Learning how to make Italian marinated mushrooms is one of those recipes that will come in handy more than you realize. These delicious and easy to prepare mushrooms can be used for antipasto or as a side dish to a tasty Italian meal.
In this post, I’ll share with you my own Italian version of marinated mushrooms, and the various ways you can prepare them, whether you serve them warm or serve them cold as you would for rounding out your own homemade Italian antipasto platter.
Ingredients you’ll need for making your own Easy Marinated Mushrooms Italian-Style
To start you’ll need the follow ingredients which you can get at any grocery store:
- 16 oz. small or medium whole button mushrooms (white or brown is fine)
- Olive oil
- Juice from 1 lemon (this will NOT make them taste lemony)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed whole or roughly sliced
- pinch of salt
If you are using white mushrooms and if they are starting to go slightly brown, don’t worry about it as they will turn brown when cooking. However, I do recommend getting the brown bella mushrooms if you have the choice and the white ones aren’t going to be used right away.
How to Prepare and Serve Marinated Mushrooms
This recipe is incredibly easy to make. To prepare the mushrooms, first clean them with a damp paper towel being careful not to let them tear or break.
You can keep the stems on, just slice off the rough end of the stems. Then pat dry them and let them finish drying while you prepare the other ingredients.
Take a medium skillet and heat up the olive oil over medium heat. Feel free to add in a little more olive oil if you feel it might not be enough to coat all your mushrooms and to let them simmer. It’s better to have too much than too little.
Add in the garlic and let it marinade along with the lemon juice and bay leaf and pinch of salt.
Let it simmer for 2 min over medium low heat.
Next, add in the mushrooms whole and use a spatula to turn them so they coat. You will find that the mushrooms keep landing on their tops and as a result the rounded caps flatten out. That’s totally normal! Don’t fight it!
Let them cook for about 5 minutes, turning frequently.
Then add them to a bowl along with all the olive oil and juices in the pan. This is the Italian marinade you’ll use for your mushrooms!
Chill for at least 3 hours. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days!
A Quick Note About Using the Lemon Juice in the Marinade
The lemon truly brings life into this dish. I’m not a fan of using lemon juice, but having tasted it before and after, the difference is noticeable and helps brighten the recipe. Some recipes use vinegar, well the lemon juice works the same way, bringing it up a notch.
I recommend using a fresh lemon, but if you don’t have one, a small (very small) dash of store bought lemon juice will work. Just taste test it so you don’t put in tooooo much. 🙂
Using Your Marinated Mushrooms in Italian Anti Pasto Platters
At this point any good-natured Italian will be proud of you, and that includes me! Good job getting to this point of the recipe, but we aren’t finished yet. Let’s talk about how to serve them, because I want to share something with you that many don’t mention.
But first, let’s talk about using them on antipasto platters or trays. I am a HUGE fan of using these platters for parties and anytype of hosting you may be doing.
Italian or not, these are always a win-win. For an antipasto tray, you’ll want to serve them chilled, but they will ultimately get to room temperature which is fine. By this time they will be full of flavor after their time in the fridge.
Do not slice them, keep them whole and don’t serve them in a pool of the marinade. You’ll want just the marinated mushrooms.
ALERT! These are NOT finger foods. So just make sure the proper utensils are there. They won’t need knives but give the guest the option.
Serving the Mushrooms as Part of a Meal
No, Italian marinated mushrooms don’t have to be served with an Italian meal. Like most mushrooms, they will go great with steak or other beef recipe. Even a dish of meatballs.
They’ll go amazingly well with chicken, such as my breaded chicken breasts recipe (baked in the oven and still crispy!!) or chicken marsala, another healthy version of the Italian classic recipe which is out of this world.
Serving Italian Marinated Mushrooms Reheated in a Skillet – YES!
Okay, this is my secret version of this recipe that is my favorite besides my antipasto combo. After marinating (up to 3 days in the refrigerator), take them out and slice them on a cutting board.
Then heat them over medium heat and cook them down. Let me tell you, momma mia these make the day! Let them cook down so much of the liquid is removed from the mushroom, and don’t let them burn.
Serve warm with a meal, or just enjoy eating them immediately like I do!
Here’s the recipe for Italian marinated mushrooms you can use in your own kitchen. Please share this with your friends and family and enjoy!
Italian Marinated Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 16 oz whole button mushrooms
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 juice of whole lemon can use more or less to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 crushed whole cloves of garlic
- 1 pinch salt kosher or Himalayan is what I use
Instructions
- clean and dry whole mushrooms leaving stems on
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in medium skillet
- Add in bay leaf, lemon juice, salt and garlic
- Add in the mushrooms, making sure to coat them in the marinade
- Cook for about 5 minutes over medium-low heat
- Remove from heat and pour add all the marinade and mushrooms into a container.
- Chill for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days in fridge
Notes
- Some recipes suggest adding a splash of brandy in the marinade before chilling. I have not done this so I can’t really comment, but it sounds good.
- Instead of serving cool, try reheating in skillet as stated in my post and serve warm and sliced.
- The lemon juice will really brighten up the recipe. It doesn’t make the dish lemony tasting, but gives it a nice zing.
- I typically avoid any salt if I can, but I have to admit when I give it a small dash of salt it really takes it up a notch.
Is it posable to, can in mason jars, and how long will the mushrooms keep
Hi Kris, I have never canned mushrooms so I really don’t know have a good answer for you. I would store them a fridge up to 3 days. Good luck and thanks for stopping by!