Chanterelle mushrooms are going to take your taste buds on a ride! This recipe takes these sought-after mushrooms to the next level in under 30 minutes.
Chanterelle Mushrooms
Chanterelle mushrooms are light yellow and funnel-shaped, somewhat resembling a tulip. Known for their spicy, peppery flavor and meaty texture, chanterelles are amazing in pastas, soups or as a knock-out side dish. These mushrooms can be on the pricier side, but they are well worth it.
Grab chanterelles while you can! Typically, they are only available a few months out of the year (they require very specific growing conditions). If you spot them at your local farmer’s market, you shouldn’t hesitate to grab your fair share. This funghi has been coveted by wild mushroom foragers and chefs alike due to its rarity, taste and beauty.
How to Clean Chanterelle Mushrooms
Chanterelles come in so many shapes and sizes — some weighing up to two pounds, others as small as your thumb! You may initially feel intimidated by their shape and wonder how the heck you are supposed to clean them. Read on and fret no more…
In most cases, chanterelles have been given a light cleaning before being sold. But it’s also common that your chanterelles were plucked straight from the ground. This means they are likely covered in a bit of soil and muck. To clean them, hold each individual mushroom under a light trickle of cool water and lightly brush off dirt with a kitchen towel. Air dry the chanterelles on a baking sheet covered with paper towels before cooking.
The Best Way to Cook Chanterelle Mushrooms
In my opinion, chanterelles shine brightest when first sauteed over medium-heat with butter and garlic. Then, I add a bit of cream and parmesan cheese, allow it to thicken. Optionally, to finish things off, I add in fresh oregano, a dash of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. The end result is a creamy, yet light, a dish that can be eaten alone or served in many different ways.
How to Serve Chanterelle Mushrooms
The best part about this recipe is that it is so versatile. Pair your sauce with any fresh pasta for a truly fancy Italian dish. I am partial to using a nice farfalle or fettuccine noodle. Feeling ambitious? Try your hand at making your own pasta.
You can also use the chanterelle sauce to top off a nice piece of toast (first slathered with melted butter, of course). This would be a fun and fresh dish to include in your next brunch spread.
Have half a baguette hanging out on your counter? Slice it up and set the chanterelle sauce out as an appetizer dip.
Perhaps my second favorite way to serve the sauce is over mashed potatoes or smashed potatoes. Consider this an upgraded version of your typical mashed potatoes and gravy.
Storing Chanterelle Mushrooms
If you took my advice and loaded up on chanterelles at the market, you are probably thinking about how you should store them to best preserve freshness.
Prior to cleaning, they will keep well stored in a waxed paper bag in the fridge. After you clean them, store them in a bowl lined and covered with paper towels to prevent them from getting soggy. They will only keep this way for 2-3 days before you need to use them!
Note: If you are thinking about dehydrating your chanterelles, reconsider! Unlike other fungi, these mushrooms don’t cooperate so well after being dehydrated. No matter how long you soak and restore them, they often turn out rubbery.
Other Mushroom Recipes
- Crab Stuffed Mushrooms – an outstanding appetizer that is a Hit at event
- Mushroom Appetizer – perfect mini bite-size pockets filled with mushrooms
- Marinated Mushrooms – great make-ahead appetizer with pickled mushrooms
- Mushroom Alfredo – Olive Garden CopyCat
Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 lb chanterelle mushrooms
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Slice chanterelle mushrooms into bite-size pieces.
- Preheat a skillet with butter and pressed garlic, cook on medium-low for 2 minutes.
- Add sliced mushrooms to the skillet and sautee them for about 7 minutes on medium heat.
- Add heavy cream and parmesan cheese, stir to combine all together. Simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add your favorite pasta (about 8oz) to the chanterelle mushroom sauce.
So glad I found this recipe. Can’t wait to try it. Picked. About 2 lbs of chanterelles yesterday
Hi Susan, I'm so happy you found this recipe as well! Enjoy!
Turned out great! My lawn is full of these mushrooms and for the first 8 years I lived here, I had no idea what they were. Always on the hunt for a new way to prepare. This was delicious! Thanks!
Hey Lisa, That is so cool you have the mushrooms growing in your backyard. Glad you discovered a new recipe you enjoy!
I was recently introduced to chanterelle mushrooms and fell in love! I haven't been able to find them locally, until yesterday when I got my hands on a dehydrated pack from Harris Teeter. You mentioned that that is certainly not the best option, BUT if I were to give it a try, would you soak them before sautéing or sauté as is?
Hi Ashley, In the case of dehydrated mushrooms, you would re-hydrate them in a bowl of water. In the past, I have found that the dehydrated Chanterelle mushrooms often turn rubbery after being re-hydrated. Hoping that is not going to be the case. Good luck and enjoy!
I dry my left over chanterelles on paper towels on the counter, then I pulverize them into small pieces & powder to add to soup, stew, gravy. They add another depth of flavor & everyone loves it .
That's a great tip. Thank you for sharing that, Vicki!
Recipe does not indicate how much pasta to use for the indicated amounts of sauce.
Hi Chip, typically I would add about 8oz but you can play by ear, its easy to adjust the amount to your linking. Enjoy
Hello, I followed your directions and wy mife and I loved it, thanks for sharing! Just a average meat head mechanic.
Hi Richard - HAHA! I'm glad you loved it. Maybe we can swap good recipes for mechanic help one day? So happy you and your wife enjoyed these tasty shrooms!
I was disappointed. It was very soupy. The sauce never tightened up but the flavor was good.
Try using a bit of pasta water in the finish. Thickens the sauce and makes it velvety.
Thank you for sharing that tip, Jamie 😀
Hi Diana - Thanks for reaching out! So sorry your sauce didn't turn out the way you'd like. Were you able to let the sauce simmer on low for 5 minutes? Also, it should thicken after it comes off the heat, sits for a bit, and absorbs some of the starch from the noodles. I hope this helps and please reach out if you have any questions!
It’s hard to tell from the picture, do you precook the pasta? Or add it uncooked? I have had recipes that go both ways, so…
Hey Nancy, yes, pasta should be precooked. Hope you love this recipe.
Amazing. Added some white wine to the sauce and a sprinkle of lemon juice.
Hi Caroline, that sounds delicious great additions, thank you!!
Wonderful recipe. I live in Colorado where we can pick the chanterelles in the mountain forest. I never knew how to properly cook them until reading this recipe. I would separate the stems from the head and never get the flavor I was searching. Thank you.
It really doesn’t have a typical stem/ head , rutroh..
Hi Christelle, I am so glad you loved the recipe and learned more about how to prepare the mushrooms, you are so lucky that you can just pick the mushrooms, amazing!!
Delicious! So simple, but so tasty. Added a bit of pepper and extra garlic as I’m a garlic lover, and it was absolute perfection. Thank you for this!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you for your tips and feedback!
It needed a squeeze of lemon and some pepper. Also, Parmesan is notorious for not melting in sauces.
I will probably go back to my chanterelle risotto and chantrelle toast to more fully appreciate the flavour of those outstanding mushrooms.
Pardon me, but genuinely sounds like you haven’t had much practice in making sauces with parmesan. It’s very easy to melt if you know what you’re doing.
Thank you for your feedback.
We harvested our chanterelles on Sunday and served them for dinner tonight. Delicious. Great and simple easy recipe. I did add some truffle oil for extra flavor. Will definitely make this again.
Yum, homegrown chanterelles sound delicious!! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback!
Loved it. We harvest our own chanterelles from our woods. They were pretty dirty but the tip for cleaning them worked really well. We’ll keep this recipe!
So glad you found the tips helpful, it's amazing that you harvest your own chanterelle mushrooms. I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe for them!
We all went to Costco 😁 I thought the same thing I love mushrooms and had to try these
Nessa, I hope you love this recipe! 🙂
Loved this! I've heard of Chantrelle mushrooms, just never cooked them before.
I added long julienne sliced fresh asparagus to the last minute of mushroom cooking time. Superb! Also added a few red pepper flakes, fresh ground pepper, pink Himalayan salt, and fresh lemon juice. This dish is meant to be simple, and it was. My beef loving husband just commented he wants me to make this again soon!
Pam, thank you for all of the tips! I'm so glad you enjoyed the pasta.
I just found wild chantrelles at Costco and am making this tonight! Going to try it with half & half to cut the richness. Will also add a pinch of red pepper flakes. I can't wait till dinner.
Same! Costco. I didn’t know what to do with them - but they looked sooo good. I just stumbled onto this article. Going to give this a shot tomorrow. Thanks!
Me too! Costco had some beauties! I am making this sauce with homemade tortellini.
Do you have a pasta recipe you are willing to share?
Yes, here is a link to our freshly made pasta. https://momsdish.com/recipe/4…
Oh yum! Sounds so good!
John, perfect. Glad you found this recipe!
Caitlin, I hope you love the recipe! Circle back and let me know how it goes!
Very well done! Followed recipe exactly and we were blown away how complex and delicious this was.
We have left over sauce and cooked the linguine separate and poured the sauce over it. We would like to freeze some bit not sure how it will be. Not as good as fresh but maybe acceptable ???
Hey Mike, the cream can separate sometimes when you freeze it. But the flavor will be there. Chanterelle Mushrooms are my favorite! Glad you got to try this recipe!
Awesome recipe!!! I added some red chili flakes just because I like a little spice. I will definitely make this dish again in the future.
Oh I love the idea of a hint of heat. I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for commenting!
Do you add the pasta and mushrooms with the sauce on top of rice or potatoes? I just wanted to clarify the instructions. Thanks!
Kevin, I am sorry about the confusion. You can serve it with rice or potatoes instead of fo pasta.
Oh no problem! Thanks for clarifying 🙂
Enjoy it!
Looks like a wonderful recipe! Thank you so much for sharing! I hunt for my own chanterelles each year and usually have 20+ pounds worth of mushrooms to go through. I've dehydrated some to later add to risottos and soups after crushing them into little bits (they don't dehydrate well but their flavour is so great and concentrated), but I've also dry sauteed them and froze them in portion-sized bags for use in the winter.
I just harvested king boletus then dehydrated as well as orange chanterelles, which I sautéed and froze but during the process of finding the best way to preserve fresh mushrooms from the forest. I discovered that with chanterelles which don’t dry well they can be dried and turned into a powder with a food processor which you can add flavor to soups and sauces even if you won’t have the texture of fresh mushroom slices you can still add the flavor. I may try this the next flush after the last rain. I just discovered a chanterelle gold mine and a half fairy ring the length of a car! They were all water damaged so I left to spawn for next season. I love mushroom hunting, growing and eating!
How cool Tara! Thank you for sharing. That's great to know about chanterelles. I can totally see how that can elevate a broth. When we are back in the Pacific Northwest, we will have to go chanterelle picking and copycat your method. So nice to hear from you and keep it up with the mushroom hunting, friend!
Oh, this sounds so delicious. I love the idea of dehydrating them.