When we think of tarts, we immediately think of dessert. And you’re visiting a baking website that’s primarily filled with dessert recipes. But I must admit, I love savory baking. And I’m so excited to share these gorgeously gourmet mushroom tarts with you. I usually make these with homemade puff pastry, and that’s what you see in these pictures. Now, you can absolutely use store-bought puff pastry instead, but if you can spare a few hours for the dough to chill in the refrigerator, I urge you to try my surprisingly simple homemade rough puff pastry.
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Mushroom Puff Pastry Tarts
Positively packed with robust flavor Ultra crisp and buttery Meat-free option that works as an appetizer, side dish, or even a fall dinner recipe (great alongside a serving of maple-roasted squash kale salad!) You can use store-bought puff pastry or homemade Use your choice of cheese (gorgonzola was my favorite here) Did I mention flavorful?
Mushroom Tart Ingredients You Need & Why
You Can Make the Crust From Scratch
Like I mentioned above, you can use store-bought puff pastry or homemade. The pictured mushroom puff pastry tarts use the same handmade 5-ingredient rough puff pastry dough we use for berry turnovers. Hundreds of readers have tried this dough and have been pleasantly surprised with its ease. If you find a few hours (that can be broken up over a couple days!), try the homemade dough. It’s so worth it!
Puff Pastry Dough: Homemade rough puff is my favorite, but you can use store-bought frozen puff pastry. You’ll need 1 standard box, which is 2 sheets. Thaw before shaping. Egg Wash: Just 1 egg with a splash of milk helps the pastry develop a golden-brown color (like pie crust), seals its shape, and helps prevent it from turning soggy underneath the topping. Butter: For cooking the mushrooms. Shallots: Subtly sweet shallots, my choice when making this apple cider chicken, are a fantastic contrast to the earthy mushroom flavor and salty cheese. Mushrooms: I tested the mushroom tarts several times, and used a variety of mushrooms that all worked very well. Sliced shiitake, baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, or any sliced white mushrooms are great; you can also use a mix. Garlic, Salt, & Pepper: Flavor, of course. Fresh Herbs: Rosemary and thyme are my choices here, the same I use on this full-size butternut squash tart. You can use dried herbs instead if that’s all you have. Balsamic Vinegar: Stir in 1 Tablespoon after you remove the mushrooms from heat. Taste testers and I found the overall flavor a little flat before I added this to the next batch. Gorgonzola Cheese: Top choice here, but I know it may not be everyone’s favorite cheese. Gruyère is another fabulous choice, or use goat cheese, gouda, or a sharp white cheddar.
Let’s Talk Assembling
Once you have your store-bought dough thawed, or the homemade dough refrigerated (after the second refrigeration as detailed in the rough puff pastry post), it’s time to shape it. Roll it out to a large rectangle, about 10×17 inches. If using store-bought, which comes in two pieces, lay one piece over the top of the other before rolling. Slice the rectangle down the center using a sharp knife or pizza cutter: I use it so often that I created a separate page for rough puff pastry with a video tutorial just in case you want it for other recipes that call for it—like butternut squash tart, cinnamon palmiers, cranberry brie puff pastry tarts, apple turnovers, or even this honey pear tart. Slice each into 5 rectangles, which end up being around 3.5×5 inches in size: Brush with egg wash, and then crimp the edges with a fork, exactly how you crimp pie crust: Top with cheese, followed by the cooked mushroom mixture. You’ll bake the mushroom puff pastry tarts on lined baking sheets, and parchment paper sheets are always handy here. I usually use (affiliate link) this brand of pre-cut sheets. Bake until golden brown; I find 20 to 22 minutes to be plenty. When the mushroom puff pastry tarts come out of the oven, they’ll be magically layered like little puff pastry pillows for the cheesy mushroom topping! You can finish them off with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, extra herbs, or a little more cheese. If you have some balsamic glaze (you can either buy it or make it yourself!), you could add a drizzle of that too. Check out these crisp layers:
Can I Make This Into a Full-Size Mushroom Tart?
Yes, absolutely! See recipe Notes below. This recipe is part of Sally’s Pie Week, an annual tradition where I share a handful of new recipes that fit into the pie/crisp/tart category. Join the community below!
