Ingredients
- 16 even-sized open cup mushrooms about 1 1/2 pounds, stalks trimmed flush with the cap so each one sits flat
- 3 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 2 cloves garlic chopped very finely
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 5 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs plain, or panko
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Trim the stalks flush with the underside of each cap so every mushroom sits flat.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Lay the mushrooms in rounded side down, so the hollow underside is facing up at you, and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. This is the step that keeps the dish from going watery. The caps give up their water in the pan instead of in the baking dish.
- Move the mushrooms to a 9x13 baking dish, still rounded side down and hollow side up, so the garlic butter has somewhere to sit.
- In a small bowl, mash together the softened butter, the chopped garlic, the garlic powder, the thyme, the lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Spoon a little garlic butter into the hollow of each mushroom, then press the breadcrumbs lightly on top.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden and the edges of the caps have browned. Serve warm, or at room temperature.
Notes
Which way up? Rounded side down, hollow side up, the way you would set a bowl on the table. The old wording said cap side down and stalks facing upwards, which are two ways of saying the same thing and confused people for years. There is only one orientation and it never changes, in the pan or in the dish.
Making them ahead. Assemble them completely, butter and breadcrumbs on, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days, then bake straight from the fridge and add 3 or 4 minutes. This is the single most asked question on this recipe and the answer is yes.
Freezing. Freeze them assembled and unbaked on a tray, then bag them once solid. They keep 3 months and bake from frozen, about 25 minutes. Do not freeze them after baking, they turn to water.
If you like it milder. Two readers found the garlic butter strong. Halve the thyme, or halve the lemon juice, but not both. The lemon is what keeps all that butter from tasting heavy.
No fresh thyme. Use 2 teaspoons dried thyme, or swap in oregano or rosemary. Rosemary is stronger, so use half as much.
Instead of breadcrumbs. Panko gives a crisper top. Almond meal works and keeps it grain free. Crushed pork rinds work for low carb. Grated parmesan mixed into the crumbs is a good addition either way.
Serving cold. These are just as good at room temperature as they are hot, which is why they work on a buffet or a holiday table where nothing comes out of the oven at the right moment.