This mushroom tart is an amazing quick snack and perfect for entertaining. It‘s quick to make and packed with flavor. It‘s made with puff pastry, sautéed mushrooms seasoned with garlic, balsamic, and thyme, sweet shallots, and flavorful Gruyere cheese. If you love mushrooms and cheese, you‘ve got to try it!
You can also make this recipe in form of a bruschetta – see this recipe for mushroom bruschetta.
Ingredients
(Recipe card with full ingredient list is at the bottom of the post.)
Here‘s what you need to make this amazing mushroom tart:
- Puff pastry – all-butter puff pastry tastes best so choose that if you can find it
- Mushrooms – any kind will work here, I used half button mushrooms and half chanterelle mushrooms, cremini (baby bella) mushrooms or fresh porcini mushrooms would also be great
- Shallots – you can also use onions
- Thyme – fresh or dried, you could also use French or Italian herbs
- Garlic – use only fresh garlic
- Balsamic vinegar – enhances the flavor of mushrooms, adds some acidity that cuts through the richness of mushrooms and cheese, if you don‘t have it on hand, you can omit it or add 1/2 Tbsp of soy sauce instead
- Egg – to brush the edges of puff pastry – they will be nicely golden, if you don‘t have any eggs you can use heavy cream or milk to brush the edges of the tart
- Cheese – it‘s important to use a flavorful cheese like Gruyere cheese, Appenzeller cheese (or other Alpine-style full-bodied cheese), sharp aged cheddar would also work. Here you can find more recipes using Gruyere cheese.
Step by step instructions
STEP 1: Slice the shallots, mushrooms, chop the garlic. Don‘t slice the mushrooms too thinly, you want them still crunchy after being cooked.
STEP 2: First cook the onions with butter and thyme until soft, then add the garlic. Transfer the onions to a plate.
We will cook mushrooms over high heat so there is a risk that the onions could burn.
STEP 3: Cook the mushrooms with oil over high heat for a minute without stirring. As soon as you stir the mushrooms they will release liquid and they won‘t brown. Then you need to cook the mushrooms with balsamic vinegar until all the liquid has evaporated. Too much liquid in the mushrooms would cause the puff pastry to be soggy.
STEP 4: Add the onions with garlic back to the pan and stir until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Take the pan off the heat and transfer the mushrooms to a plate, let them cool slightly.
Don‘t put hot mushrooms on puff pastry – it will start to melt and become sticky, and won‘t be as puffy as it should be after being baked.
STEP 5: Take the puff pastry out of the fridge (take it out only if you have all your ingredients ready, warm puff pastry is sticky and hard to work with).
If your puff pastry is square when you buy it, roll it out slightly into a rectangular shape.
Score the puff pastry around the edges leaving a 1-inch (2,5 cm) border. You don‘t want to cut the pastry all the way through, just score it with a pairing knife, this will help to puff up the border of the tart. Prick the dough several times with a fork – it will help to release steam from underneath the pastry and the dough won‘t puff up under the mushrooms.
STEP 6: Sprinkle the dough with shredded on the large holes of a box grater cheese.
STEP 7: Spread sautéed mushrooms with onions on top of the cheese.
Bake the tart at 375°F or 190°C for about 20-25 minutes. It‘s ready when it‘s nicely puffed and golden.
Cut into squares and enjoy!
Serving suggestions
I like to serve this tart as an appetizer with a side of some salad greens and tomatoes. It‘s quite rich so you want to serve it with something light and crunchy. A crisp dry white wine would also be a lovely addition.
Make them differently: You could also cut the dough into small squares or circles and make small individual tartlets.
Storage
This mushroom tart tastes best freshly made (especially slightly warm) or 1-2 hours after baking. After this time it won‘t be crunchy anymore and the pastry will become a bit soggy. It‘s still very tasty, though! You can reheat it in a microwave or in an oven until warm.
This tart can also be frozen. Wrap each serving in plastic foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in an 350°F (180°C) oven until thawed and warm.
How to make it in advance: Prepare your mushroom filling, shred the cheese, and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days. Assemble and bake the tart right before serving.
Top tips on how to work with puff pastry
- This tart is really easy to make, you can use the pastry with the parchment paper attached and don‘t really have to work with it but it‘s still important to keep the pastry cool, in the fridge, while you‘re preparing all the other ingredients. It will be sticky when warm.
- All-butter puff pastry is more sticky than regular puff pastry made with shortening or palm fat (but it‘s so much tastier!).
- If using frozen puff pastry it‘s better to thaw it in the fridge overnight instead of quickly thawing it on the counter – it can be prone to breaking.
More savory puff pastry recipes
- Asparagus in puff pastry with ham and cheese
- Puff pastry pizza bites
- Cheese sun-dried tomato and olive puff pastry pinwheels
- Puff pastry onion tart with pear and blue cheese
- Puff pastry strudel with vegetables and cheese
- Puff pastry cheese straws
Here you can find all my puff pastry appetizers.
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Mushroom Tart
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 shallots or 1 medium onion
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 14 oz (400g) mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/4 cups (125g) shredded Gruyere cheese
- 1 sheet puff pastry about 9-10 ounce (270g)
- 1 egg for brushing the edges
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Instructions
Cook the mushrooms:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C / Gas Mark 5, no fan (if you have a convection oven reduce the temperature by about 20° or follow the manufacturer's instructions).
- Cut the button mushrooms into 1/4-1/3 inch (5-7mm) slices. Chanterelle mushrooms: leave small mushrooms whole, cut medium mushrooms into 2 parts, and large mushrooms into 3-4 parts. Don’t cut the mushroom too thinly.14 oz (400g) mushrooms
- Cut the shallot into slices, finely chop the garlic.2 shallots, 3 cloves garlic
- Heat butter in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. When hot add the onions and thyme, cook for a couple of minutes, until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring.1 tablespoon butter, 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- Transfer the onions with garlic to a plate.
- Add oil to the pan and increase the heat to the highest setting. Add mushrooms in an even layer, starting with button mushrooms (chanterelle mushrooms should be on top of button mushrooms). Cook without stirring for 1-2 minutes then add the vinegar and cook, stirring, for about 4-8 minutes (depending on how powerful your stovetop is) until the mushrooms have reduced their volume in half and all the liquid is evaporated. Don’t stir the mushrooms for about a minute when almost all liquid is evaporated, letting the mushrooms brown a little.1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Add the onions with garlic back to the pan, stir with the mushrooms. Season the mushrooms and onions with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate and leave to cool slightly.
Assemble and bake the tart:
- Take the puff pastry out of the fridge. If your puff pastry is square when you buy it, roll it out slightly into a rectangular shape. With the tip of a sharp knife, score through the top layers of the puff pastry by running the knife along all four sides of the dough (leaving about 1-inch / 2.5 cm border). Do not cut all the way through the dough. Transfer the pastry, along with the parchment paper that comes with it to a baking sheet. Prick the dough (but not the borders) with a fork.1 sheet puff pastry
- Sprinkle the cheese in an even layer over the dough.1 1/4 cups (125g) shredded Gruyere cheese
- Top with cooled mushrooms and onions.
- Brush the edges of the tart with beaten egg. Prick the dough with a fork a couple times more (or it will puff up in the oven), not the edges, just the center of the tart.
- Bake the tart for about 20-25 minutes or until golden.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Ingredient notes:
- Puff pastry – all-butter puff pastry tastes best so choose that if you can find it
- Mushrooms – any kind will work here, I used half button mushrooms and half chanterelle mushrooms, cremini (baby bella) mushrooms or fresh porcini mushrooms would also be great
- Shallots – you can also use onions
- Thyme – fresh or dried, you could also use French or Italian herbs
- Balsamic vinegar – if you don‘t have it on hand, you can omit it or add 1/2 Tbsp of soy sauce instead
- Egg – you can use heavy cream or milk to brush the edges of the tart
- Cheese – it‘s important to use a flavorful cheese like Gruyere cheese, Appenzeller cheese (or other Alpine-style full-bodied cheese), sharp aged cheddar would also work
- Serving suggestion: I like to serve this tart as an appetizer with a side of some salad greens and tomatoes. It‘s quite rich so you want to serve it with something light and crunchy. A crisp dry white wine would also be a lovely addition.
- You could also cut the dough into small squares or circles and make small individual tartlets.
- Storage: This mushroom tart tastes best freshly made (especially slightly warm) or 1-2 hours after baking. After this time it won‘t be crunchy anymore and the pastry will become a bit soggy. It‘s still very tasty, though! You can reheat it in a microwave or in an oven until warm.
- It’s important to take the puff pastry out of the fridge when you have all the other ingredients ready. It will be sticky when warm.
- Calories = 1 serving (1/6 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
42 Comments
Monique
4 December 2024 at 01:49Than you for sharing this lovely recipe! I’m looking forward to making it for the holidays. However, no one in my family cares for balsamic vinegar. Do you think that it would be okay to substitute white wine? Thank you!
Aleksandra
4 December 2024 at 05:50I would just omit it. But – the flavor is not really that prominent, so I think you could use it anyway and no one will notice 🙂
Martha Thompson
30 November 2024 at 21:12The taste was terrific. My one complaint would be that you said nothing about rolling out the dough. It comes in a square out of the box. There were no instructions about rolling out the dough to a rectangular shape. I had too much topping to fit the square and when I looked back over the photos, the tart was rectangular in shape.
Aleksandra
30 November 2024 at 21:19The pastry I bought was already rectangular. Thank you for your comment! I will add instructions to roll out the pastry if it’s square.
Darla
3 December 2024 at 16:19Actually, she does say to roll the dough into a rectangle in #1 of the instructions. I made this and it turned out perfect. I did add some Italian sausage that I had from leftover to make it a meal. It was delicious. Will definitely make again.
Terri
27 November 2024 at 21:04Thank you for sharing this recipe
Ana
14 February 2024 at 01:16Delicious!
Dlevy
6 December 2023 at 01:59Hi. Going to make this weekend for a small get together. Could I use blue cheese in place of the gruyere? Thx
Aleksandra
6 December 2023 at 08:39I would maybe use a mixture of different cheeses such as blue, Swiss and so on. I’m not sure if it will taste good with such a large amount of blue cheese.
Paula
8 May 2024 at 22:31This is an incredible recipe! My bf doesn’t like mushrooms and he loved this tart! Simple to make and amazing flavor! Thank you
Aleksandra
9 May 2024 at 06:17you’re welcome! I’m glad you liked it!
Jill
7 November 2023 at 03:05So delicious! Thank you so much for the step by step instructions, they were truly helpful and instrumental in the successful execution of the recipe. Can’t wait to make this again and serve it to company. 🙂
Aleksandra
7 November 2023 at 15:20I’m so happy you liked the recipe, thank you for leaving the comment!
SH
8 October 2023 at 15:57I made this yesterday for a crowd and everyone loved it! I baked it a bit longer and even slid it directly onto the oven rack for the last few minutes just to be sure it was cooked all the way through. I bought the best puff pastry I could find and it was worth it.
Kate Faddegon
6 October 2023 at 19:56This was SO good and so easy! I served it with a big caesar salad.
Alanna Larsen
18 September 2023 at 03:53I made this as an appetizer this evening. Ir was a huge hut! It was delicious! I will definitely make this again!!!
Susan
16 January 2023 at 16:54Tart was excellent in taste but the base was limp, except for the pieces on the edges. I followed the recipe exactly so was wondering if this is how it is normally. I have made similar tarts and not had this problem but then I didn’t poke holes in the base. Perhaps I shouldn’t have rolled out the puff pastry.
Aleksandra
16 January 2023 at 18:59It sounds like the bottom of the tart was underbaked. This could be caused by: warm filling, too much filling, watery filling (too much moisture from the mushrooms), warm/not cool enough dough, or an oven that does not bake properly. If you won´t roll out puff pastry it will be more thick and there is a bigger chance that it will be underbaked and limp. You poke the holes in the dough so that the steam can escape and your tart is flat. You could try to bake the tart on the bottom shelf of the oven to help crisp up pastry or even pre-bake the pastry (weigh it down the middle) and then bake with the filling. I hope this helps.
Katie
11 January 2023 at 17:22Thank you for this I do like the way you explain how to do this with explanations too. Also the problems that might occur. Just literally made some and awaiting to taste them.
Betty
1 August 2023 at 16:32Excellent recipe! Absolutely delicious! I rolled out the sheet of puff pastry just a bit…but didn’t see if you said to do this.
Anyway, I will make this again and again, using different toppings, maybe roasted tomatoes next time. I really appreciated all your explanations too! Very helpful.
Aleksandra
1 August 2023 at 18:54I’m glad you liked it, thank you for leaving the comment!
Jenbas
8 November 2022 at 18:34I made two modifications: 8 oz of sliced baby bella mushrooms and goat cheese. This was phenomenal!
Aleksandra
8 November 2022 at 18:48I’m glad you liked the recipe. Thank you for sharing that it also works with goat cheese!
Doreen
26 September 2022 at 21:47Hi Aleksandra,
Is it ok to make the filling and actually put it on the pastry squares, cover and leave the “prepared” squares in the refrigerator, then bake and serve them the next day?
Aleksandra
27 September 2022 at 13:04No, don’t do that, the pastry will be soggy! You can: prepare the filling and store in the fridge, cut your pastry squares and stack them between pieces of parchment paper (wrap in plastic foil to prevent drying out). The next day: put the filling on the pastry, brush the edges with egg wash and bake!
Judith
14 June 2022 at 10:31Is the cheese used as a binder? Can I replace it with something else to avoid making it dairy?
Aleksandra
14 June 2022 at 11:29Yes, cheese acts as a binder, adds flavor, and prevents (a little bit) the pastry from getting soggy from the mushrooms. After some googling (vegan puff pastry mushroom tart) I see that others make similar pastries without cheese so I guess you could just omit it. Just make sure your mushrooms are not too wet. I don’t really have experience with making vegan tarts, so not sure about replacements, sorry!
Pat
13 June 2022 at 20:10This was delicious and so easy. I used all white button mushrooms. Super yummy and I agree about using only all butter puff pastry. The other kind is just not worth the calories.
Aleksandra
13 June 2022 at 20:35so true! thank you for leaving the comment!
Danielle
10 June 2022 at 13:56I made your lovely recipe for a cocktail party and it was a great hit! I ended up cutting up the mushroom tarts into 16 small squares and that was a perfect size for an appetizer! My only modification was to use fresh thyme which was perfect too. Loved the addition of the balsamic vinegar and specific instructions on cooking the mushrooms. Many thanks!
Aleksandra
10 June 2022 at 16:57you’re welcome! so glad you liked this!
Heather
25 April 2023 at 09:53Danielle – did you cut into squares before you baked or after? If before, did you leave edges on each square using the scoring method Alessandra describes? I’m trying to decide which way to do it (cut first or after) before I make this for book club. Thanks!
Aleksandra
25 April 2023 at 19:01You can do both. If you´d like larger servings, like shown on the photos, that you could serve with a small salad on the side, on a plate – you can cut the tart into squares after baking it. If you´d prefer small finger food bites for people to grab from a tray and held in a hand – I would cut it into small squares before baking it and I would also score the edges. I hope this helps!
Kim Englehart
22 December 2023 at 17:49If cutting into small squares, would cook time be different?
Aleksandra
22 December 2023 at 20:06No, it stays the same! The longer you bake puff pastry the better, you just need to look at the color, if it’s beautifully golden brown, it’s done.
Jb
4 June 2022 at 23:08Really make a great dinner if you add a salad.
Super flavorful!
I think I messed up and found the middle a bit soft doughier.
Any suggestions to avoid next time.
Aleksandra
5 June 2022 at 05:56Make sure the dough is really cold, straight from the fridge. The mushroom filling also needs to be cold (important!). Add slightly less filling in the middle. You can also try to bake the tart a little bit longer (if it’s already nicely browned and could burn then reduce the temp. to 320F/160C and keep an eye on it). I hope this helps!
Lam-Anh
15 May 2022 at 11:45I made this yesterday for appetizer for my family dinner and it came out perfect! We all loved it. It’s a keeper for family gathering. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Aleksandra
15 May 2022 at 19:37I’m glad to hear that, thank you for leaving the comment!
Hally
31 March 2022 at 21:36The recipe was perfect. The family enjoyed it very much. Only addition I made was some grated Parmesan.
Aleksandra
1 April 2022 at 13:01I’m glad to hear that, thank you for leaving the comment!
Laura
28 March 2022 at 01:09Absolutely delicious!