Sautéed Oyster Mushrooms with Brown Butter and Sage

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These sautéed oyster mushrooms are perfectly tender, golden and full of richness from nutty browned butter and crispy sage. This is a side dish that will make any meal pop with flavor!

A white oval platter filled with golden-brown roasted oyster mushrooms and crispy sage leaves, two white handled serving spoons lay on the side of the platter.

Savory and earthy, oyster mushrooms are much more flavorful, tender, and fun to look at than your typical button mushrooms. Sautéed until golden brown and crispy and tossed with nutty browned butter and sage, they instantly upgrade any meal. Next time you have grilled skirt steak or crispy cast iron chicken thighs for dinner, make these mushrooms to serve on the side or slathered on top!

While oyster mushrooms taste slightly salty (and have a strong umami flavor like other mushrooms), they don’t taste like oysters or seafood at all. They get their name from how they look–not how they taste.

After making this recipe, you’ll want to try oyster mushrooms in my Creamy Mushroom and Garlic Pasta, too!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this recipe: oyster mushrooms, neutral oil, garlic, sage and thyme, butter, salt and pepper

Oyster Mushrooms: These mushrooms are light in color and have a soft, meaty texture to them. They work well in soups, stews, stir frys and salads.
Oil: To get a nice color on the mushrooms, use a neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point like canola oil, light olive oil, or avocado oil. Later we’ll finish them in butter to add flavor.
Garlic: Smashed fresh garlic adds amazing flavor to the browned butter.
Sage and Thyme: If you can, use fresh sage leaves for this recipe. In a pinch, dried sage can work, but it won’t offer the same intense flavor that fresh sage adds to these mushrooms. Fresh rosemary would also be lovely.

Two clusters of pale gray and light yellow oyster mushrooms, a pack of Irish butter, fresh sage and thyme leaves on a small white dish, a small bowl of olive oil and a bulb of garlic on a light blue/gray background.

Recipe Step by Step:

Step 1. Cook the Mushrooms

Heat a large, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to coat the surface of the pan. Add the mushrooms in an even layer once the oil is heated. If needed, cook the mushrooms in two batches to avoid overcrowding them.

Let the mushrooms cook, undisturbed, for 5-7 minutes or until they begin to crisp at the edges. Gently stir them and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown, about 5-7 more minutes.

A stainless steel sauté pan filled with mushrooms, garlic cloves and sage leaves.

Step 2. Brown the butter and sage

Turn heat to low then add in the butter, smashed garlic and sage leaves. Gently stir, tossing the mushrooms in the butter, until the butter is foamy and golden brown. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper then transfer to a platter to serve.

A white oval serving platter piled high with golden-brown roasted oyster mushrooms, crispy sage leaves, whole garlic cloves and pools of nutty brown butter.

FAQs and Expert Tips

Do you use the stems of oyster mushrooms?

The upper part of the stem of oyster mushrooms is soft and tender just like the cap, but the lower part of the stem is tough and woody. You can still use the lower part of the oyster mushroom stem to flavor soups and stocks but may want to discard it before eating.

Do oyster mushrooms have to be cooked?

You can eat oyster mushrooms raw (they go well on salads), but the flavor and texture change to savory and tender when cooked, making them truly delicious!

Tips and Tricks for crispy, golden brown pan-roasted mushrooms:

Follow these steps for the most flavorful golden brown and crispy pan-roasted mushrooms:

Gently wash the mushrooms. There’s some debate over how to wash mushrooms. You can rinse them under a gentle stream of water to flush out the mushroom’s gills if dirt is present, then dry with a paper towel. You can also use a moist paper towel to gently remove any visible dirt.
Use a large pan. You don’t want to overcrowd the mushrooms. Use a large pan and have only one even layer of mushrooms at a time.
Start with a hot pan and hot oil. Ensure the heat is up to medium-high and the pan and the oil are hot before adding the mushrooms. This will help any moisture quickly evaporate, preventing soggy mushrooms.
Limit stirring. Let them sit for up to 5 minutes at a time between stirs to get them really crisp up!

Check Out More Savory Sides:

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