Oven Roasted Mushrooms with Garlic & Balsamic

These oven roasted mushrooms with garlic and balsamic will lighten up your charcuterie boards and are perfect for snacking. Full of rich flavours of garlic and balsamic, this recipe is easy and quick to prepare. Perfect for entertaining.

I make these garlicky oven-roasted mushrooms almost every time we do appetizer night. They are usually the first thing to disappear off any appetizer platter.

Yes - appetizer night is a thing, and completely part of my regular meal plan.

And in all honesty, appetizer night is one of my favourite family dinner nights. My kids are old enough to appreciate a platter of nibbles, fine cheeses and marinated artichokes. And they will actually hang out and talk to us, tell us about their week and listen to us talk about ours. I highly recommend making room for it in your monthly family dinner rotations. And if the teenagers ditch you to hang out with their far cooler friends, well, it's still an enjoyable meal with your own best friend and a glass of wine.😉

In all cases, these baked mushrooms make a nice addition to your normal cheese platter or charcuterie board. Something to offset the heaviness of the cheese and gives vegetarians something savoury to nibble 🙋‍♀️.

Vegetarian charcuterie board ideas

As a vegetarian, you might find typical charcuterie platters a bit limiting. I love them, but agree that keeping it healthy and plant-based can take a little extra creativity. Some of my favourite vegetarian additions include the following:

Dip and spreads:

• Hummus, any variety, try this fava bean hummus
• Roasted red pepper dip (vegan)
• Vegan queso
• Guacamole, try this one made with avocado and peas
• Carrot and cashew pate
• Olive and lentil tapenade
• Tahini and greek yogurt dip

Nibbles and small bites

• Roasted or candied nuts. Try these thyme and sea-salt almonds or candied pecans
• Flat breads like these vegan skillet flatbreads or this zucchini flatbread recipe
• Gluten-free crackers, I like any Mary's seed crackers but you can make your own. Try this no-oil seed cracker recipe
• Sundried tomato pastry rolls
• Olives
• Marianted artichokes
• Roasted red peppers
• Pickles, I especially like pickled red onions with a bit of cheese but any jar of good pickles will do
• A good mustard, an absolute must
• A sweet, or sweet and spicy jam - try this spicy red pepper jam or apple pie jelly

Something fresh

This is where all the veggies come in, some of our favourites for dipping

• Carrots, baby or sticks
• Radish, I like the big fat ones sliced like chips
• Pepper strips or mini sweet peppers
• Broccoli and cauliflower florets
• Sugar snap peas
• Celery sticks
• Cucumber spears
• Fresh green beans
• Cherry or grape tomatoes
• Apple or pear slices
• Grapes
• Berries - strawberries, raspberries or blackberries
• Citrus wedges

Something warm

• Roasted cherry tomatoes
• Grilled vegetables like zucchini
• and of course these baked mushrooms..

This roasted mushroom recipe is really easy to throw together. It takes about 10 minutes to prep the mushrooms while the oven preheats and then it is hands off while they roast in the oven.

How to make balsamic roasted mushrooms

The mushrooms. I like to use these tiny little button mushrooms I find at the grocery store. They are about half the size of regular button mushrooms. One bite each.

Sauce. I use a combination of soy and balsamic to glaze the mushrooms. The soy adds salty umami to the mushrooms and the balsamic adds a bit of sweetness and tang.

Garlic and herbs for flavour. I like fresh pressed garlic and rosemary. I usually use dried rosemary because it's always in my cupboard. Just make sure it is fresh and fragrant.

Roast, uncovered, in a 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes. The mushrooms will release a bit of their liquid and soften. Roasting keeps them dry, concentrating their flavours.

That's it! Toss with a some fresh herbs if you like and serve.

A few more notes:

If you can't find tiny, bite-sized mushrooms, use regular buttons and cut them in half or quarters to make them bite-sized.

Make ahead: You can serve these straight out of the oven. Or, you can make them a bit ahead of time and let them cool to room temperature.

Serve hot or room temperature.Because these don't need to be served straight out of the oven make them perfect for fuss-free entertaining.

I promise you won't have leftovers!