CHANTERELLE RECIPES

My favorite chanterelle recipes gathered together for your inspiration. This post is an ode to the beautiful golden mushroom growing in many parts of the world (Europe, America, Africa). The flavor is special, both fruity aromatic and slightly peppery, hence the German name for these forest treasures: Pfifferling (oh how I love this name!). Here are my top three chanterelle recipes for you ♥

Best chanterelle recipes for mushroom lovers

And for those who are not a fan of mushrooms, I would still suggest giving chanterelles a try. I might just have a recipe here to convince you of their deliciousness.

My favorite way of eating chanterelles is with pasta. The combination of smooth pappardelle, tangy pesto and creamy chanterelles is simply mouthwatering. The balance of umami and other flavors are perfect in this easy weekday meal.

Before sharing the recipe for this dreamy pasta, there’s an important task to do: cleaning and cooking chanterelles.

How to clean and cook chanterelles?

Cleaning and cooking chanterelles is pretty simple, but I want to share a few tips I’ve learned along the way:

1. Mushrooms absorb water so I don’t recommend soaking chanterelles in water. Just a quick rinse in a sieve is enough, or even better: clean chanterelles by brushing the dirt away. If you decide to rinse the chanterelles under water, you should dry them thoroughly (gently) afterwards.
2. Tear or cut large chanterelles into smaller pieces. You can leave small chanterelles whole.
3. To get the moisture out of chanterelles, warm them in a dry (cast iron) skillet or pan without oil or butter first.
4. Cook chanterelles until there’s nearly no moisture.
5. Now is the time to start enhancing the delicious flavors! Chanterelles and butter are a perfect match. Add a generous spoonful of butter to the pan.  I use vegan butter from the brand Naturli, because I love the natural “butter” flavor. If you’re in the US I think Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter with a hint of salt would be a good choice, but any vegan “butter” you like is perfect. It’s important to choose the vegan butter well, because the goal is to coat the chanterelles with this buttery flavor without overpowering the flavor of chanterelles.
6. Cook chanterelles in butter until they turn even more golden. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pepper is optional, but it does go well together with the mildly peppery flavor of chanterelles.

That’s it! Now you can add these flavorful mushrooms to any food, but I recommend starting with pasta!

Three delicious and easy chanterelle recipes:

Chanterelle pasta

Ingredients

• 4 cups chanterelles
• 1-2 tbsp vegan butter
• salt and black pepper to taste

For the pesto:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil
• 1/3 cups pumpkin seeds and/or sunflower seeds (a good combination is half and half)
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder

For the pasta sauce:

• pappardelle pasta for four
• 1 cup of plant-based cream for cooking. I use Fazer Aito Oat Cuisine but any neutral cream works). If you want to use oil instead, start with 1/4 cups. You can also use plant-based unsweetened yogurt or even 1 avocado to make this, although the flavor won’t be the same.
• fresh basil leaves

1. Clean and cook chanterelles according to the instructions above.
2. Cook pasta.
3. Toast pumpkin and sunflower seeds lightly in a dry pan.
4. Blend fresh basil, toasted seeds, nutritional yeast, salt and onion powder until you have a crumbly “pesto”.
5. Mix this crumbly “pesto” together with cooking cream (or oil, yogurt or smashed avocado) and cooked pasta.
6. Serve pesto pasta with cooked chanterelles and a few fresh basil leaves on top. Enjoy!

The best Chanterelle Sauce

This creamy flavorful sauce is perfect with pasta, rice, or any grain you like. It’s also a delicious filling for savory crepes!

• 4 cups of chanterelles
• 1 small/medium shallot or any mild/sweet onion
• oil or vegan butter for cooking
• 1/2 cups (vegan) white wine
• 1 cup vegan cooking cream (I use an oat-based cooking cream from Fazer Aito)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs such as thyme, oregano and chives
• salt and pepper to taste

Chanterelle toast

Creamy chanterelles on toast is a classic, and I made it with a little twist: vegan cheddar cheese to enhance the umami flavors.

• 2 cups of chanterelles
• 1 shallot or any mild onion
• oil or vegan butter for cooking
• 1/2 – 1 tbsp vegan butter
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup vegan (oat-based) cooking cream
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme or fresh thyme / mini basil to decorate
• toast
• vegan cheddar cheese slices

1. Clean chanterelles according to the instructions above.
2. Dice shallot and sauteé in oil or butter. Set aside.
3. Cook chanterelles in a dry pan / skillet first and then add butter.
4. Cook chanterelles in butter until golden brown.
5. Add cooking cream, sauteéd shallot, salt, pepper and herbs.
6. Cook in low-medium heat until the cream is reduced and you have a creamy chanterelle topping for toast.
7. Enjoy chanterelle sauce with cheddar toast.

More chanterelle recipes

I also have a chanterelle pizza recipe on the blog. It’s a pizza bianca with vegan white sauce made of soaked cashews. For chanterelle lovers I recommend adding more chanterelles on top and I also recommend cooking them in butter and seasoning with salt and pepper as instructed above. This adds another layer of delicious flavor to the pizza.

Recipes I haven’t tried but would love to:

• Chanterelle risotto
• Savory chanterelle tart or galette
• Chanterelle quiche

If you have any chanterelle recipe requests, please let me know!

Happy cooking from the forest!

♥ Tiina

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