper
• Cayenne
• Chervil
• Chives
• Dill
• Marjoram
• Mustard
• Nutmeg
• Oregano
• Paprika
• Tarragon
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Thyme

If you’re a fan of mushroom sauces you would love other Greedy Gourmet recipes:

• Chicken, Mushroom & Red Wine Casserole
• Beef, Mushroom & Oyster Sauce Stir-Fry
• Pork Fillet with Porcini Mushrooms, Juniper and Marsala
• Pan-Fried John Dory with Creamy Mushroom and White Wine Sauce

Now let’s get on with the recipe!

All you need is one clove of garlic to give this sauce a punchy flavour.

Peel and finely chop the garlic then set aside.

Let me tell you a secret. Never ever wash mushrooms in water or any other liquid for that matter.

Mushrooms are quite porous and if you wash them with water they tend to soak up a lot of liquid and that in turns affect their texture. We don’t want soggy mushrooms, do we?

The solution to this problem is simply using a paper towel and gently rubbing off any noticeable dirt. Afterwards, chop off the stalk or remove them completely.

Halve the mushrooms. Quarter them. Slice them. Chop them. Do whatever your heart desires.

Heat up a pan on the stove and get the butter melting. Gently fry the garlic.

Add the mushrooms and brown them a bit.

Increase the heat until everything starts sizzling and then add the sherry and watch it bubble for about 3 minutes.

Next add the cream and stir it into the sauce. Let it bubble for a few minutes.

While you’re waiting, quickly add a teaspoon of corn flour to a cup and stir in the same amount of water in it to make a slurry.

Use more, use less. It all depends on how thick you would like your sauce to be.

When you add the slurry to the sauce make sure the temperature is set at the lowest possible setting because once the corn flour hits the pan, it starts thickening. Secondly, you have to be prepared to start stirring vigorously. If you don’t, be prepared to eat a clotty sauce.

If you take heed, there is nothing to worry about. Just add the corn flour slurry slowly, stir vigorously and watch the sauce thicken. If you ran out and would like your sauce even thicker, make a new slurry and simply add it to the pan.

Oh, and one last tip. You can use the pan liquids instead of tap water to make the slurry. Less flavour would be diluted.

And there you have it! Pour the sauce on top of your steak, pork chop or fish. This time round I had it with a chicken breast I cooked with a sous-vide on a bed of rice. Bliss!