Creamy mushroom cooking sauce

Packed with mushrooms and onions, smothered in a creamy sauce, this versatile creamy mushroom cooking sauce is ready whenever you need it. Make one batch, freeze it in portions, and you'll always have a base for a quick and easy meal.

With a few tubs of this mushroom and onion cooking sauce in my freezer, I know I'm never more than a few minutes away from a virtually effortless meal.

Just think about it. A thick, creamy sauce, packed with sweet onions and earthy mushrooms, ready to transform into a delicious dinner at a moment's notice.

Stir it through cooked chicken for a quick chicken à la king, or add some pasta for a creamy chicken and mushroom pasta salad. Use it as starting point for a creamy hunter's sauce, pour it over a crispy pork or chicken schnitzel, or even make this German dish of creamy Rahmgeschnetzeltes.

Those are just a few ideas to get you started. Once you've got a batch of this versatile mushroom cooking sauce stashed in the freezer, I'm sure you'll discover plenty more of your own!

I've purposely made this sauce quite thick because it's intended to be used as a cooking sauce rather than a ready-to-serve sauce. Simply thin it with milk, cream or white wine to suit the dish you're making. I've also kept the seasoning simple so you can add your own herbs, spices and other flavourings later to suit whatever you're cooking.

Why I love this recipe

• It's a real time-saver. I can spend an hour making a batch of this mushroom sauce at the weekend, divide it into tubs and freeze it, knowing I've got the start of several quick and easy meals waiting for me.
• It's incredibly versatile. One batch of sauce can be transformed into everything from chicken à la king and creamy pasta dishes to pie fillings, schnitzel sauces and creamy pork recipes.
• You can adapt the sauce to suit the recipe. I've deliberately made it thick and lightly seasoned, so it's easy to thin down and flavour with herbs, spices, wine or mustard, depending on what you're making.
• It's packed with flavour. Onions and mushrooms in the thick, creamy sauce taste delicious on their own. When I make a batch of this sauce, I love to scoop a couple of spoonfuls onto a slice of wholewheat toast for my lunch.
• It helps reduce food waste. If I have mushrooms that need using up, making a batch of this sauce means nothing goes to waste, and gets me a few easy dinners into the bargain.

And in the interests of being absolutely honest, this recipe came about because I bought an XXL pack of Lidl's mushrooms for only a few pennies more than the price of a normal-sized punnet. When I got home, I discovered that hubby had been shopping and picked up a pack of mushrooms too. So I had lots of mushrooms to get through!

Ingredients for creamy mushroom sauce

**This is just an overview to explain why I used a particular ingredient. The complete list of ingredients and the exact measurements are on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.**

• Mushrooms. Nothing special or exotic. These are just everyday cremini (chestnut) or whitecap mushrooms which have been wiped and sliced.
• Onions. I used white (or brown) onions. You need approximately half the amount of onions by weight as that of mushrooms. The onions should be diced approximately 1-cm or just under half an inch in size.
• Butter. I like to soften the onions in butter when I'm making a sauce. I think it gives a better flavour than using cooking oil.
• Milk. We're going to be adding double or heavy cream, so it doesn't really matter whether the milk is skimmed or full-fat.
• Cream. This is a rich sauce, so double or heavy cream is preferable. The sauce thickens on standing or freezing, and depending on what you are using it for, you will thin it down with milk. Using double cream ensures the sauce retains its creamy taste.
• Flour. This is just plain flour and is used to thicken the sauce.
• Salt and pepper. Used for seasoning. It's to your own taste, but I would recommend you go easy, especially with the salt. You can always add extra salt when you use the sauce to make another recipe, if it needs it.
• Thyme. This is optional. I used a small amount because I like the combination of thyme and mushrooms, and I would probably add a little thyme to whatever recipe I was making with the mushroom sauce. You can leave it out if you prefer or substitute it with a different herb.

How to make creamy mushroom cooking sauce

Step 1: Melt the butter in a large pan over moderate heat. Add the onions and thyme, and stir to coat them all with the butter. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan with a lid, and sauté the onions for 5 minutes until they turn translucent. Do not allow them to brown.

Step 2: Add the mushrooms (you can see why you'll need a large pan).

Step 3: Stir the mushrooms into the onions, cover the pan with a lid and leave them on low heat for a further 5 minutes.

Step 4: Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour, salt and pepper.

Step 5: Stir in the milk and cream, return the pan to the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.

Step 6: Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring often, for 10 minutes until the mixture has thickened.

Step 7: Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool. Once cool, pack the sauce into freezer containers or plastic bags and freeze for up to 4 months.

Equipment

To make this big batch creamy mushroom and onion cooking sauce, you will need a large pan. I prefer to use my wok, but you could use a large saucepan instead. The pan should have a lid, and if possible, a heavy base to prevent the sauce from catching.

How to freeze mushroom sauce

I like to use plastic freezer containers with a lid. The oblong shape means they can be stacked easily in the freezer. You could also use plastic bags, and press the sauce as thinly and evenly as possible before sealing them. This will also allow them to lie flat and save on freezer space.

You can freeze this mushroom and onion sauce for up to 4 months.

When you are ready to use this sauce in a recipe, remove a tub from the freezer and leave it to defrost in the refrigerator.

Because there is cream and milk in this sauce, I would not recommend leaving it on the counter to defrost.

FAQ

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Foodle Club Pantry

This recipe is part of my Foodle Club Pantry - a growing collection of homemade sauces, condiments, spice mixes and pantry staples designed to help you cook smarter, not harder. Browse the Pantry for more make-ahead recipes, kitchen staples and meal-building ideas.

Explore the Foodle Club Pantry